As an admittedly self-proclaimed foodie and adventurous cook in the kitchen, food is my love language. And as a working mama, my lunch break is my daily escape. It is hard to reconcile these identities with most of my waking hours spent in my fluorescent lit cubicle. Additionally, now that my responsibilities at work continue to increase, I find myself spending more lunch breaks still working behind my desk. The last thing I want in front of me to eat during my “breaks” is a condensation-ridden turkey sandwich or wilted salad. My husband would be perfectly content to “just make sandwiches this week,” but I will always staunchly refuse to be taken hold by the sad desk lunch. Below are my three absolute favorite (husband-approved) work lunches that make repeat appearances in our lunchboxes.
Rainbow Detox Wraps
(from Pinch of Yum)
If you’re looking to meet your veggie quota but cannot commit to a vegetable in its purest form, I suggest this wrap. Stuffed with vegetables, curried hummus, and brown rice, this meal is as delicious as it is beautiful to look at, with a peanut dipping sauce to top it off. I even got my husband excited by adding a few slices of deli meat. I served ours with diced, spiced, and roasted sweet potatoes that I tossed in olive oil and about every warm spice I found in my cabinet and then cooked in a 450-degree oven.
Suggestions and notes: For the collard wrap, I rinsed and dried two large collard leaves, and ripped out the hard stem at the bottom. I laid the two leaves, overlapping, on a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment, filled, and wrapped using the foil or parchment to assist in a tight wrap. Use store-bought hummus if you don’t feel like making your own and buy bags of cabbage slaw for an easier prep.
Egg Roll in a Bowl (Whole30 approved!)
(from 40 Aprons)
With weight loss in mind, my husband and I completed a month of Whole30 (with several cheats thanks to a few glasses of wine). This was one of our favorite lunches – a deconstructed egg roll topped with a spicy sriracha mayo. This meal comes together in no more than 20 minutes. It is the quickest lunch I have ever thrown together and absolutely delicious.
Suggestions and notes: Buy two bags of cabbage slaw to stretch this out for more meals. If you’re on Whole30, I recommend this approved mayo recipe for the spicy mayo, but if that is not a concern, regular mayo will work perfectly. Whole30 folks, I did find coconut aminos in my local Public next to the liquid smoke near the barbeque sauce, but non-Whole30 eaters can use soy sauce.
Mediterranean Street Fries
(from Pinch of Yum)
When I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest, I was struck by how gorgeous it looked in the picture. I now put this together for lunch and receive envious stares from coworkers as I assemble it. A Mediterranean salad on top of sweet potato fries dressed with tzaziki, this meal looks and tastes like you spent $15 at a hip new restaurant, but you can take pride in knowing you made this yourself.
Suggestions and notes: It may take a lot of baggies or plastic containers, but this tastes best if the ingredients stay separate until you’re ready to eat. Store your sweet potatoes in the vessel you’ll be eating from and bag up everything else. Add a paper towel with your lettuce to ensure no wilting before lunch time.
