Bringing lunch to work doesn’t need to be monotonous. In the past months, I have worked hard to come up with some ways to keep it fresh. For me, this means having a fridge at work and home, stocked with some essentials.
At Home
- Your favorite bread/Whole wheat sandwich thins (these taste better toasted, if you can, at work)
- Fresh organic baby spinach
- Black beans
- Dried cranberries
- Slivered almonds
- Homemade olive tapenade*
- Cucumber
- Organic loose carrots (a little more expensive, but they taste way better)
- Shelled Pistachios
At Work
- Maple Grove Fat Free Balsamic Dressing (there’s no oil in this, making it a great healthy addition to any sandwich or salad)
- Dijonnaise (I LOVE this stuff and use it even to make my tuna)
- Frozen Berries (a quick sweet midday snack and easy to store in the freezer at work)
With these, here are some possibilities that require buying one more ingredient (bolded), and can be assembled at work
- Turkey, Tapenade & Spinach Sandwich – Sandwich thin, toasted: (Side A) 3/4 tsp. tapenade + turkey** (Side B) 1 plastic spoon of dressing, same amount dijonnaise + 1/2 cup baby spinach
- Pistachio Spinach Salad – 1 – 2 cups baby spinach, 1/4 cup pre-chopped carrots, 1/2 cup pre-chopped cucumber, 10-15 pre-chopped pistachios, 2 tsp. dried cranberries, 1/3 cup shredded red cabbage, and 2 tbsp. dressing
- Black Bean Spinach Salad – 1-2 cups baby spinach, 1/2 cup pre-cooked black beans, 2 tsp. dried cranberries, 1 tsp. almonds, 2 tsp. crumbled gorgonzola or feta, and 2 tbsp. dressing
What are your lunch go-to’s?
Turkey, Tapenade & Spinach Sandwich
*Olive Tapenade recipe is first four ingredients, and first step here
**I prefer Boar’s Head Low Sodium Turkey (for some reason having them slice it thin, improves the taste)
Sounds great, Carolyn! I’m going to take this sandwich to work next week.