Over half of millennials skip their lunch break to get ahead.
However, no matter what generation you’re from, skipping lunch is a sure-fire way to set yourself back in the long run. When you don’t give your body and mind the fuel it needs to thrive, your productivity and well-being suffer.
Whereas, when you take the time to infuse your life with health-conscious foods, you can experience energy levels like never before! Instead of sticking with a boring salad, let us show you how to branch out with exciting, and wholesome, snack ideas.
What should you be eating to get ahead? Read on to find out!
Pack a Lunch Smoothie
Are you somebody who’s always on the go and barely gets a chance to eat their lunch? If yes, then you have to learn how to pack a protein-filled lunch smoothie. Lunch smoothies can be a great opportunity to infuse your day with health and nutrients, while also giving yourself a tasty treat.
Here are some of the best ingredients:
- Greek yogurt
- Coconut water
- Mixed fruit
- Kale
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
On its own, kale can be bitter and unappealing. But when you blend it with your smoothie, you won’t even notice the taste. Your body, however, will notice the wonderful nutrients that kale provides.
If you want to make your smoothie extra tasty and protein-filled, then add in a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter. If you’re trying to cut down on oils, then you can always add powdered peanut butter.
Eating Leafy Greens
Blending kale into a smoothie is one way to bring leafy greens to your lunch, but it’s not the only one! That’s why, next, on our list of snack ideas we have kale chips. You can also make kale chips the day before, and have them ready to go for your next day’s lunch. Kale chips are incredibly easy to make, and to start all you’ll need is a head of kale.
After washing the kale, pull it apart into 3-in strips. Put all of the kale in a bowl and lightly cover it with olive oil and sprinkle in salt and pepper. Toss the kale with the oil and seasonings until each leaf is coated. Next, take a strip of wax paper and put it down on a baking sheet.
Place the kale sections on the baking sheet, and preheat your oven to 420°. When the oven is ready, put the kale chips in for 10 to 15 minutes, checking on them periodically.
Once you notice the kale is beginning to brown and crisp up, you can pull it out of the oven. Let the kale chips cool for about half an hour before eating them. Are you looking to add in leafy greens other than kale? Then you should make a spinach and romaine lettuce bag blend. Finally, make a main dish like soup dumplings to fully satisfy your mid-day hunger.
Spinach and Romaine Lettuce Trail Mix
Instead of going with the traditional trail mix that’s filled with fatty peanuts and chocolate, you can make a green-infused trail mix. A green-infused trail mix can include a blend of spinach, romaine lettuce, and healthy nuts. Peanuts are a great way to get protein, but they’re not the healthiest nut option.
Instead, you can sprinkle in almonds, pecans, and walnuts to make your trail mix a recipe for energy. You’ve probably never thought of eating spinach or lettuce in anything other than a salad. However, when you start to eat leafy greens as if their potato chips or snack foods, your entire diet will change.
The way you look at food will shift, and suddenly all of those things you thought belongs in a salad bowl can be packed in a convenient on-the-go method. Another great example of this is to create fruit bites.
Make Portable Fruit Bites
When it comes to nutrition, we all know an apple a day will keep the doctor away, but sometimes committing to a whole apple is just too much. Perhaps you’re in between meetings, and you just want something quick to eat. When you’re not looking to sit down with a fruity snack, fruit bites can be the perfect solution. Here are some of the best fruits to put together for a fruit bite pouch:
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Apples
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Pears
First, you’ll need to thoroughly wash all of your fruit. Next, dry the fruit as well as you can. The drier you can get the fruit the better. If you let the fruit stay wet, the colors can bleed, making your convenient snack messy. Next, cut off the green part of the strawberries.
Are you using apples? Then cut the apple into slices, being sure to get rid of the core. The idea behind fruit bites is to choose fruits that aren’t going to mush together. That’s why you’ll notice our list above doesn’t include fruits like mangoes or bananas that are prone to mushing.
Instead, you want fruits that can pretty much maintain their shape, as you go throughout the day. that way, when you want to bite, you won’t even need a fork. Simply put your hand in the fruit bag, pick out a tasty bait, and go about your day.
Quinoa and Wild Rice Lunch Snacks
So far, we’ve been talking about different fruits and vegetables that you can add to your diet. However, fruits and veggies are just the beginning. You also have to feed your body grains and legumes, such as quinoa and wild rice. When you’re in a rush, quinoa can be the perfect quick snack to cook up.
Whether you’re going with red or white quinoa, it only takes about 15 minutes to make a pot. After making a pot of quinoa, we suggest throwing in a few of your favorite vegetables. For instance, cut-up zucchini, or bits of carrot can help turn your playing quinoa into a tasty dish.
Wild rice, on the other hand, is going to take a little bit longer to cook. Plan on cooking your wild rice the night before making your lunch. On average, you can expect to take about 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook a full pot of wild rice. A wild rice bowl mixed with black beans and onion is sure to make your taste buds and body happy.
Embrace New Snack Ideas
As you can see, there’s a ton of different ways you can create a balanced diet with snack ideas. Packing a health-conscious lunch only takes a little bit of preparation. Go ahead and pick two meal ideas from this article, and start preparing them for your lunch tomorrow.
To make your lunch exciting, be brave and try something you’ve never tried before, like kale chips. For more tips like the advice in this article, check out the rest of our site.
