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Healthy Yummy Office Lunch Recipes:
3 Recipes to Make Your Office Lunches into A Highly Treasured Delicious Event!
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Yes, it comes around every work day at the office – lunchtime.
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And your interest in food couldn’t be lower – what with that same old boring plastic-tasting slim cuisine meal thingy sitting in the break-room freezer? It’s really hardly enticing enough to make you even want to get up from your chair
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Yep! You’re bored, bored to tears and feeling so deprived, so tired of the same old tasteless, soul-less food.
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However, whatever, your routine stays the same, regardless.
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I’ll ask you a challenging question here:
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What if, instead of…
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* just grabbing a cup of powdered chemical soup or
* another just-add-hot-water noodles in a plastic pot, or yet
* another fast food burger take-away with the extra fries chock-full with hydrogenated oils …and saccharine-loaded soda/soft drink,
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your lunch at the office becomes a mid-day feast and reward ~ a yummy, delicious meal that also re-energises you for the rest of the work day?
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I’m sure your answer would be a resounding “YES, PLEASE!!!!!”.
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Well, it’s easier that you think. You’ll just have to trust me on this.
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You just have to consider a whole upgrading make-over of your lunch hour into a delicious, tasty event. Design it so that it’s something, a reward, for you to look forward to in your busy, hectic and probably over-scheduled working day.
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With just a little effort, planning and prepping the night before, you can take these scrumptious reward treats on your commute to the office.
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Before we continue, do check out this detox using delicious foods from your kitchen. It’s a fab diet that’ll just tie in with these delicious office meals that you’re learning to prepare. You’ll be pepped-up and raring to go!
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The 3 Scrumptious, Healthy Yummy Office Lunch Recipes
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Recipe 1
Oriental Noodles with Teriyaki Tofu
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We all love oriental food. Well, if you don’t, after tasting this recipe, you’ll have changed your mind!
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Here, I’ve given the humble tofu an upgrade from healthy to healthy AND hearty in this Japanese-style teriyaki dish that includes mouth-watering crunchy stir-fried veggies as a delicious, nutritive bonus.
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After just one (even mini) mouthful, you’ll never again be tempted by the seduction of the Asian buffet with its loaded MSG promises of imitation flavours.
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ORIENTAL NOODLES WITH TERIYAKI TOFU
Ingredients for The Main Dish
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* 8 oz. package whole wheat Soba noodles (or rice noodles or egg noodles)
* 6 oz. tofu, drained and cubed
* 2 medium carrots, shredded
* 1/2 napa cabbage, shredded
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup scallion, sliced
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 2 Tbsp. cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
* raw, unprocessed sea salt to taste
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Ingredients for The Marinade
* 1/2 cup light soy sauce
* 3 tabsp. rice wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup filtered water
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tesp. ginger, minced
* 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (optional)
* 1/2 tsp. sesame oil and veg oil
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
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Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Prepare your choice of noodles by following the instructions on the package. Drain the noodles and plunge them into a bowl of cold water.
(The cold water stops the cooking so your noodles will still retain a ‘bite’ in them and not become soft and mushy. It also washes out the starch clinging to the noodles.)
Put aside.
3. Wrap the tofu block with a few layers of kitchen paper towel. Put the wrapped tofu block on a cookie sheet. Put a cutting board on top of this tofu block, then weigh down the cutting board with something heavy like canned food. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the water from the tofu block.
4. Unwrap the tofu block, then slice the tofu into bite-sized cubes. Sprinkle lightly with the sea salt.
5. Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a medium bowl. Mix together well, ensuring that the sugar is dissolved.
6. Add the cubed tofu to the marinade mixture and mix together thoroughly. Leave to marinade for 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
7. Remove the marinaded tofu from marinade mixture. Keep the remaining marinade for later.
8. Bake the marinaded tofu at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes turning the cubes occasionally, until they turn golden brown.
9. Sauté the diced onion in olive oil for about 5 to 7 minutes or until they are translucent.
10. Add the shredded carrots and cook until tender.
11. Add the shredded cabbage, garlic and remaining marinade. Cook for 5 minutes.
12. Add the noodles and cooked tofu.
13. Pack the cooked dish in a reusable to-go container.
14. For your office lunch, add a cloth napkin and a pair of chopsticks from a previous time you ordered a take-away.
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Recipe 2
Delightful Ham and Cranberry Wrap
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I’m certain that not a single person can resist the rich, gourmet taste and feel of this smoky, tangy easy-to-make wrap.
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Take a bite and you have the crunchiness of the apple and the zing of the dressing both of which highlight the wholesome, earthy rich flavors of the ham and cheese.
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Serve with a mixed green salad (see previous newsletter for a richer green salad recipe) on the side while warming up the prepared wrap in a toaster oven for that extra oh-so-goodness nutrition!
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DELIGHTFUL HAM AND CRANBERRY WRAP
Ingredients for the Wrap
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* 2 large spinach tortillas
* 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
* 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
* 5 oz smoked ham, thinly sliced
* 1 oz. smoked gouda, sliced
* 1/3 of a medium apple, thinly sliced
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Ingredients for the side Mixed Greens
* 1/3 cup mixed greens
* 1 tsp. honey Dijon dressing
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Method
1. Make the wrap by assembling the ingredients (for the wrap) in the order they are listed in the ingredients list above.
2. In the center of the tortilla, keep the cheese and the apple slices in a long row.
3. Fold the bottom half of the tortilla over the 2 layers of cheese and apple slices. Roll over once.
4. Fold in the sides of the tortilla toward the center. Roll upward toward the top of the tortilla skin.
5. Cut the finished wrap in 2.
6. Make the second wrap in the same manner.
7. Pack the finished wraps in an air-tight lunch container.
8. Put the honey Dijon dressing in a mini jar. In a separate smaller air-tight lunch container, put in the mixed greens.
9. When you are ready to eat your lunch at the office, mix the salad greens with the honey Dijon dressing and put on one side of your lunch plate. On the other side of the plate, put your 2 portions of Delightful Ham and Cranberry Wrap.
10. Bon Appetit! Enjoy!
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Recipe 3
Scrumptious Quinoa and Corn Salad
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In this south-of-the-border salad recipe, you’ll have plenty of protein to nourish you and keep you bright-eyed and alert.
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There’s a slight hint of heat from the spices to liven up the quinoa (which can be a bit tasteless on its own). The addition of avocado feeds our brain with those oh-so-good fats to keep it functioning at optimal level.
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Then for fun and crunch, use the tortilla chips as a scoop for the salad. Just bear in mind that there are about 150 calories in one serving of 10 tortilla chips. This won’t break your healthy meal, but don’t over do these delicious chips.
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SCRUMPTIOUS QUINOA AND CORN SALAD
Ingredients for The Salad
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* 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
* 1 cup cooked chicken breast, sliced
* 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
* 1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced (or whatever chili you find in your local supermarket)
* 1/4 cup chopped coriander
* 3 scallions, sliced
* Raw, unprocessed sea salt to taste
* 1 ripe avocado, sliced
* 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1 medium head romaine, washed
* 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
* 1/2 lime, wedged
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Ingredients for The Dressing
* 1 tsp. ground cumin
* 1 tsp. chili powder
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1/2 cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
* 1/4 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
* Raw, unprocessed sea salt to taste
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Method
1. In a medium saucepan, bring to the boil 3 cups of water. Put in the quinoa grains, add a pinch of salt and stir. Let the quinoa simmer, then cover the the saucepan and cook for about 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Turn off the heat.
2. Stir the corn into the cooked quinoa. Then put the mixture, spread out, on a baking sheet to cool for approximately 20 minutes.
3. Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Put aside.
4. In a large salad bowl, put the now cooled quinoa-corn mixture together. Add to the bowl the chicken, scallions, coriander and jalapeno. Add 1/2 cup of the earlier prepared dressing. Add salt to taste. Mix everything together well.
5. In a deep covered salad container, arrange the romaine leaves around the side. Put the quinoa mixture in the centre. Then add the avocado, tomato and lime wedges on top of the quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds.
6. Bon appetit! Enjoy!
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Download a copy of the Recipes
Click here
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All 3 recipes are really easy to prepare and pack up the night before for your office lunch the following day. They are designed to travel well during your commute to the office.
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Just include a cloth napkin and reusable bamboo utensils to your lunch bag and you score extra brownie points for being eco-friendly!
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To be perfectly honest, there are simply those days when we just can’t make it all the way to lunchtime without the gnawing pang of peckishness. (Leave the hunger pangs for your lunchtime treat you prepare the previous night!)
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In a few days’ time, I promise you another treat ~ Yummy, Scrumptious, Healthy Office Snacks.
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Because you’ll be so much happier and healthier, your boss will be so delighted with your outstanding performance at work that you could well be in for a promotion or a pay rise!
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If you have not already read my book
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‘The Sweet Poison ~ SUGAR IS A KILLER ~
How to Quit It FOR GOOD’
You can grab your copy now.
Click here
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Your health is your most important asset. Go read the book now.
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