22 healthy lunch ideas

I love peanut butter sandwiches, a lot, but sometimes a girl has to mix up lunch. It's hard to find exciting, healthy options to pack for work, but Cooking Light has come up with 22 unique lunch recipes that are perfect for to pack for work.

I've had this Vera Bradley lunch box for almost a year and it motivates me to pack my own lunch (so I can show off my cute lunch box). Sounds silly, I know, but if it gets me to eat better quality food, I'm all for it. There are almost 30 patterns to choose from--Jesse's mum has a teal and brown one, too.

Now, back to the contents inside the lunchbox: food. 

Some of my favorite from Cooking Light's lunch recipe round-up:

• Spelt Salad with White Beans and Artichokes
• Curried Chicken Salad with Apples and Raisins
• Roasted Red Pepper Spread Sandwiches
• Chicken Salad with Olive Vinaigrette

Barley and Black Bean Salad

I'm in recovery mode from a wonderful birthday weekend! My two close friends, Kristen and Sarah, from my days at Starbucks took me out on Friday night for drinks and dinner--we started at Oreganos, a fun, vintage themed Italian restaurant. They've got locations across Arizona--make sure to save room for their famous pazookies: warm cookie dough with ice cream on top. They've also got some spectacular drinks, too.

On my actual birthday, my parents and Jesse took me to RA Sushi! I loved it. I think I was the only one that did, though. We all had fun, but I don't think any of them will want to go there for their birthday dinners!

On Sunday the rest of our family came over for cake and ice cream. Actually, we made a kalua chocolate trifle. It was to die for. I'll post the recipe later this week.

For now, it's back on the band wagon with a good lunch salad: barley and black bean salad. This makes a lot, so plan to bring it to work all week. This recipe is from: Real Age.

photo from here

Ingredients:

• 1 cup barley, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 cup corn (thawed if frozen)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 avocado, sliced
• cayenne pepper
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Get Cookin'

Combine cooked barley, beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, oil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Immediately before eating, slice avocado to put on top.

It's better if you make it the day before to help the flavors mix together. 

Fire-Seared Antipasto Platter

It's sweltering in Arizona. It's monsoon season which native Arizonians aren't prepared for. The humidity is high and I feel like I have to swim through the air because it's so thick and heavy. Yugh! Where's the dry heat we talk up to the rest of the nation? Thanks to Cooking Light for the recipe!

Anyways, I found a delicious, hot weather dinner option that's perfect for August.

Photo credit: Cooking Light

Ingredients: 

        Dressing:

• 6  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 3  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 2  teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 2  garlic cloves, minced 
•  
• Vegetables:
• 3  plum tomatoes, halved
• 2  red bell peppers, quartered and seeded
• 2  yellow bell peppers, quartered and seeded
• 2  zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1  red onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1  (1 1/2-pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• Cooking spray
• 
  Garnishes:
• 4  ounces  prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 1  ounce  capocollo, thinly sliced
• 2  ounces  fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh basil
• 2  teaspoons  capers
• 6  green olives, sliced
• 1/8  teaspoon  kosher salt

Get Cookin'

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. To prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3. To prepare vegetables, brush 1/4 cup dressing evenly over tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, onion, and eggplant. Place vegetables on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until lightly charred. Arrange vegetables on platter; brush with remaining dressing. Arrange prosciutto, capocollo, and cheese on platter. Sprinkle platter with basil, capers, olives, and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Spinich & Shrimp Salad

We had a 4th of July bbq with our families before going to the local fireworks show. I brought the dessert and salad--both were new recipes that turned out delish. The home-made dressing is what made this salad good enough to share. I'll share the dessert recipe soon.

photo from here

Ingredients:

Salad

1/2 lb. cooked shrimp (medium size 51-60 per lb.), thawed, tails removed

5 oz. spring mix greens

1/3 cup julienne cut tomatoes in oil

1 avocado, sliced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Dressing

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 T. capers

1 T. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup olive oil

Get Cookin'

Make the salad dressing as far in advance as possible (I made mine the morning of the bbq). Refrigerate. Immediately before serving, put together salad ingredients and toss with salad dressing.

Chickpea Salad with Roasted Bell Peppers

 photo: http://smittenkitchen.com/

I made this for a Mother's Day picnic Jesse and I did for our families. It was a big hit! We served it on a bed of mixed greens, but it would be good with pita wedges, too. Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 large red peppers, roasted and skinned
3 cups of cooked chickpeas, rinsed if canned (about 2 15-ounce cans)
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped mint
3 tablespoons of capers, rinsed
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice  ( orred wine or sherry vinegar)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil


Get Cookin'
Cut the peppers into half-inch wide strips and put them in a large bowl together with the chickpeas, herbs and the capers.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, salt, garlic and oil. Pour over the chickpea mixture and combine.

Refrigerate it for a day to get the flavors to amalgamate.

Jesse's sister, Cortni, and I at the picnic.

Berry Good Salad

I eat salad for lunch everyday. Each week I try to find new ways to make my salads more interesting. Here's last week's salad.

Manderin oranges
Fresh raspverries
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Sliced almonds

Put over salad greens and drizzle over vinaigrette dressing.

Caprese Salad

Another salad idea. I love caprese, so why not turn it into an entire lunch? Think about all the nutrients here--anti-oxidants and calcium.

Put mozzarella, tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano over mixed greens. Drizzle balsamic and EVOO on top.

Plantation Chicken Salad

There was a great coffee shop by my summer internship that I loved to go to on my lunch break. I ate this salad all summer and I've tried to recreate it. No measurements here, just a good mixture of foods for a salad.

Fire roasted chicken
Mandarin oranged
Candied pecans
Ground black pepper

Put ingredients on a bed of baby spinich and mix.