6 healthy and delicious lunch ideas

Some days a tuna salad in the lunchroom just doesn’t cut it. But when you’re time poor in the mornings, an exciting home-made lunch doesn’t seem like an option until the weekend rolls around, right? So wrong! Accredited Practising Dietitian Jenna Obeid shares her quick and nutritious lunch ideas to keep your favourite part of the workday fresh, healthy and interesting.

1. Salad stack

Using a jar, stack your salad ingredients in a way that you can prepare the night before and still have a crisp and refreshing salad to eat the following day. Start by placing the wet ingredients such as salad dressing at the bottom of the jar, and stack your ingredients upward. Top with those foods that tend to go soggy quickly, such as salad leaves, cucumber or carrots so that they remain dry in the jar. Place the lid on and then when it comes times to serving, tip all the ingredients out into a serving bowl. And a bonus – you don’t even need to toss the salad!

2. Turkey and cranberry roll

Enjoy a café-style roll for a quarter of the price. Put together a wholegrain bread roll with two slices of turkey, mixed green leaves, cheddar cheese and a layer of cranberry jam on one half of the roll. Quick, simple and stays in the fridge if prepared the night before.

3. Antipasto platter

Pack into a container sectioned off bunches of foods that are sitting in the fridge and waiting to be eaten. Try sliced vegetables such as carrot sticks and cucumber, two lettuce cups, a couple of olives, sliced meat or a boiled egg, a bocconcini ball and a few wholegrain crackers for a great mixture of food groups and nutrients to fill you up in the middle of the day.

4. Falafel wrap

Spread hummus onto a wholemeal wrap and top with shredded lettuce, sliced cucumber, fresh tomato and three cooked falafels. Wrap up and enjoy this Mediterranean-inspired lunch without the added kilojoules and costs associated with a purchased meal.

5. Don’t forget the leftovers

When all other options fail, make enough dinner the night before to pack some leftovers. As soon as your dinner is cooked, ensure you separate out two portions – one in a plate for you to eat then and there, the other half in an airtight container for you to store for lunch the next day.