Here's How To Pack 5 Make-Ahead Healthy Lunches
Before you pack the lunches, you should take a look at the whole 5-day lunch plan! Learn more here.
So, you spent some time on Sunday shopping and cooking for the week, and now you need to know exactly how to turn all of that food into 5 easy, portable lunches!
Don't know what we're talking about? You'll need to read this before you go any further.
Below are descriptions of each lunch, as well as detailed instructions about how to pack what. You definitely don't have to pack things exactly the way we describe, if you don't want to.
Lauren Zaser / BuzzFeed
MONDAY: Chicken and White Bean Salad with Feta and Orange Vinaigrette
PREP:
MAKE THE DRESSING: In a small bowl, whisk together the juice of ½ orange, ¼ teaspoon orange zest (optional), a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and whisk to combine.
CUT ORANGE WEDGES: Cut the remaining ½ orange into segments: Use a knife to cut the peel off the orange, so that there's no white pith left on the outside. Working over a bowl, use a small, sharp knife to cut the segments away from white membrane that separates them.
Put this in a large container:
⅓ recipe roast chicken breast (⅔ of a breast), bone and skin discarded, cut in rough ½-inch pieces
⅓ recipe sautéed white beans
Put this in a small container:
½ orange, segmented
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoon parsley leaves, chopped
Put this in a dressing container:
Orange vinaigrette (recipe above)
At lunchtime, microwave the chicken and white beans on high for 1½ minutes, until heated through. Toss with the orange vinaigrette, then top with the feta, orange, and parsley.
Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed
Alvin Zhou / BuzzFeed
TUESDAY: Kale Salad with Eggs, Sweet Potato, and Honey-Tahini Dressing
PREP:
MAKE THE DRESSING: In a large mixing bowl, stir together ⅓ recipe tahini dressing with 1 teaspoon honey, and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Add all of the raw, sliced kale and use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale.
Put this in a large container:
Raw kale w/ honey-tahini dressing (from above)
Put this in a small container:
2 boiled eggs, quartered
⅓ recipe cooked farro (about ⅓ cup)
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled
½ a baked sweet potato, cut in ½ inch cubes
3 walnut halves, roughly chopped
At lunchtime, top the kale salad with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed