Once upon a time I ate a sandwich for lunch every single day. And of course chips and fruit because those seemed to be the 3 food groups for lunches. It may sound a little boring, but c’mon – I had variety. Some days were PBJ and some were turkey and cheese. I still love a classic PBJ, but nowadays I eat a little differently. Actually, most weeks my sweet husband makes food for our lunches. He grills chicken breasts or pork loin or some other meat and veggies on Sunday afternoon, and we eat it throughout the week. If we don’t have that, then I am usually rummaging through the refrigerator trying to decide what to have for lunch that is relatively healthy and can be thrown together in a couple minutes. There are thousands of ideas for what to pack in kids’ lunches {here, here, and here for example}, but not as many ideas for moms. So I asked around to get some ideas and came up with a list to share.
1. Salad
This is probably my favorite. Salads can get really fancy and time consuming, but I am talking about keeping it simple. Start with fresh greens or a bagged salad mix and add a few toppings. I like to add grilled chicken on mine {if my husband already made it} or rotisserie chicken from the store. I also love cherry tomatoes {no chopping required}, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, avocado, and fruit.
2. Tacos
You might have to make these ahead of time, but they are so easy. Add taco seasoning to ground turkey, beef, shredded chicken, or even baked chickpeas tossed in EVOO. You can skip the tortilla and eat it in a bowl or make a lettuce wrap. Add shredded cheese, black beans, avocado, or salsa. Yum.
3. Odds & Ends
Sometimes you don’t even have time to sit down with a plate of food that involves a main course. You might be munching on whatever you can find while making lunches for the little ones, cleaning up spills, and changing diapers. Mix and match some of these foods for a delicious and healthy lunch.
hummus & cucumber | banana & peanut butter | hard-boiled egg | almonds
fresh fruit {watermelon is delish right now!} | deli meat rolled up with cheese
guacamole & whole grain chips {HEB has amazing fresh guac}
4. Chicken Salad
I love traditional chicken salad with mayo, grapes, and almonds, and also mayo-less chicken salad with avocado. Start with rotisserie chicken or cook chicken in a crock pot until it basically falls apart {so easy!}. Then add mashed avocado, salt & pepper, lemon or lime juice, and anything else you like {grapes, chopped apples, chopped onion, cilantro, nuts…}.
5. Smoothie
I know some mamas do smoothies for lunch every day – especially smoothies with added protein or greens. Check out these delicious summer smoothie recipes for inspiration.
6. Amy’s Burrito
Because let’s face it, sometimes all you can handle is pulling something out of the freezer and microwaving it. This little burrito came recommended by several of our contributors!
7. Breakfast Scramble
I could eat breakfast for every meal. For a quick lunch, saute onions and bell peppers {you can buy the frozen onion/pepper mix so you don’t have to chop}, then drop in a couple eggs or egg whites and scramble it up. I also love Applegate brand chicken and apple breakfast sausage because of their very few ingredients.
8. Good Ole Sammie
Sometimes you just need to add a little something different to your sandwich to make it seem exciting. Toast your bread, make it a wrap, add spinach or sprouts, spread hummus or avocado on it, add bacon {maybe not the healthiest – but yummy}, melt the cheese, change it up!
Now let’s add to this list…what do you eat for lunch?
