Easy, Healthy Lunch Ideas to Take to Work
Lunchtime can be a real challenge when you want to keep your food choices healthy. There are tantalizing treats scattered throughout your office break room and your desk is in close proximity to the vending machines that can easily tempt you.
Temptation surrounds you and can veer you off of your path quickly, leaving you feeling disappointed and defeated. To avoid these negative feelings, it’s crucial to be proactive about your meals for the work week. The best thing to do in this situation is to prepare your lunches, but you might have no idea what to make or feel that’s too time consuming. After all, do you really need one more thing to add to your to-do list? I hear you loud and clear. I’m going to share with you some of my best and easiest lunches you can whip up in mere minutes so you can enjoy healthy lunches all week long.
A Quinoa Bowl. Quinoa is a food that is easy to prepare, very nutritious and that is incredibly easy to take to work with you. Of course, you want a little more in your bowl than just quinoa, but you can add anything you want to make your bowl delicious and filling. Vegetables that you enjoy — possibly broccoli, zucchini, onion and a sauce of your choice.
Mason Jar Salads. These are so simple, delicious and you can prepare them for the whole week in one sitting. Use mason jar’s to hold your salad ingredients so when you empty your jar into a bowl, it creates the perfect lunch salad for you. Start by putting dressing in first, then your toppings & veggies, and finish off your jar by adding your greens last. This will keep your dressing away from your greens, so they won’t get soggy. You can store these in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Lettuce Wraps. Simple enough, toss your favorite chopped veggies and any fitting leftover ingredients from your fridge in a lettuce leaf. Drizzle with a complimenting sauce, wrap it up and call it a day. These pair well with soup, so keep that in mind as you’re meal prepping for the week.
Spaghetti Squash. This is definitely one of my go-to quick, affordable and healthy lunches. I always have a spaghetti squash on hand as they’re so versatile. This is another great option for tossing in any leftover veggies from the fridge, mix with some marinara sauce and you’ve got yourself a pasta-free spaghetti that won’t disappoint.
These are just a few examples of all the delicious meals you can quickly prepare at home and take to work without too much of a hassle. Some take a little more time than others, but you can always use the Sunday to meal prep your meals for the entire week, so you don’t have to wake up extra early on your work days. If possible, you could even leave all the meals you created at work so you can grab it during lunchtime, and you don’t have to take anything to work all week.
A great prep method is to cut and chop veggies and keep in easy to grab snack containers. Having some berries and a greek yogurt on hand makes for a healthy snack and you can add granola for some crunch. I try to have carrots, celery, cauliflower and radish prepped and easy to snack on myself or for the kids.
If you struggle with meal planning- the shopping list, recipes, having enough of the right ingredients- having a done for you meal plan might be the key to a more successful week. Leave a comment or send an email to info@kristinacole.com and let me know if you’d like a personalized meal plan with recipes, shopping list and oriented to meet your personal goals (including kid friendly plans!)
