We’ve all gotten to that point in the middle of the day when you are famished but realize that you didn’t pack a lunch!  For teachers that this means that you likely won’t eat until the school day is over because, let’s be honest, who has time to leave the building during your 20 minutes of free time.   Maybe, by a chance of luck, you have a prep period and can scurry over to the corner store and grab a burrito. This, however, can’t become a habit for reasons only understood by your waistline and wallet.

In order to ensure I avoid the horrors above I’ve been making a concerted effort over the last few months to prepare lunches for myself for the week.  This is no easy task. A good make-ahead lunch must meet several key requirements. It must contain food that can last several days in in the fridge. The dish must pack smoothly into Tupperware for ease of transport.  And, the dish can’t take an inordinate amount of time to prepare, because you are likely also cooking yourself dinner at the same time. While lunch prep does add an extra layer to grocery shopping and one extra Sunday chore, it then gives me more time during the week to say yes to this adorable guy’s requests for snuggles. Who can resist that.

And so, after months of experimenting with my own lunchbox, and after several conversations with good friends, I’ve decided to house all of my lunch ideas onto one new tab here on the blog – The Lunchbox!

The lunches posted here are all meals that I’ve made on sunday evening and stored for the week ahead. Some require a bit more prep than others but overall these are flavorful, filling lunch wins.  This tab is a work in progress at the moment, but I’m looking forward to adding more new lunch creations this fall. For now I’m happy to share a few grain bowls, some cold soba noodles, and a curried chicken salad (which drastically needs a photo update – stay tuned on that one).  

For lunch this week I had plans to make a classic chicken salad which I would then turn into salad wraps at work. I boiled the chicken, let it cool, and smothered it with Greek yogurt, salt and pepper, and then realized that I had no mustard. Argh! But, I foraged around my kitchen and found green onions, fresh parsley from the garden, celery, and several tablespoons of pickle juice which came together beautifully!  I filled up my tupperware with mixed greens and some shaved carrots along with a rolled up piece of lavash bread. I was so pleased mid-day with this smooth, light and refreshing veggie filled salad wrap and I’m looking forward to eating it all week.

What are your favorite meal prep lunches? Anything I should add to my lunchbox?

Green Chicken Salad

• Servings: 3-4
• Time: 15 prep + 15 cook = 30 mins
• Print

Meal prep saves the day once again with this healthy no-mustard green chicken salad filled with veggies and some herbs!

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 7oz cup of Greek yogurt – 5%
• 3-4 Tablespoons of pickle juice (I used bread & butter)
• 2 full rounds of red onion – sliced into slivers
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 green onions
• 1 Tablespoon of chopped parsley
• Paprika
• Salt and pepper

 

• Mixed greens
• Shaved carrots
• Lavash bread

Steps & Notes

1. Boil the whole chicken breast for 14 – 15 minutes. Then, cut open at the thickest spot and if pink re-boil for a few minutes.
2. Cut the chicken into good sized cubes and add to a bowl.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and some paprika and let cool
4. Once the chicken has slightly cooled add the greek yogurt.
5. Then stir in the pickle juice, parsley, green onions, celery, and red onion.
6. Add more paprika, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust.
7. Fill each container with mixed greens, shaved carrots, and a rolled up lavash bread.