7 Ways to Reset Your Lunch Game
Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
If one of your 2018 resolutions is to pack your lunch more often (or make better lunches — or, heck, eat lunch at all!), start here. These easy ideas prove that “make-ahead” doesn’t always mean “sandwich,” and that “nutritious” doesn’t have to mean “carrot sticks.”
It only takes five minutes of night-before prep to be the envy of your office at lunch the next day. Rice, corn, peas, shrimp and chorizo just need a little hot water to turn into a warm dish at your desk. (Be a nice cubemate and give your work friends the recipe.)
Stephen Johnson, 2015, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
“Level up lunch layering” seems like a perfectly reasonable New Year’s resolution to us, and jarred salads demonstrate why it’s a potent skill to have. With heavier ingredients on the bottom (like this salad’s beets) and wet ingredients separated from drier ones, you can prepare lunch ahead of time — and not be stuck with a wilted, soggy meal the next day.
Go meatless all week with Ellie Krieger’s Mediterranean-inspired wraps. Grilled zucchini, red pepper and spinach pack a nutritious (and delicious!) punch.
Matt Armendariz, 2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.
Another one of Food Network Kitchen’s brilliant “just-add-water” meals, this soup tastes just like your favorite take-out side dish — plus a little extra protein.
Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
Ina Garten’s hearty, veggie-stuffed recipe makes a super-sized batch of soup. Spend a couple hours cooking on Sunday (your stovetop does most of the work) and you’ll fill your fridge with eight servings, ready to be scooped into grab-and-go lunch containers.
Food Network Kitchen developed this recipe with kids in mind (quinoa is a palate-pleasing way to introduce them to whole grains). But adults will love the savory flavors, bright veggies and easy construction too. Whip up four servings in just 35 minutes and portion them into individual containers — the salad will keep for three days in the fridge.
Ellie’s texture-packed salad (thanks to tart dried cherries, toasted walnuts and crisp celery) could never be classified as a sad-desk lunch. Sturdy, chewy wheat berries won’t flatten under the recipe’s easy olive oil and lemon dressing, so you can make it once and enjoy it all week.
Tara Donne