Do you focus on keeping fit and eating well? Well, then, you need to go through the energy boosting and wholesome, healthy lunch recipes. Such a lunch is necessary for beating your afternoon slump, and keeping you upbeat and energized, throughout the noon, until the time of dinner. If you are bored with the soggy sandwiches, same soups, and salads, this is how you can introduce new twists and turns.
White bean sandwich with mozzarella
For making this sandwich, you need rinsed beans, bell pepper cut and cubed vinegar, olive oil, and bread. You also need sliced cheese, basil leaves and arugula for layering the bread. Beans have to be coated in the marinade made out of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (two tablespoons are necessary). Toss the marinated vegetable on a grill pan sprayed with oil. Layer the bread slices with cheese slice, basil, and arugula leaf. After that, fill another slice meant for sandwiching with the cooked marinated mixture.
Tortillas wrapped with cheese tomatoes and grilled chicken
You need not be too innovative to thrash out healthy lunch recipes. It all boils down to bringing variations. This is how you can add a new twist to the whole wheat made tortillas. For making this dish based on tortillas, you need chicken breasts of half inch thickness, pesto sauce, cheese slices of your choice and tomatoes. You can use minced tomatoes which have been dried in the sun. Cooked and seasoned chicken breasts have to be dipped in pesto sauce. The prepared chicken together with tomato and cheese slices then can be used for filling.
Calorie optimizing chicken fingers
For this, you need thin strips of chicken. Each of the strips has to be dipped in the mixture consisting of honey, egg and mustard sauce. Before placing the prepared strips in the oven, you have to line then with crumbled corn flakes. The baking process should continue for twelve minutes, but make sure that the oven undergoes preheating. With the temperature level of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, you will get golden and crispy chicken fingers.
Coconut stew with black Channa
You will have plenty of options to bank on if you are looking for the healthy lunch recipes. You may prefer the options that are light and easy to make, instead of those which involve a long, laborious process. In that case, you can opt for the quick fix consisting of black channa (a variety of Indian bean) and delicate vegetables. For preparing, you need coconut milk, diced vegetables (including gourd, zucchini and eggplant) and soaked beans. Soaked and pressure cooked beans have to be added to sautéed vegetable, along with the stock. You can enrich the stock with coconut milk.
Salad with whole grains
Apart from whole grains which give rise to a nutty taste, you can also enrich the platter with the fresh flavorful vegetables such as tomato, carrot, onion and cucumber. The grain salad can be customized according to your preference. For instance, you can use leftover chicken shreds. Garnish it with herbs. The easiest option is to use coriander. Sprinkle a few drops of lime juice on the ready mixture that is nourishing, fulfilling and calorie optimizing.
The soup from Italy
You may be wondering if a bowl of soup would serve as a complete meal. But this soup which hails from Italy is not only nutritious but is a complete food, by itself. For preparing, you need vegetables such as celery, cabbage, zucchini, carrots and potato. You are free to use beans, as well. The trick lies in combining the sautéed vegetable with pasta and vegetable stock. Instead, of pasta, you can choose a packet of noodles. You can garnish the soup before serving with dried herbs or coriander.
Oats dosa served with curry and chutney
Dosa happens to be a culinary specialty of South India. For making this dish, you need to soak oats in sufficient water, at least for five to ten minutes. After that, you have to grind the soaked oats with yogurt, in a food processor. The batter should have a nice flavor. So, you can enrich it with grated ginger, chopped onions, a few fenugreek and cumin seeds. For making the pancake or dosa, you have to spray a nonstick pan with oil. You can stuff the dosas with potato curry, and serve them hot with chutney.
Vegetable paratha with coriander chutney
You can use any vegetable ranging from broccoli to spinach and fenugreek leaves. While kneading the dough, you have to add the vegetable that has been ground into the paste. For instance, if you are using broccoli or cauliflower, steam the florets and have them ground. Then, add the ground paste to the dough along with minced onion, salt and grated ginger. Serve the fried parathas along with coriander chutney.
An easy task
Cooking lunch ceases to become a tough and tiring task if you choose one of these healthy lunch recipes. The ingredients are readily available. Above all, you don’t lose out on the quotient of nourishment as each of the lunchbox ideas has a fair share of protein, mineral, and vitamins.
