Lunch on the Go?
How do you figure out what to eat for lunch – especially when on the run? A little preparation ahead of time can immensely help in challenging lunch situations.
I like to think of lunch in terms of “portables.” Portables are foods you take on the go. Some great examples are string or sliced cheeses, bags of nuts, small containers of yogurt, cottage cheese and pineapple, hard-boiled eggs or whole fruit such as bananas or apples. These take little to no preparation and can be kept for a few hours to longer if put in an insulated lunch bag with a small blue ice or with a chilling agent.
Other foods that one can prepare on the weekend and put in containers to take are: chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, or leftovers of entrees or vegetables from dinners. I’ve provided a few recipes from my new book: A Recipe for Life by the Doctor’s Dietitian below.
Portables are also cost effective besides being nutritious, which can be a welcome addition to your budget.
Jeffrey’s Chicken Salad
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup of plain low fat yogurt
2 teaspoons regular mustard
1 teaspoon of honey
½ teaspoon plus pinch curry powder
⅛ teaspoon plus pinch garlic powder
Pepper to taste
1 small tart red apple (pink lady works very well), diced
½ cup pecans
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
Preparation:
Rinse chicken and boil in medium saucepan with a pinch of sea salt until meat is opaque.
Cube chicken. Combine yogurt, mustard, honey, and spices. Mix in chicken. Add the apple, pecans and coconut. Serve on a bed of lettuce.
Egg Salad Twist
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
4 Large eggs
3 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons plain low fat yogurt
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Preparation:
Fill medium saucepan with cold water. Add pinch of salt and eggs, bringing to a boil over high heat. Once water is boiling, remove from heat and cover. Let rest for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Submerge the eggs in cold water and let set for 10 minutes to stop further cooking.
Remove shells and chop egg to desired consistency. Mix remaining ingredients into eggs. Serve in butter lettuce, similar to a taco.
Variation: Mix in chopped tomato, avocado, cucumber, scallions or dill pickle.
September 23, 2009 @ 1:49 am
This is great. Thanks!