When lunchtime rolls around, you want to be able to put together a simple meal that is nutritious, filling, and doesn’t take a lot of time. This week, I have some simple clean eating lunch ideas that will be sure to please.
Pita, Hummus, and Veggies
This is such a fun and easy lunch to put together that you can even gather ingredients the morning before work and not spend too much time on it. Get a bag of whole wheat pita bread and a container of hummus. Since you are reducing your processed foods, making your own hummus really is preferred, and it is easy to make with a food processor. If you don’t have one, choose your hummus wisely and look at the ingredients. Try to avoid those made with canola oil. Then you just need your favorite raw veggies in slices. Open up the pita, add some hummus, and layer the veggies. Healthy, nutritious, and filling. If you are gluten-free, you can substitute pita bread for a cashew or almond tortilla (which I prefer).
Wraps
You can still eat sandwiches for lunch while clean eating, but re-think the ingredients you are using. To start with, stop using pre-sliced or processed meat and cheese for your sandwiches. Instead, hang out in the produce section of your grocery store or pick up some fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market. Use meats left over from dinner the night before or keep it vegetarian. I personally do away with the bread and use collard leaves for the wrap. Then, I load up my wrap with cucumbers, shredded cucumbers, sprouts, yellow bell peppers…you really can’t go wrong here.
COLLARD WRAP
WITH TAHINI DRESSING
Serves 1
2 collard leaves
2 tablespoons No Bean Hummus (recipe below)
2 tablespoons carrots, shredded
5 to 6 cucumber slices
3 raw apple slices
¼ cup bean sprouts
Below is my Tahini Dressing which you can use to replace the need for mayo or mustard.
Salad in a Jar
With clean eating, salads in a jar are a big hit in the break room if you choose to share. If you are not familiar with salads in jars, the whole purpose is to create a beautiful salad stored in a mason jar for convenience. It is important to layer the ingredients as listed to ensure that the salad doesn’t wilt before you are ready to eat.
Here’s one of my favorite jar recipes:
SALAD IN A JAR
Serves 1
3 tablespoons Tahini Dressing (recipe below)
¼ cup red cabbage, chopped
1 handful spinach
5 to 6 grapefruit slices
5 to 6 cucumber slices
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon hemp seeds (topping)
TAHINI DRESSING
3 tablespoons tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons water
1 garlic clove, minced
Sea salt, to taste
ASSEMBLE THE SALAD: Use a wide-mouth, quart-sized mason jar. Add the tahini Dressing to the bottom of the jar. Next, add red cabbage, spinach, grapefruit, cucumber, cilantro, and hemp seeds. Finally, close the jar and store in a refrigerator. When you are ready to serve, simply shake the jar until well coated and eat from the jar, or pour into a salad bowl.
