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Trying to stay healthy and keep your food interesting can be exhausting! Shake things up with these 5 healthy recipes for lunch. Get excited about your meals and lose weight!
I swear by these 5 lunch staples. You’ll keep these in your rotation every week because they’re so delicious, quick, budget friendly, and easy to make.
You can use these recipes exactly or change them up depending on what you have in the house. Bringing starches and veggies to the focus of your plate will keep you full and happy all afternoon!
This post is all about 5 healthy food recipes for lunch you’ll love!
5 Ultimate Healthy Food Recipes for Lunch
1. Spring Rolls with Nut/Seed Butter Sauce
This is a great vegetarian lunch idea. You could add meat if you’d like but it will increase your caloric density. If you’re trying to lose weight, keeping it veggies and starch will keep your caloric density down.
Print Recipe
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Prep Time15 mins
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 4 rice rolls
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup cucumber julienne
- 1 cup baby spinach or other dark leafy greens
- 1 cup cooked rice or noodles
- 2 TBS Sunbutter or nut butter
- 2 TBS soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos
- 1 tsp sriracha or gochujang (optional if you like it spicy)
- 1 TBS rice wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 cup air fried tofu
Instructions
dip rice paper in warm water to soften
lay on a plate and pile ingredients in the center
roll up like a burrito - one side over then the sides toward the middle and roll
repeat until all rice rolls and ingredients are gone
make the sauce - add Sunbutter/nut butter, tamari/soysauce/coconut aminos, sriracha/gochujang, and vinegar in a bowl - whisk together - adjust based on your taste
slice your veggie rolls in half and enjoy!
To make this recipe fat-free or low fat, you can cut out the avocado or us PB2 powder in the sauce. I would also eat a salad on the side to bulk up the meal and cut the caloric density. Click caloric density to learn how to eat more and lose weight with little to no effort! This is an amazing and life-changing video!
Enjoy!
2. Burrito Bowl
This is a great healthy idea for weight loss! Just like the spring rolls, this meal is versatile and there are endless combinations based on what you have in the house. This is also an extremely budget friendly meal.
In a big beautiful bowl that makes you happy to eat out of, put your rice, starch and veggies over your greens. I love more salsa on top and hot sauce. Sometimes I also use a vegan sour cream if I have it. I try to stay away from these products but sometimes…you know…
You’ll Need:
- Rice – Brown or White – I usually use about 1 cup because I’m a hungry girl!
- Starch – I love a bean and corn salsa (I mix one can of black beans rinsed with an equal amount of frozen corn and about a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of salsa. I keep this in the fridge all week and put it on top of everything!) You could also use chili (I either always have the bean and corn thing or a red lentil chili in the fridge)
- Greens – I love spinach, romaine or cabbage
- Other non-starchy Veggies – My favorites are bell peppers and cucumbers
- Avocado (optional if you’re trying to lose weight – either use little or no avocado)
- Salsa
- Hot Sauce
Enjoy!
3. Buddah Bowl
This meal is versatile and delicious! Budget friendly, nutritious, and filling are things we all need in our lives! The image above has vegan dumplings in it. You don’t need this part. Its sooo good with just the veggies and rice, but the dumplings or potstickers are a nice bonus! You can find these in the produce section or a grocery store with the vegan meats and cheeses. There was also an amazing one at Costco in the frozen section. The sauce is what makes this meal not the dumplings.
You’ll Need:
- Brown Rice – I like 1 cup with no dumplings – 1/2 cup if you have potstickers or dumplings
- Asparagus, Broccoli, or Zucchini work best – Steam those babies up!
- Vegan Dumplings or Potstickers (not necessary) – I boil or steam them to warm them up
- Best Sauce Ever!:
- Any Seed or Nut butter – 1 TBS – We use Sunbutter in our house – PB2 powder is a low fat option for this sauce
- Soy Sauce, Tamari, Coconut Aminos – 2 TBS
- Sriracha (optional if you like some spice)
- Red Wine Vinegar – 1 tsp
4. No Tuna, Tuna Salad
I love love love Tuna and Egg Salads but now that I’m plant based I have found this amazing alternative. Plus you don’t smell like fish or an egg after you eat it. This is an awesome, cheap, healthy idea for work. This travels well and will have everyone at your school or office jealous of your lunch!
Print Recipe
No-Tuna Tuna Salad
Prep Time10 mins
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed
- 2 TBS vegan mayo
- 1 TBS mustard
- 1 TBS sweet relish
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
rinse chickpeas and put into a bowl
mash chickpeas until there are no whole ones left but before it becomes a paste
add mayo, mustart, relish, lemon, and salt and pepper
enjoy on a sandwich, wrap, or in a salad!
Enjoy on bread, with crackers (my favorite), or scoop it up with carrots, celery and cucumber slices to keep the caloric density down.
Enjoy!
5. Asian Noodle Soup
I saved the best for last!!!!! This is my current obsession and it will be yours too! You can eat this vegan plant based whole food lunch on the go or at home on a cold day. My two favorite noodle options are the Spicy Miso Soup from Trader Joes and Dr. MacDougals brand Miso Soup. I know cup of noodles are a no no because of the sodium but the Dr. MacDougals brand is low sodium. I also drink a lot of water and don’t eat this too much. If you’re going to try any of these lunch ideas…this is the one!!!
You’ll Need:
- 2 Cups of Instant Noodles – Trader Joes Instant Spicy Miso Soup, Dr. MacDougals Instant Miso Soup – Any cup of noodles you can find – You could do 1 but I’m a hungry girl and need 2
- Snow Peas, Carrots, Broccoli, Cabbage, Mushrooms – Any Veggies you have around
- 1 TBS Nut/Seed Butter – We use Sunbutter at my house because of a nut allergy
- Hot Sauce to taste
Put all ingredients except nut butter in a big bowl – add the flavor packets but not the oils if it comes with it. If you’re trying to lose weight, skip the oil and use less nut/seed butter (although it makes all the of the difference!) Fill the bowl with enough water to cover 1/2 the noodles. Microwave for 3 minutes. Mix and flip the noodle balls over and microwave another 3 minutes. Let sit for 2 minutes. You could probably add boiling water to the bowl and cover instead of using the microwave but I’ve never done it. Stir in the nut butter and hot sauce and enjoy!
If I was going to eat this at work, I would everything in a microwave safe glass Tupperware and just add the water right before I’m going to eat it.
6. Bonus Recipe! – Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas
These are so good! The filling is great in the quesadilla but also in salads or tacos – Sometimes I double the filling recipe and save it for other things for later in the week.
Print Recipe
Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla
Spicy and crunchy you love these quesadillas!
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Cuisine: American
Keyword: plant based, vegan
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 4 TBS Franks Hot Sauce any hot sauce you like
- 1 TBS minced garlic
- 1/4 cup scallions chopped
- 1 cup vegan cream cheese
- 6 large tortillas
- 1 spray non-stick cooking spray
- Guacamole - Optional Dipper
- Salsa - Optional Dipper
- Vegan Ranch - Optional Dipper
Instructions
Saute the onions and garlic in the frying pan with the vegetable stock - just use enough so they don't burn. You may need to add more liquid as you go.
Roughly mash the chickpeas in a bowl until there are no whole ones left and add to the frying pan.
Add scallions and hot sauce mixture and let the mix simmer for about 3 - 5 minutes until everything is mixed and soft. Transfer the mixture to the bowl you mashed the chickpeas in. (don't want to dirty anything else!)
Wipe out frying pan with a towel and put over medium heat and lightly spray with cooking spray.
Lay one tortilla down on a cutting board and spread 1/3 of the creamcheese on it evenly. Add 1/3 of the chickpea mixture on top of the cream cheese evenly. Then top with another tortilla. Gently slide into the frying pan.
Let this cook until it is crispy and brown on each side - about 3-4 minutes.
Repeat with tortillas and chickpea mixture until it is gone.
Cut quesadilla rounds into 6 sections.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
This post was about the 5 Delicious Healthy Food Recipes for Lunch
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