Breakfast, lunch or snack with you: 10 lunch box recipes
Olga Lukinskaya
Not so easy to adhere to the principles of healthy eating.when you spend the whole day in the office or university, and you get there and back for a long time. Of course, the issue of lunch is solved by choosing the right business lunch at a cafe, but hunger can overtake even in the midst of working at a computer or in a traffic jam on the way home - and quenching it with cookies or chocolates is not very useful. We made ten choices of snacks or breakfasts, which you can take with you and eat at work, right after training in the gym or right behind the wheel - just do not forget napkins and appliances.
Night Bunting
In New York, such oatmeal in different versions is sold in culinary shops, and we offer to cook it yourself. There are only two main ingredients: oatmeal and liquid to your taste - water, milk (regular or, for example, almond), juice or kefir. But you can add a variety of components, salty or sweet: coconut flakes, raspberries and blueberries; sea salt, olive oil and parmesan; protein powder and peanut butter.
This is oatmeal, which is not necessary to cook - just pour all the ingredients in a tall glass the night before and put in the refrigerator for the night. Within a few hours, the oatmeal will be soaked with milk or water (the choice is yours), swell up and become soft. It will be necessary only to mix the contents of the glass with a long spoon, connecting all the layers. Night oatmeal is tastiest just cold - so you can cook it in a thermoglass, which will keep the temperature for several hours.
Chopped vegetables and hummus
It’s boring to gnaw vegetables entirely, and cooking salads is a long time, so we offer an intermediate option: chop the crispy vegetables in advance with chopsticks and put them in a container. Not only cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, celery, but also broccoli blossoms and, for example, turnips or beets will be suitable (although the latter can get your hands dirty).
To diversify the taste of vegetables a little, you can take a sauce for them - what is in English called “dip”, that is, the weight for dipping. Hummus or cream cheese will be suitable from ready-made shop options. You can take sour cream or Greek yogurt and add salt, hot pepper or other spices to your taste. For yogurt, by the way, it is quite possible to run to the supermarket during the break - so that at home you only need to chop the vegetables.
Fruit and Peanut Butter
Option, similar to the previous one, but rather sweet, not salty. If it is no longer possible to look at the usual bananas as a snack, then it is time to diversify your diet in terms of fruits, including seasonal ones. Fruits that can be cut into slices or chopsticks are apples, pears, quinces, peaches or mangoes (only it’s better to choose hard and not juicy ones).
Peanut butter (we recommend making it yourself if you have time) or yogurt is suitable as a fruit dip. Or maybe even chocolate sauce - even if it is not the most useful product, it also needs only a couple of spoons. Anyway, this snack is healthier than a chocolate bar.
Eggs, cherry tomatoes and pita
It is rather difficult to get enough protein, because meat and fish are more difficult to prepare than, say, pasta. To add the protein component to snacks, you can use eggs - they can be cooked immediately for several days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. It’s convenient to take a container with two compartments to work: an egg is put into one, and tomatoes or other vegetables are put into the second.
If the office has a kitchen, then you can quickly make a salad out of these components - cut the egg into four parts, and cut the tomatoes into halves, salt and sprinkle with olive oil. If you know that you have to go on the road and with your hands, you can still turn the combination into a sandwich at home - cut the eggs and tomatoes into slices and put them into pita bread or pita.
Pasta, red fish and vegetables
This dish will have to spend a little more time - you will need to cook pasta, - but it may well become a full-fledged meal. For the salad, a short paste made of al dente is suitable - “spirals” (fusilli), “feathers” (penne) or “butterflies” (farfalle). The remaining ingredients can be taken from home or even bought at the store during the day to mix in a bowl or directly in a plastic container.
A tasty and healthy protein component that is often forgotten is canned fish. Choose salmon or pink salmon in your own juice - you can safely add a whole jar to the pasta for lunch. It will remain to put a few cherry tomatoes or a sliced cucumber, a handful of spicy olives or a few mozzarella balls; mix and eat.
Cheese, pasta and olives
As a carbohydrate component, you can use cold short paste again - or you can choose your favorite bread, from lavash to Borodino. Choose cheese appropriately: hard cheese cubes are suitable for salad, and creamy feta can be spread on bread, adding half olives.
It remains to add vegetables - for example, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Juicy tomatoes with olives, cheese and pita are typical components of Greek salad. If you have the strength to cook it again at home on the weekends, wash it down with icy white wine (there is hardly any possibility in the office).
Avocado, Bread and Ham
It all depends on your preferences and choice: it is not so easy to buy perfect-quality avocados. Mature and soft avocados can be spread on bread, peppermint and put a few slices of chicken ham or turkey on top - you get a healthy sandwich. Harder - cut into slices and also use as part of a sandwich or just take with you, and at work eat with a knife and fork.
Another avocado goes well with eggs - there is even a way to cook scrambled eggs in avocado halves. For a canonical recipe, you need more time and an oven, but you can try cooking it in the microwave - just remember to pierce the yolk with a fork so that it does not explode.
Buckwheat, salmon and tomatoes from the jar
Buckwheat, rice or pearl barley will have to be cooked the day before - but vegetables will not even need to be washed, just open a can of diced tomatoes and pour it directly onto the main component of the dish. Reheat or eat cold - at your discretion.
Of the protein components, you can add canned fish, boiled ham, eggs, or even pre-cooked chicken breast - however, for the latter option it will take a little more time to cook. As always, salt, pepper, spices and good olive oil will only improve the taste - if you can, keep them at work.
Cottage cheese, berries and nuts
If you didn’t have time to cook anything beforehand and take it from home, it will save the nearest supermarket. Cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein, and in order for them to eat, nothing is needed except a bowl and a spoon. Although it is still possible to diversify it: strawberries, raspberries or currants, apricot quarters or banana slices, nuts or seeds will complement the taste and texture of the curd.
You can add savory ingredients like greens. With cucumber and sea salt, the cottage cheese will resemble tzatziki - a Turkish yoghurt snack. True, garlic is also added to traditional tzatziki, but it all depends on the order of your office - maybe strict colleagues will not appreciate the smell.
Cheese And Anchovy Sandwich
Anchovy is a small fish found in the Mediterranean. It is quite expensive, but even a small jar is enough for a long time: one or two fillets are enough for one big sandwich, because anchovies are very salty. They go well with soft cheese like brie or goat and fresh taste of cucumbers.
Oily fish is a source not only of protein, but also of healthy omega-3 fats that are beneficial for the heart and blood vessels. Anchovies can be added to previous recipes - for example, to a salad of pasta and tomatoes, avocado sandwiches or pita bread with a boiled egg.