I had a serious case of the brown bag blues. So I decided to shake things up and explore some healthy options for lunch. This of course lead me to the Internet and a Google search for healthy lunch ideas. This website offered 35 quick and healthy low-calorie lunches. I picked five recipes prepared them, packed them and ate them at work.
Monday: 3-Bean Salad with Kale (350 Calories)
Kale, lime & lemon juice, avocado, black beans, white beans, kidney beans. This is a tasty salad, and I surprised that a squeeze of lime juice and lemon juice makes a pretty good dressing.
Recommended side snack: 5 Kashi 7-grain crackers and 1 reduced-fat string cheese (100 calories). 1 serving of the Kashi 7-grain crackers is 15 crackers. I had an entire serving of crackers and 2 reduced-fat string cheese. I get out of control sometimes.
Tweaks: There are a lot of options with this recipe. Substituting different beans is a good option and you can, of course, use different greens. Kale was an interesting change of pace and a good green to have on hand for smoothies.
Tuesday: Turkey Wrap (365 Calories)
Whole-wheat wrap, deli turkey, hummus, goat cheese, baby spinach. This wrap is quick, easy to make, tasty and filling. It was my favorite of all the recipes I tried during the week. I used a spreadable goat cheese which I thought was easier.
Recommended side snack: 9 Parmesan Garlic and Herb Pita Chips (140 calories). I went with a whole Fuji apple instead.
Tweaks: I used it Laughing Cow spreadable Swiss cheese instead of the goat cheese. I liked that version better. I also tried Sun Dried Tomato Hummus the second time around. There are several flavors of hummus and several brands so it’s easy to experiment with this wrap.
Wednesday: Stuffed Sweet Potato (365 calories)
A baked sweet potato with turkey bacon, Greek yogurt and chopped green onions. These ingredients seem kind of random and like they wouldn’t go together. They do together surprisingly well. I think this may have been the most filling of the week’s lunches.
Recommended side snack: 5 Kashi 7-grain crackers and 1 reduced-fat string cheese (100 calories). Again I had an entire serving of crackers and 2 reduced-fat string cheese.
Tweaks: I saw no obvious modification that would improve this recipe. For lunch it’s good as is.
Thursday Healthier Cobb Salad (382 Calories)
Romaine lettuce, half a chicken breast, turkey bacon, avocado, hard-boiled egg, crumbled blue cheese, balsamic vinegar. Basically a leaner version of the Cobb salad but still very tasty.
Side snack: One KIND bar of your choice. I went with peanut butter dark chocolate (150 calories).
Tweaks: I’m considering trying it with the squeeze of lime/lemon juice instead of the balsamic vinegar.
Friday: Healthy Stir-Fried Rice (365 calories)
Brown rice, an egg scrambled, olive oil, bella mushrooms, broccoli, carrot, red onion, sesame oil. As you might expect I made it the night before and microwaved it at work. I used Minute Rice ready to serve brown rice. It comes in a microwavable tub and is ready in about 60 seconds.
Recommended side snack: Tropical fruit salad with 1 kiwi and ½ a large orange. I went with 1 large orange.
Tweaks: Add any leftover meat or vegetable for a change of pace.
Sure But Would You Eat Them Again?
Yes, I’ve made the Turkey Wrap and 3-Bean Salad with Kale a couple of times since the week of healthy lunches. In the near future I plan to make more of the recipes from this site starting with the egg, tomato and avocado sandwich. I’m pretty sure it will freak out at least one coworker and sounds tasty too. I think she was frightened by an avocado as a child.