QUICK LUNCHES

I recently teamed up with Kristi Carlson, Nutritional Therapist and owner of Feel Good Food by Kristi, to show you how to quickly throw together nutritious lunches using only the lonely leftovers in your fridge.

While leftovers can be heated and eaten as is, it can be fun to spice up your palate! You know how I hate food waste so we came up with a few tips to help you creatively transform your leftovers into innovative and delicious meals:

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1. Plan for a “Leftovers Day:” When planning your meals for the week, leave a day open for leftovers, so you don’t have to buy any additional ingredients while shopping for the week.  Think outside the box and invent a new meal by using produce and previously made meals found in your refrigerator!

2. Pickle your vegetables: Pickling your own vegetables is a fun way to use up any leftover vegetables still in your fridge and it is a common way to preserve foods and provide a zesty, tangy taste.  Some popular vegetables you can pickle include onions, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, peppers, olives, and radishes. Pickled vegetables go great on top of tacos, sandwiches, and burgers or can be a refreshing side to your barbecue meal.  (PS we’ll have a full blog post on Friday with more info on pickling)

3. Toss it into a salad: Almost any leftover can be incorporated into a healthy, nutritious salad!  A taco salad can be made from leftover enchiladas or nachos, while leftover grilled chicken and corn can be added to a BBQ chicken Cobb salad. Finish off your salad with any remaining vegetables in your fridge such as tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, and mushrooms. In addition, any leftover bread starting to go stale can also be made into croutons. 

4. Create an appetizing casserole, pasta, or pizza: Casseroles, pastas and pizzas are easy meals to transform leftovers because you can make simple modifications according to your food preferences and be creative with all ingredients you include. They are fantastic options for using up any leftover sauces, protein, vegetables, or even leftover pasta itself. Casseroles can be prepared for any meal of the day, whether it be a breakfast casserole filled with eggs, hash brown, sausage, and veggies or a beef noodle casserole made for dinner. A traditional pizza crust can also be substituted with leftover tortillas, naan, whole-wheat bagels, portobello mushrooms, sweet potatoes, or even eggplant. 

5. Warm your heart with a bowl of soup: Soups are a nutritious way to use up any leftover produce and protein and can be easily prepared in a pressure cooker or slow cooker when you’re busy and on the go.  Pre-cooked chicken, zucchini, kale, celery, potatoes, and rice are just a few examples of leftover food you can put in your soup! 

6. Make an Asian-inspired stir fry: Leftover rice can be made into fried rice with the addition of your choice of protein and fresh or frozen vegetables. Another option is to sauté any leftover vegetables with a protein such as chicken, pork, or tofu, flavor with your favorite stir fry sauce or leftover sauce, and serve it over brown rice.

 

SALMON PASTA TOSS

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“Cook once, eat multiple times” is the motto she recommends for clients. Either double the recipe or prep double the ingredients to use in other meals throughout the week. Lunch is the perfect meal to use up leftovers in a flash, including the odds and ends scattered across your fridge at the end of the week. We had this leftover salmon from earlier in the week and no salmon should ever be left behind! This fatty fish is packed with vitamins, minerals and those sought-after omega-3s for brain and heart health. It's a great match with pasta to balance out the quick carbohydrates with protein and fat that’ll keep you full for longer.  Mixing greens into your pasta dish or serving on a fresh bed of greens is a simple way to fit in fiber and more nutrients, too. Remember to keep balance with your meals: What does “balance” mean? Your plate should have protein, carbs, fat and fiber to keep you satisfied and well nourished until your next meal.

 

SPRING ROLL SALAD

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Lunch is the most likely meal to make me scramble, which is not a good combo when I’m hungry and short on time. And I don’t know about you, but I tend to get bored easily with the same old salad and sandwich rotation. Life’s too short to eat boring food and lunch is not the meal to skimp! Eating too little or out of balance can leave you crashing hard mid afternoon or plowing down dinner without taking a breath. Why this meal works for your tastebuds - texture and sweetness for the win here! Isn’t everything more fun in a wrap? They’re my favorite way to kick a salad rut. Although these take a little practice, spring roll wraps are a great lower carb option to switch it up. Lettuce wraps work too. Add whatever veggies you have plus a protein, like quinoa or leftover chicken or hummus and a fat like vinaigrette or seeds to avoid the dreaded mid-afternoon slump.

TRIED AND TRUE TIPS FOR WORKING WITH DELICATE RICE PAPER WRAPPERS:

  1. Fill a shallow bowl with warm water. Complete submerge wrapper in water for 30 seconds until soft and pliable.

  2. Work fast and go one at a time. Once soaked, it’s pliable and fragile so fill a roll before moving onto the second…

  3. Don’t overfill. Even if it looks surprisingly spare, it’ll be easier to roll.

  4. Keep a kitchen towel on hand to dry off slippery work surface in between each roll.

  5. Be a one person assembly line. Make like a robot and keep things precise: place a few pieces of spring mix and cucumber, a few slices of mandarin orange, small handful of peas, few asparagus spears and quinoa to middle of moistened wrapper, fold bottom of wrapper over filling, press down to seal, fold sides toward center, then roll-roll-roll.

 

SAUTEED SAUSAGE AND POTATO SALAD

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Fresh herbs and a homemade dressing make this a win. Here’s a recipe for homemade ranch, many of these ingredients you probably have on hand. Whisk to combine and PUT ON EVERYTHING!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1 ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice (or can sub apple cider vinegar)

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh dill, chives, or parsley (you could get crazy and use all 3) 

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

  • 2 tablespoons water to thin dressing

  • Optional: 1/4 teaspoon honey

Pre-cooked, nitrate-free sausages are a great quick protein option to have on hand when time is tight. It’s a versatile protein and adds a ton of flavor to a dish. Also, don’t fear potatoes, especially when they’ve been cooked and cooled. Potatoes quickly increase blood sugar levels when they’re cooked, but once they’ve cooled, studies found their resistant starch triples. This is a good thing. Higher amounts of resistant starch lead to a smaller blood sugar response and helps you feel full. More importantly, this type of starch feeds the good bacteria in your gut.

 

NUTRITIOUS NACHOS

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Yes, you can have nourishing nachos for lunch. My problem with tortilla chips is less about the fat content and carbs, and more about the inflammatory oils they're typically fried in. It’s so easy to make your own! Simply cut corn or flour tortillas of your choice into small chip sized triangles. Spray with a little avocado or coconut oil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 min. Voila!

Always balance your meals with a protein to prevent an energy crash and cravings later in the day. Here we topped the chips with black beans and goat cheese to round out the nutrients without sacrificing flavor. Other great protein-rich topping options could be refried beans or leftover shredded or ground meat.

 

CHARCUTERIE BOARD

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Both adults and kids seem to love eating off of a board, so take advantage of it for meals, too! Plus, sliced veggies and proteins are more appealing when paired with crunchy sides and dips.

Dips are another place to add nutrients and balance to a charcuterie board. Hummus or yogurt-based dips add protein and flavor to the more carbohydrate-rich sides, like crackers.

We hope this gives you the confidence to try it yourself next time you’re in a pinch. We want to see your own lunch creations! Be sure to tag us @simpleeatsmke and @itskristicarlson on IG to show us what you’ve made.