I am pretty lucky to work from home and to have it pretty easy for lunch. Often I go out to a little cafe just to get out of the house. However, if I have a good option at home, I do like staying in and being extra productive. Louisa is here today sharing great ideas for things to have on hand for lunches!
5 Packed Lunch Ideas for a Full Week of Lunches
Guest post by Louisa from Living Lou
I try really hard to bring my lunch to work every day. It’s tough, but honestly spending $20 a day on a lunch that isn’t going to be that good is just not something that I really want to be doing.
When I cook, I often cook with leftovers and lunch in mind, but I have a few recipes up my sleeve that I’ll make on a Sunday or Monday so I’m not stressing about packing a lunch this week. Here are five of my tried and true lunch favorites.
1. Pasta salad or grain salad
I’ll often make a big batch of lemony herbed pasta salad, quinoa sweet potato salad or farro salad because they are sturdy salads which means they’ll hold up in the fridge for the full week. I’ll be sure to pack some kind of hummus or chicken on the side as well so that I stay full all afternoon.
2. Sandwiches
There’s a reason why sandwiches are a go-to dish for lunches. I’ll often make a big batch of tuna salad or egg salad with bacon and avocado on the weekend and assemble sandwiches throughout the week (also makes a great snack for when you’re hangry after work!).
3. Soup
We always make a soup on a Sunday as something to have in the fridge to snack on throughout the week, and when I don’t have any leftovers or anything else prepped, I’ll fill up a thermos with a hearty soup for lunch. The key is to make sure that it’s something filling like six vegetable white bean soup or Moroccan vegetable soup.
4. Quick stir fry
I started making a quick stir fry at least one night a week and the leftovers make the perfect packed lunch. Asparagus and tofu stir fry for my veggie friends and this peanut chicken stir fry for everyone else.
5. Pasta
Honestly, pasta packs really well for lunches. I’m a big fan of having pasta for lunch because it gives me something to look forward to! Chicken asparagus pasta is a favorite, but I also love making this sheet pan gnocchi.
