Wish it was easy to come up with eco-friendly, easy and healthy lunch ideas?
Just trying to find something different to have for lunch can be a real pain (let alone something healthy and with minimal impact on the planet!), so we tend to resort to the same thing most days out of habit.
End up eating sandwiches or something on toast for lunch most days? You’re in the right place! Let me give you some ideas…
Why should we vary things up at lunch?
It may seem simpler to just eat the same things every day, especially if they’re healthy. So why shouldn’t you?
Variety is the spice of life right? Certainly a bit of variation brings a bit more excitement and can reduce monotony (we all need a little more of that at the moment right?). It’ll also stop you from getting fed up with your favourite foods.
But the main reason is that we need a wide variety of foods to give us all the vitamins and minerals that we require. Having the same foods every day doesn’t offer our bodies this, and so we’re more likely to get ill (both in the short and long term). We’re also more likely to develop intolerances to foods that we don’t get a break from.
What are the main priciples we should follow at lunch?
There are so many food rules out there that things can get really complicated!
Here are mine, keeping it simple if you’re going for healthy…:
- make it balanced; that means you should try to include some healthy fats (about a thumbs worth), lean or plant protein (about a palm size), and wholegrain carbs (fist size).
- Aim for at least 2 portions of fruit and veg (it varies by type, but that’s approx 80g per portion).
That’s it!
Do this and you’ll get a filling meal that’ll keep your energy levels up, and give you a dose of vital nutrients 🙂
It doesn’t need to be complicated, it can be some randomly thrown together things, so long as it hits these aims (and ideally tastes good).
If you want to be more eco-friendly too, try to follow these few extra principles:
- eat local seasonal foods
- try to avoid packaging (especially non-recyclable stuff)
- choose more plant based proteins, and less dairy and beef products
Eco, Easy & Healthy Lunch Ideas
1. Sandwiches
I thought I’d start with these, as they totaolly have a place in our life if done right!
Please ditch the white breads, especially if you’re topping it with something sugary like jam or nutella – they’re going to spike your blood sugar and leave you hungry within hours.
Here are my favourite sandwiches:
- Roasted beetroot and soft cheese/goats cheese
- chicken mayo and sweetcorn (with lettuce)
- tuna mayo sweetcorn (with lettuce)
- avocado and tomato (winter)
- ham and salad (summer)
- egg mayo with cucumber
- mashed chickpeas
- roasted veg and hummous/halloumi (summer)
Making it eco-friendly – try to use seasonal items only (see the guides above), and buy your fruit and veg out of plastic. Make your own bread if you can with organic flours. Or get it from a local bakery without wrap. If you buy bread from the shops, don’t forget to recycle your bread bags at the supermarket.
2. Roasted veg couscous
Couscous can be cooked in a couple of minutes (flavour with a bit of veg stock). Roast the veg at the weekend in a big batch if you’re short of time in the week, and then just heat them up to go with your couscous (or have it cold). Add in some chickpeas (whole or mashed).
Go seasonal again to make this more eco-friendly. So peppers, courgettes and onions in summer, and squash and kale in the winter. Get your veg out of packaging if you can. Also, try to get your couscous from a packaging free refill place.
3. Omelette / frittata
Pretty easy to make, and quick if they end up being more of a ‘jumble’. You can make these with some veg in like sweetcorn and mushrooms. Add a little bit of cheese, ham or some processed meat like spicy pepperoni (use only a little as it still flavours it and it’s pretty bad for you…) if you need the extra flavour. Serve with bulgur wheat (cooks like rice and gives a bit more variety 🙂 ) and other veg like steamed leeks or frozen peas on the side.
You can make a frittata if you make it thicker and put additional veg like cooked potatoes or broccoli etc in. Serve your frittata with a salad.
Make it more eco friendly by getting organic/free range eggs from local farms, and add in seasonal veg. Peppers, baby spinach and courgette in summer, mushrooms, spinach and onion in winter. Get your veg out of packaging if you can. Get your frozen peas in recyclable bags – Tesco are the only ones I’ve seen do this so far…
4. Homemade pizzas
Make speedy, healthy pizzas by using wholemeal tortillas or pittas.
Top with tomato puree/passata, your choice of cheeses and some veg (we like sweetcorn, courgettes, mushrooms, peppers or spinach chopped small and fried quickly.
Small amounts of processed meats are possible (chorizo/pepperoni) to add flavour.
Chuck under the grill to melt the cheese.
Make it more eco friendly by making your own wholemeal dough, or making homemade tortillas if you can to save the packaging). Use seasonal toppings, like courgettes and peppers in the summer, and spinach and mushrooms in the winter. Get your veg out of packaging if you can.
5. Soups
Popular opinion is that these take a long time to make, but if you choose a simple one where you chop and roast the veg, before blending with some liquid and seasoning, they can be pretty quick (in total time in the kitchen – roasting the veg means total cook time will be over an hour), and you can make enough for another round or two in the freezer.
Adding beans or lentils is a great way to make them more filling and get your protein.
Make them more eco friendly by choosing seasonal veg, and buying it as packaging free as possible.
6. Sardines on toast
If you’re looking for something really speedy, tinned sardines in tomato sauce on toast is really quick. This packs an omega punch, as you’re getting your oily fish (protein and fats). Team with some wilted spinach and mushrooms for your veggies.
To be more eco-friendly, make sure that your fish are from a responsible source. Make your own bread if you can with organic flours. Or get it from a local bakery without wrap. If you buy bread from the shops, don’t forget to recycle your bread bags at the supermarket.
7. Beans on toast
Simple and delicious. It doesn’t seem that healthy, but on wholemeal bread, buttered with a healthy spread, or with a sprinkling of grated cheese, and using reduced sugar cans, it will still provide 1 of your 5 a day and fill you up for a bit. Try eating a piece of fruit first (better for your digestion and your teeth) to get your 2 portions.
Make your own bread if you can with organic flours. Or get it from a local bakery without wrap. If you buy bread from the shops, don’t forget to recycle your bread bags at the supermarket.
8. Jacket potatoes
You can use normal potatoes or, even better, sweet potatoes. Stick them in the oven to roast, and then serve with baked beans or tuna mayo with sweetcorn, or make a quick tomato bean sauce with some canned / frozen spinach or beans in. Chipotle flavour with black beans is our favourite :).
9. Leftovers
Cook double dinners and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. Sooo easy!
10. Salads
We think of salads as boring and as a summer thing, but as pretty much anything can go in a salad they are anything but!
I love a winter butternut squash salad with roasted squash, chilli chickpeas and a turmeric dressing. Served on a bed of spinach.
Often containing at least 2 portions of fruit and veg, we can get our proteins through lean meats, beans or cheeses, and our fats in the cheeses and oils for the dressing.
You’ve probably got it by now… be more eco friendly by choosing seasonal, packaging free fruit and veg.
11. Picky lunch
This will look like a salad a lot of times, but it’s simply a collection of things. It could be something leftover (not enough for a meal), or an ingredient like leftover feta. Or some of the roasted veg or grains you preprepped at the start of the week. Add salads, hummus, mashed chickpeas with tomato, bits of fruit, breads.
Make sure you’ve got healthy fats, proteins and wholmeal carbs in there as well as your fruits and veggies and you can’t go wrong.
Minimise your packaging. Try making your own hummus from chickpeas and other flavourings. Pick seasonal, packaging free fruit and veg where possible.
A couple of other eco tips…
A few other things to bear in mind if you’re on your eco-journey…
– try to reduce your intake of red meats and dairy products as these have been shown to have the worstin terms of negative impact on the planet (increase beans and eggs).
– combine cooking times i.e. whilst using the oven, can you roast some other veg for a lunch later in the week?
– learn how to store your fruits and veg so they dont go off
– get familiar with all of our UK fruits and veg and expand your range – sign up to get my free guide below…
For more tips and ideas on being eco-friendly in the kitchen, and eating healthier foods, come join my FB Group 🙂 Click below…
