Healthy Lunch Breaks: How To Make The Most Of Your Lunch Box
We all live busy lives and the thought of taking up more time in your schedule by packing lunches can be a bit off putting. However, creating healthy lunches shouldn’t take very long at all and it’s well worth the effort. With a handful of tasty lunch box ideas you can pack in nutrition, gain more energy for the afternoon and even enjoy more flavour.
As an added bonus, when you’re packing yours and your kids’ lunches, you’ll know that everyone’s eating well. Whether you’re doing it for work or for your kids at school, these five healthy lunch box ideas are ideal.
1. Perfect pasta
A pasta dish really can be the perfect lunch! It’s so easy to make and packed full of nutrients like zinc, magnesium, iron, fibre and complex carbohydrates to make sure you get fuelled up for the rest of the day. That is, as long as you go for a whole wheat pasta, rather than white versions. I personally have to have Gluten Free pasta but that is a great option too!
Add an extra hit of protein by adding tuna, or keep it veggie by adding tomatoes, spinach, basil and pine nuts.
2. Hearty wraps
Wholemeal wraps are great for lunch, and you can pack a whole lot more in than you can with a regular sandwich. In addition to being a nice alternative to sandwiches, wraps come with the extra bonus of being able to hide healthy ingredients inside – particularly useful when you’re packing lunch for the kids. They won’t notice a little greenery or grated carrot when it’s wrapped in with their favourite fillings. Again, I personally have Gluten Free wraps!
3. Quinoa salad
Quinoa is a superfood! Why? Because it’s super good for you. This tasty grain is packed full of vitamins and minerals, as well as being a really good source of protein. It takes around 20 minutes to cook and once done it’s the ideal ingredient for a mega healthy lunchtime salad.
Fill your storage container with a mix of quinoa, herbs, spices, veg and whatever else you want to add for a nutrient-packed meal.
4. Protein pots
If you’re looking for a real protein hit you can fill a pot with a range of ingredients. The key is to really pack in your choice of protein – chicken, eggs, soya or whatever else you like – and accompany it with a variety of leafy greens, carbohydrates and your choice of sauce. Make that separately and then pour it into your protein pot when you’re ready to eat.
5. Rice, chicken and beans
Brown rice is the ideal complex carb, chicken is an amazing source of lean protein and a variety of mixed veg provide you with a range of great nutrients to keep you fuelled up for the rest of the day. Add seasonings like paprika for a little spice, dried oregano to give it an Italian twist or a simple crack of black pepper for extra flavour, and enjoy.
As you can see, with a handful of healthy lunch ideas for kids and grown-ups, eating well in the middle of the day is incredibly easy!
Images:
This is a guest post.
With Love,
Leanne xx
