During the hustle of the school week, it is easy to feel uninspired when packing a lunch. To break away from the usual sandwich and avoid buying school lunch, here are some quick and creative lunch ideas to spice things up, all of which can be made the night before for even more convenience.
Spring rolls:
A lunch that takes more preparation, but is definitely worth it is spring rolls. These will leave anyone feeling a little healthier, but also full.
To assemble spring rolls, it is important to have rice paper, however this recipe can be adapted using tortilla wraps instead. Other ingredients can be your choice of vegetables and proteins. Some vegetables I like to incorporate are lettuce, peppers, carrots, cabage and green onions.
Next, add a protein, and wrap everything up. For protein, I recommend adding roasted or raw tofu or grilled chicken. Spring rolls can be enhanced with dips such as peanut sauce, which requires a little more preparation, or soy sauce.
Snack pack:
For those who feel their fridge is filled with a bunch of ingredients not suitable for a full meal, a snack pack is an easy solution. Ideally, this lunch is assembled in a bento box or small containers to separate each ingredient.
This lunch offers a lot of creative license. For the best balance of foods, I recommend packing cheese, crackers, vegetables and dips.
For cheese, slice one to three of your favorite cheese types. My favorites are pepper jack and parmesan. Then, pair the cheese with crackers. A cracker brand that I love is Firehook, which has many flavors to choose from.
When choosing vegetables, pick a nice variety of both crunchier and softer vegetables. Alongside this, choose from one to three dips. Some of my favorites include hummus and eggplant dip.
Salmon rice bowl:
Salmon rice bowls are the perfect, protein-packed and nutritional lunch option. Simply pair your favorite grain with small salmon pieces for a balanced meal. For extra flavor, marinate the salmon in either soy or teriyaki sauces before cooking.
I recommend adding diced avocado and mango as additional toppings. However, the topping options can be changed to the chefs liking.
To pull it all together, dress the bowl with soy sauce and, for spice lovers, sriracha. Any additional sauces that fit these flavors can be added to enhance the bowl.
This meal can also be adapted by being wrapped in a tortilla to make a salmon rice wrap, or by replacing the rice with lettuce to make a salad.
