People who lead very busy work or school schedules most often succumb to bad eating habits during lunch rather than at breakfast or dinner. This is because lunch is often eaten outside of the home, where one’s stock of healthy food items is not available. The best way to beat having to eat a bad lunch is to simply prepare yours at home from healthy lunch recipes and bring it with you. Healthy lunch recipes that can be prepared the night before are great for avoiding having to rush in the morning. In this article, we provide you with some make-ahead healthy lunch recipes that are flavourful and easy enough to prepare. These healthy lunch recipes can simply be made during the weekend and stored in the fridge; pack each portion individually and just grab one on the go. Better yet, make some extra portions so that you can have ready-to-eat dinner should you come home too tired to cook.
Italian Tuna Salad
To make a streamlined version of no-cook Italian tuna salad, simply prepare the following ingredients:
About 12 ounces of light canned tuna chunks, drained
15 ounces of canned small white beans (cannellini or great northern beans), drained and rinsed
4 scallions, trimmed and chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Simply combine all the ingredients and toss until well mixed. This salad can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can serve this salad on a bed of greens, or use it as a filling for a sandwich wrap. If you need extra calcium and calories, throw in some cubes of cheese for added flavour.
Fresh Strawberry Sandwiches
Sandwiches are good lunch options if you have to eat at your desk. There is no rule that dictates sandwiches should be made with meat, so try this refreshing twist. This fresh strawberry sandwich will fill you up just enough so that you don’t get too sluggish for the rest of the afternoon.
To make up one fresh strawberry sandwich, you will need the following ingredients:
2 medium strawberries, sliced thinly
2 slices of thin whole wheat sandwich bread
1 tablespoon of low fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon of honey
1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest
In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, honey and lemon zest and mix well. Spread the mixture on the slices of wheat bread and place the fresh strawberry slices in between to make a light sandwich. If you will be brown bagging this, simply pack the cream cheese mixture together with the strawberry slices and just spread over the wheat bread slices at lunchtime.
Eating healthy food is very important to stay lean, healthy and happy.
