You eat at work every day and invariably need to bring your own meal… I imagine you sometimes run out of ideas.
Organization is key to eating balanced meals every day. And to avoid succumbing to the bakery’s panini accompanied by a chocolate fondant (we saw you!).
Tips for better organization
Try batch cooking
How about trying batch cooking? You may have already heard of this method of cooking most of your meals for the week in advance.
By using this concept for your cold lunches, you save valuable time while eating balanced meals. You can, for example, cook your vegetables in advance and store them in a glass jar.
You just need to add the day before or the same morning, rice, some seeds, cheese cubes and a vinaigrette to make a salad, ideal for transport.
You can also cook larger quantities in the evening to eat leftovers the next day at lunch. In such cases, think of meals that can be eaten cold the next day without too much trouble. I recommend quiches, vegetable stir-fries, buckwheat pancakes…
Consider lunch boxes and glass jars
To ensure your lunch is also a moment of pleasure, invest in an insulated lunch box. It’s perfect for keeping your meal until lunchtime and convenient for storing your cutlery.
You can also reuse glass jars which make perfect containers for mixed salads. However, note that if you have a canteen at work, some studies have shown the benefit of eating there for balanced meals.
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4 customizable salads
Salad is a classic cold lunch option for easy workplace dining. It reinvents itself according to the seasons.
While melon, mozzarella balls and cucumber are included in summer salads, in winter you can play with sweet potatoes, cabbages, and canned vegetables!
Whole Wheat Pasta Salad
Mix whole wheat pasta with fresh vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Add nuts or seeds, and a yogurt-lemon vinaigrette for a complete meal.
The seeds will provide Omega-3 and the whole wheat with vegetables will provide the essential fiber to last until the next meal.
Brown Rice Salad
After cooking your brown rice, mix it with grilled vegetables (eggplants, zucchinis, bell peppers, etc.), chorizo or turkey strips, nuts, fresh herbs, and a vinaigrette for a fiber-rich meal.
You can definitely use canned or frozen vegetables to keep variety all year round.
Thus, green beans, lentils, chickpeas, corn, and red beans are all foods to always keep canned in your cupboards.
Homemade Quinoa Bowl
Quinoa is a protein-rich pseudo-cereal that’s perfect for a cold meal. These grains are light and provide a new texture.
You can pair it with most foods! But I have a fondness for quinoa tabbouleh-style salads with lots of mint, parsley, cucumber, tomato, and a few raisins.
Bento Box
From Japanese culture, the bento embodies a desire for aestheticism and whets the appetite with the play of colors and textures of the presented foods. Hence, we will do everything in our bento box to maximize visual and taste pleasure.
You can roll an omelette, add avocado, a bit of sticky rice, zucchini noodles, and feta cubes, for example.
2 finger foods
Do you prefer meals without cutlery for more ease and speed? Here are a few cold meal ideas to eat with your fingers.
Cold Wraps
Fill tortillas with grilled vegetables, chicken pieces or turkey, shredded cheese. And prepare a light sauce for an easy-to-transport meal.
There are wheat or corn wraps. But you can also make them yourself by mixing 200g of white wheat flour, 250g of cooked butternut squash, 5g of baking powder, 5ml of olive oil, and 3g of salt. Your tortilla dough is ready and light.
Sandwiches Croque-Monsieur Style
Use whole grain bread or a good sourdough loaf, cheese, and slices of ham for a tasty sandwich.
Cold Soups
A refreshing and very healthy option for lunch! Gazpacho, for example, is a cold tomato soup.
You can also blend a cucumber, an avocado, or other vegetables with fresh herbs and olive oil. Keep it in mind!
One last tip! For your cold lunches, remember it’s probably one of the most anticipated meals of your day. You’ve likely had an intense morning and the afternoon can be long until dinner. So prioritize meals with fiber and protein to maintain your energy.
