Hurray! This is our first guest post from the terrific Sara Gutman, a dietetics student who is all about keeping it real. Sara's back-to-school gift to you is a selection of lunch options that are satisfying and doable.
Keep in mind that these ideas are for inspirational purposes and not intended to be prescriptive. You may need different amounts or combinations of meal items to feel satisfied. But variety is a key element of good nutrition, and so new ideas are a great way to improve your meals.
Without further ado...here's Sara!
Lunch Ideas for Grown-ups
by Sara Gutman
Lunch is a great way to break up a day and refuel, and preparing it the night before is generally the smartest option. I like to see recipes with no or very few cooking steps. I mean, you might be feeling industrious and want to prep a wholesome lunch, but who wants to wash more pans and bowls after dinner cleanup is done ?
Here are some simple (I mean really simple) and seriously scrumptious options
1. Greekish Salad
This is a five-minute version of a Greek salad. It is definitely my go-to lunch, it takes no time to prepare and it packs a really savory and flavorful punch. Enjoy with crackers or bread so you have a well-rounded meal.
Salad
I cup Romaine lettuce
Cucumber, sliced
Tomato, diced
Kalamata Olives (or any variety)
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
Dressing
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp dried basil leaves
Dash of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Add all the salad components to a sealable container.
Tip: If you have a sectional container, separate the tomatoes from the lettuce, this ensures that your salad stays fresh and crisp. If you don’t have such a container on hand simply add the tomatoes to a Ziploc bag and place on top of the salad inside the container.
Add the dressing components to a small sealable container, cover, and give it a good shake.
2. Deconstructed Falafel
This is a really satisfying meal, If you make falafel for dinner, just add in a few extra falafel balls to put into your lunch.
Israeli Salad
½ an English cucumber, finely diced
1 tomato, finely diced
½ pepper, finely diced (extra credit if you use yellow or orange, for a rainbow salad)
1 pickle
½ cup chickpeas
¼ cup sauerkraut (optional, but not really optional)
2 falafel balls
Dressing
2 Tbsp tahini (if your tahini is very viscous, add water to make it a bit runny)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp dried parsley
Dash of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Add all the dressing ingredients to a container and mix with a spoon until well incorporated.
Put the salad components into a sealable container.
Enjoy with a pita or pita chips. You can try this delicious pita chip recipe.
3. Salmon Pesto Avocado Wrap
Yum! The mixture of those three has got to be a match made in heaven, I am sorry to make you wash a pan. :(
Pan seared salmon:
Salmon filet
Salt and pepper to taste
Simple is the key! Preheat your skillet and add light olive oil, pat your salmon dry and sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Place salmon skin side down into the hot pan and let it sear for 5 minutes, then flip it and let
it cook for another 5 minutes.
Let the salmon cool, or don’t, then cube or shred it
Or, use mashed canned salmon
Wrap:
1 whole wheat wrap
½ an avocado mashed
1 tsp pesto (Shneiders makes a delicious high quality, kosher pesto)
3 slices of tomato
½ cup romaine or 2-3 lettuce leaves
Mash ½ an avocado and add 1 tsp pesto. Spread the avocado mixture on the wrap, then layer the tomato and lettuce, top with your salmon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll the wrap and slice on an angle right before eating.
4. Giant Tuna Salad
This is for the days that you just want a giant tuna salad! My husband insists on having this dressing in the fridge at all times, it is so unbelievably good. As for the salad components, totally have fun and use what you have on hand, I am telling you it will taste delicious!
Ingredients
1 ½ cups Romaine lettuce
Cucumber
tomato
Pickles
Olives
mushrooms
Sumac pickled onions
Hot peppers
...and the kitchen sink!
Mashed canned tuna with mayonnaise to taste.
Red Wine Vinaigrette
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup oil
¼ cup honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Add all the ingredients to a tall container and blend with an immersion blender. You can also just cover the container and shake until incorporated.
Put all the veggies you chose into the container and top with tuna.
Tip: I like to put the dressing in a Ziploc bag and place it on top of the salad components in the container. This way I know it won’t leak in my work bag and I don’t need to takhome another dirty container to wash.
Have alongside a fresh roll or other bread product of your choice.
5. Egg and Dill Bento Box
When I was pregnant, I ate something of this variation for lunch every day. I still think it is
delicious, just saying. ;)
Components:
Small round crackers (I love Shibolim Sesame Knockers)
I tomato, thinly sliced
2 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
Tip: there is a perfect way to hard boil an egg, so the yoke is soft and creamy and that there is none of that weird green hue on the edges the next day. Simply place your eggs into boiling water, boil for 12 minutes, and then cool under running water. Perfect every time.
Dill Mayo:
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Dash of vinegar
¾ tsp dried dill
Salt and pepper
Add the ingredients to a small container and mix until incorporated.
Put your egg, sliced tomato, crackers and spread into different sections of the container and you are done!
After 9 months of testing, I believe the best way to eat this is to spread the dill mayo on the cracker, place a slice of egg on top, then stack the tomato and sprinkle salt on top. I am very serious about this.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!