Lunch is one of your most important meals of the day (breakfast and supper being the others 😉). Packing a lunch is one of the best things you can do for sticking to your eating and budgetary goals, but it can be tricky coming up with lunch ideas day after day. I have some of my go-to ideas, and today I’ll share one of my faves, plus some ways to switch it up.
A balanced lunch needs grains, protein and vegetables to keep you going strong throughout your day. Grains provide your brain with fuel, and making it a whole grain allows for slower digestion, both keeping you full for longer and preventing a sugar spike and crash. Protein also slows digestion and keeps you feeling full for longer, and vegetables provide important nutrients and health benefits.
- Chose a grain. Bulgur, rice, quinoa, wheat berries and barley are all great options; pick your favorite, or get adventurous and try a new one. (I’ve been wanting to try sorghum for a while now, but haven’t been able to find it yet.)
- Grab your eggs: I recommend 2 eggs per person (this is a meat & alternatives serving on Canada’s Food Guide, and more filling than just 1 egg)
- Season and choose your veggie add-ins; we’ll get to those soon!
- Add grain and water to a pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer until all the water is absorbed (amounts of grain, water and time vary, so check here to find ideal cooking times)
- When most of water is absorbed, add in your raw scrambled eggs and combine with grains until fully cooked
- Add in your spices: salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne… whatever gets your taste buds sizzling
- Here’s where you can get creative: the veggies! You’ve got 2 options: 1) Add them into the mixture 2) Top it off. (of course if you want to do both of them, you won’t hear me complaining!)
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| Wheat Berries + Eggs + Chunky Salsa |
Some add-in ideas:
- a couple tablespoons chunky salsa (adjust your seasonings depending on spice level here)
- 1/2 can sliced yellow or green beans
- fridge veggies reaching their prime
- canned mushrooms
- frozen green-beans (add before the eggs so the water is boiled out)
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| Brown rice + frozen green beans |
When going the topping route, you seriously can’t go wrong: take any veggie you like, raw/roasted/sauteed etc. and top ‘er up. Make it pretty if you want (I’m a proponent of ‘pretty food tastes better’), and enjoy your high fibre, high protein, nutritious, filling lunch!!
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| Bulgar + 2 eggs Topped with 1/2 an avocado and 1 cob corn |
Want more lunch ideas? Comment below and let me know 🙂
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