By As the co-founder and CEO of Kic, my days are always pretty busy. That’s why I’ll always make time for a healthy and filling lunch to support my energy levels.
I’m a big fan of homemade, fresh and simple lunches. When I’m in the office, sometimes I’ll bring leftovers or specific ingredients with me from home, other times I’ll duck to the supermarket and buy a few things that I can assemble at the office.
I actually love the days that I make my lunch at the office as it gives me a moment to be away from my desk. If I’m heading to the supermarket, it also gives me a chance to get some fresh air and go for a quick walk. This is always a very welcomed break, especially on the days when I’ve had back-to-back meetings.
Depending on what I’m making, I’ll either have the right amount for one serving or I’ll have items that I can leave at the office and use again later in the week (e.g. a loaf of bread).
Now onto what I actually make. My office-friendly lunches are easy to prep – at most they’ll involve some chopping, a microwave or a toaster. They’re always quick and easy to assemble, and most importantly, YUM!
Here are my favourite lunch dishes on high rotation whenever I’m working from the Kic office.
1. Halloumi, Hummus and Roast Capsicum Toastie.
This toastie is SO easy and SO delicious. For those who don’t know I love halloumi, so whenever I can enjoy more of it, I do!
This toastie only needs 5 ingredients – bread, roasted red capsicum, halloumi, hummus and rocket. I’ll use store-bought hummus and store-bought roasted red capsicum (both of which I keep in the fridge). However, you could totally make these both yourself from scratch at home and bring them into the office with you if you’ve got some extra time up your sleeve.
My biggest tip when making this is to slice your halloumi a little thinner so that it melts more quickly in the sandwich press.
The recipe also calls for rocket before toasting, but if you like your rocket super crisp you could always pull your sandwich apart and add it after the halloumi has melted.
2. Chicken Buddha Bowl.
This is one of those lunch recipes where I’ll bring in all the ingredients at the start of the week and keep them in the office fridge to use throughout the rest of the week. I’ll either use a store-bought roast chicken or I’ll cook up some chicken breast fillets and bring them with me.
Although this recipe calls to cook your rice over the stove, when I’m making this at the office I’ll opt for a rice pot that cooks in the microwave.
When it comes to the dressing for this Buddha bowl, I like to opt for tzatziki, some olive oil, salt and pepper (the latter three staples already exist at the office) – doing this keeps the dressing nice and simple.
To prep at the office, I simply chop all my veggies, pop my rice in the microwave, slice up my chicken, then assemble it in a bowl and top it with my dressings – YUM!
3. Tuna Pita Pockets.
This is one of my favourite lunches, as I am a big fan of tuna. All that is needed is a wholemeal pita pocket or two mini pita pockets, a can of tuna, some veggies and some dressing. Then it’s as simple as stuffing everything into the pita pocket and voila! It’s so quick and easy.
The recipe calls for a dressing of Greek yoghurt and seeded mustard but any dip will work. I personally love using tzatziki or hummus, as this keeps things simple and less fiddly!
If you’re not a tuna fan, you can easily swap for chicken, turkey or hard-boiled eggs as your protein!
4. Feta and Rice Bowl.
When I want a vego lunch, I love this feta and rice bowl. A small can of mixed beans, a rice or quinoa pot, some crumbled feta and a whole heap of veggies make for a seriously delicious and nutritious lunch. You can also easily opt for vegan feta and swap the Greek yoghurt for your favourite tahini dressing.
The dressing is a mix of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and Greek yoghurt. You could totally bring these and make it in the office or opt for a store-bought dressing – whatever is easier for you!
I’ve actually noticed people who have their own personal olive oil and vinegar bottles in the office – a great idea to make things super easy for you if you’re always making your lunch at work.
5. Pesto and Hummus Veggie Wrap.
I love a good wrap and this one is seriously delicious and only requires seven ngredients, which I’ll usually bring to the office in bulk at the start of the week and use throughout the week!
When it comes to preparing this, all I need to do is lay my wrap on a plate, add my lettuce, onion, avo and top with dollops of pesto and hummus and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds, then wrap. It’s as simple as that! So easy to do in the office.
The only thing I need to be mindful of is that the pesto is nut free to suit my allergies, however, whenever I can, I love making homemade pesto.
You could also add chicken to ramp up the protein!
This article was originally published on https://www.mamamia.com.au/office-lunches/