Lunch Ideas...

I've been asked to give some ideas for lunch recipes.  I typically am a HUGE salad kinda gal, but there are occasions when I make something other than that, or I have to pack our lunch and a salad is not convenient.

Here are a few ideas I have used in the past:

1.  I LOVE French Meadow's Hemp Seed Bagels.  These babies are LOADED with protein and fiber which will ensure you stay full for a LONG TIME!!!  I usually add some almond butter and natural Strawberry jelly for a filling and tasty sandwich!  If Almond butter/jelly isn't your thing, you could always add some fresh avocado, tomato, onion, lettuce to make a delish veggie sandwich.  And if you're a meat eater...add some turkey!

2.  We also eat a lot of left overs from dinner (so be sure to make extra!!!).  One of the dishes that comes to mind is brown rice and black beans.  I always add chopped onion and a bit of vinegar to my black beans.  Could even throw some salsa over the top, and chicken too.  Grill a bunch of chicken at the beginning of the week, chop it up, and it's ready to go!  

3.  One of my boy's favorites are chicken quesadillas.  These are super easy to make and store very nicely so you can make up a bunch and eat on them all week! :)  Chop up raw chicken, pour into saute pan with a bottle of salsa.  Cook completely.  Take Whole Wheat tortillas and fill half with chicken mixture and a bit of mozzerella cheese, fold other side of tortilla over on itself.  Heat quesadilla on skillet.  

4.  Taco salad:  Buy whole wheat tortillas and cup them up into chip sized pieces.  Place on baking sheet and cook on 375 degrees until chips are toasty!  Build your taco salad with ground turkey meat that was sauteed and some taco seasoning thrown in there.  Add lots of lettuce and as many fresh veggies as you like!  Salsa too.  Enjoy with the tortilla chips!

5.  Hummus wraps!  I'm also a big fan of hummus...so I'll often eat a whole wheat tortilla wrap with hummus, cucumbers and bellpeppers together.  Or I'll add some hummus with tabouli.  Hummus is pretty much good on EVERYTHING in my opinion! ;)  My favorite is the Sabra brand!  Can be found at most grocery stores!!!

6.  Speaking of wraps...there are occasions when I want something extra delish, even feels naughty :) and I'll use a whole wheat wrap, almond butter and banana.... now THAT's good!!!

I think the main thing when trying to figure out how to eat more whole foods in your diet is to begin by ADDING, not taking away.  Just start adding more fresh vegetables (salads, veggies dipped in hummus, etc..) and more fresh fruits to your diet.  Then take a look at the things you truly love eating and figure out the way you can eat them without being processed with a bunch of names you cannot pronounce on the box!  You'll find that the more you feed your body all the nutrients that it needs, your hunger mechanism will not go off as often and your body will start to crave these better foods.

Yes...it does take work.  It's definitely not as easy as cracking open a box and throwing some nuggets in the microwave.  But at the same time it doesn't have to be complicated.  More of your whole foods are used during dinner time, when everyone is gathered around the family table....just start getting in the habit of making more food and eating some of it as leftovers.  And try to throw in a salad at each meal too.  If you have a large salad at lunchtime, then at dinner just make a side salad.  Or if you forgo the salad at lunch then have one on the side and eat a larger portion of salad at dinner.  It's the raw vegetables that will energize your body and help with digestion because they contain live enzymes that haven't been killed during the cooking process.

I'd love to hear from you all...do you have any healthy lunch recipes that others would really enjoy hearing about???  Please do share!