Healthy Lunch Ideas- 6 Easy and Nutritious Recipes!
Hello everyone!
Today we are talking about some easy and healthy lunch ideas you can make this summer! Easy meals are the best way to ensure you stay on track with your fitness, weight, and beauty goals. You should make sure you are getting an adequate amount of vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. It is also great to have your dishes looking as colourful as possible! Ditch all the prepackaged foods and processed meals and use fresh ingredients to make your meals this summer.
So let’s get into it!
1. Avocado Toast
Avocado toast is very obvious but is still very delicious! All you need is a ripened avocado and some bread. From here, you can dress it up any way you like! Many people will add eggs, hot sauce, cucumber, or arugula. Avocados contain vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, folate, potassium, fibre, and monosaturated fats! These help with your skin, and hair, and can work to lower your cholesterol as well! There are also great bread options that include probiotics and prebiotics which are essential for gut health.
2. Summer Salad
A summer salad is what you make it! Salads are amazing because you can do anything with them, they are super filling and outstandingly nutritious. Fruit salads to vegetable salads to bean salads- they are all great options! If you don’t know where to start, here are a few steps to building your salad! Don’t fall into the trap of using unhealthy dressings, making your own is very simple and is much tastier. Here are some salad dressing recipes!
Salad Recipe With Examples
- Base – Kale, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, arugula, mixed greens, spinach, beets, cabbage
- Vegetables – sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, avocados, onions
- Fruits – pomegranate, orange, apple, strawberries, blueberries
- Proteins – walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, tuna, healthy sausage, black beans, broad beans, kidney beans, feta cheese, mozzarella
- Dressing – olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, avocado, pepper, nutritional yeast, orange juice, apple cider vinegar
3. Chia Pudding
Chia pudding is healthy lunch that can be made in large batches and takes no effort at all. All you need is some chia seeds and some milk! In a 473ml mason jar, add around 4 tablespoons of chia seeds and fill approximately the rest with milk. Make sure the ingredients are well mixed and incorporated and let stand in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or overnight. With this base chia pudding, there are so many options to dress it up. You can add fruits, nuts, honey, cinnamon, granola, and vanilla, and enjoy! Chia seeds are great for keeping you fuller longer and can prevent constipation.
4. Vegetable or Bean Soup
This is another lunch option that can be made in large batches. A hot bowl of soup may not be your cup of tea in the summertime but if it is- starts making large batches! Soups can be kept frozen for 2-3 months if prepared properly. Here is a great source of healthy lunch soup ideas!
5. Smoothie Bowl
Smoothie bowls are super easy as they are just thick smoothies! Make your favourite smoothie (but add less liquid than usual) and then put it in a bowl. Just like chia pudding, you can dress up your smoothie bowl with a bunch of tasty add-ons. Add some honey, maple syrup, chia seeds, flax seeds, fruits, granola, and/or nut and enjoy!
6. Personal Charcuterie Board
The personal charcuterie board is something we have been enjoying a lot recently! As a big snacker, something like a charcuterie board for lunch satisfies the snacker in us! To build a traditional charcuterie board, you would add things such as cheese, olives, honey, sliced baguette, jams, dips, crackers, or salami. On a day-to-day basis, this may be too many calories, sodium, or just a bit too heavy for lunch. A simple solution to this is to swap these unhealthy foods for healthy alternatives.
Personal Charcuterie Board Example
Whole-grain crackers, vegan cheese, dried figs, pomegranate, roasted almonds, raw brazil nuts, honey, etc.
What is your favourite lunch to have? Is there a new recipe on this list you would like to try out? Let us know in the comments below!
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