Feedback we have had from busy mums suggests that coming up with healthy lunch ideas can be difficult at times. With this in mind, and our current love of what we call ‘Nourishing Bowls’, we are here to help by providing some delicious inspiration for your lunches…
Nourishing Bowls
Think of these meals as a deconstructed salad or a platter in a bowl – they are nutrient dense, filling, and totally adaptable to suit your tastes and what you have available in the fridge, pantry or garden. It’s about building on to what you have – combining flavours and textures – whether it be leftovers or some canned food, fresh vegetables and nuts or seeds. This style of meal also encourages more mindful eating where you can see and taste each component, rather than having the same flavour in each mouthful as you would with a traditional tossed salad.
Kids will enjoy these meals too, just include ingredients you know they like, for example:
- Hardboiled egg, brown rice, cheese sticks, cherry tomatoes and avocado or
- Chickpeas, carrot ribbons or sticks, capsicum and cucumber slices, and natural yoghurt dip
Some Combos to Try (choose 1 or 2 ingredients from each column to get started)
Vegetables | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Crunchy Textures | Dressings | Extras |
Baby spinach, lettuce, kale or broccoli | Hard/soft boiled egg | Chickpeas, black beans, cannellini beans | Nuts – such as sliced almonds, chopped peanuts, walnuts | Olive oil + lemon juice | Sauerkraut |
Cucumber slices or batons | Cooked chicken, lamb or beef | Lentils | Natural unsweetened yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt) | Edam or Feta cheese | |
Cherry tomatoes or avocados | Canned tuna or salmon | Brown rice | Seeds – such as pumpkin, sesame, sunflower | Avocado | Fresh herbs |
Carrot ribbons or sticks | Smoked salmon | Quinoa, buckwheat | Hummus or pesto | Salt and Pepper | |
Capsicum slices | Edamame beans | Kumara, pumpkin, beetroot | Thread coconut | Chilli barbecue sauce | Chilli |
More Lunch Ideas
Leftovers are gold! Make a little extra of your evening meal and if it is not quite enough, or you wish to change up lunch from dinner, just add some baby spinach, canned beans, legumes, quinoa or brown rice, perhaps add a dollop of hummus, natural unsweetened yoghurt, or avocado combined with lemon juice.
Soup – Especially good on a cooler day or you could try a chilled version such as tomato based Gazpacho.
Smoothies – A smoothie loaded with vegetables and some fruit can be bulked up with natural unsweetened yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt), creamy avocado, coconut oil, nuts, oats, or weetbix to make a more complete meal.
Eggs – There are so many ways eggs can be enjoyed whether they be hard/soft boiled, poached, scrambled, in an omelette – or even added raw to a smoothie! Eggs with smoked salmon, spinach and tomatoes is a classic choice.
Loaded Corn Cakes/Rice Wafers/Crackers or Kumara Toast –
If you prefer to avoid gluten, corn cakes/rice wafers or toasted kumara slices can make an alternative base to bread (otherwise
use a good quality wholemeal/seed/rye bread or pita pocket). Top with a tasty spread such as pesto, hummus or avocado, load up with leafy greens, canned tuna or leftover cooked meat, and fresh herbs. Add cheese or feta if you wish. See Wicked Wellbeing’s Toasted Kumara with Toppings recipe for more suggestions.
Browse our recipes for many more ideas including salads and healthy baking.
To get you started, try our Black Bean Nourish Bowl recipe. Enjoy!
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