Lunches Lately
Healthy Lunch Ideas

Back in September, I wrote a quick little post that showed off a few of the lunches I’d been packing for myself lately. That little post has quickly become one of the most popular posts on my blog. Apparently people really like healthy lunch ideas! I had plans to share my lunches regularly, and I’m finally back with another installment!

You are probably thinking, “Um, but you work from home, why in the world do you pack lunches?” Well, when I don’t pack my lunch for work days, I end up eating a lunch of tortilla chips while I answer client emails, or forgetting to eat at all. Lunch packing works for me!

The Tools

LunchBots

Before we get started, let me link you to my lunch containers and lunch-packing supplies. I like to pack bento-style lunches using stainless steel containers from LunchBots. I use these everyday and love them. Here are the standards I use each week:

  • LunchBots Cinco—This is my main, five-compartment lunch box. It isn’t completely water-tight, so I wouldn’t recommend it for tossing soup in a backpack, but it works beautifully for drier foods like what you see here. I love it!
  • LunchBots Dips—These little stainless steel dip containers are water-tight, and are perfect for storing dips, dressings, and sauces.
  • LunchBots Uno, Duo, and Trio—These containers are smaller than the Cinco (about half the size), and work perfectly to store lunches where you want a little more quantity than the smaller Cinco spaces provide.
  • Freshware Silicone Baking Cups—I use these to divide the sections in my Cinco. I use both the mini rectangles and the medium squares.

 The Lunches

Lunch

  • Cheese and salsa quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla (eaten cold) with sour cream and cilantro
  • Bell pepper strips
  • Black olives
  • Smokehouse almonds
  • Medjool dates (for dessert—they’re like candy!)
  • Half avocado, dipped in lemon juice, seasoned, and wrapped in plastic wrap (to keep from browning)
  • Cherry tomato
  • Clementine

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

  • Pulled pork lettuce wraps (this only works if your pulled pork isn’t saucey—sauce will run between the compartments)
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Freeze-dried peas
  • Clementines
  • Medjool dates

Lunch

  • Turkey meatballs with Sriracha mayo
  • Roasted sweet potatoes
  • Grapes
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Clementine
  • Cherry tomatoes

Lunch

What have you been packing in your lunch lately?

Cassie is a holistic nutritionist, cookbook author, and all-around food lover. She grew up cooking dinner with her parents every evening, and her passion for home cooking has been strong ever since. Cassie is the author of two published cookbooks (Cooking with Greek Yogurt and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My!) and dozens of recipes published in major magazines and newspapers. Cassie has been sharing her award-winning recipes on Wholefully since 2010. She loves dark chocolate, homegrown tomatoes, motorsports, and anything that sparkles. She lives in Indiana with her family on a small homestead.

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21 Comments

  1. Hi Cassie, these are some great, simple ideas, thanks! I’m curious about the applesauce in the Lunch bot containers. as I’m thinking about purchasing. Does open applesauce like you’ve packed here hold up to say, a normal car commute handling? Or is this ok because it did not travel? I see that you’ve mentioned not water proof, but if I’m not tumbling it about in my backpack at school, I’m curious if pastas could have dressing already, or something similar.

    Reply

  2. Your lunches are lovely and very healthy looking. May I encourage you to add more protein along with your existing ideas? Most of your lunches do not have near enough protein in them for a full grown female – you should have at least 4-5 ounces of protein at every meal.

    Reply

    1. Protein comes in all shapes and sizes! Including in nuts, veggies, cheese, dairy, and meat. If you add up the protein counts of these lunches, I think you’d be surprised by how much each contains—don’t worry about me, I get plenty of protein. 🙂

      Reply

  3. HI, How many times do you have to eat a day?
    Im trying to eat more healthy especially at work since we always buy food,

    Reply

  5. I used to think that I didn’t have time to prepare lunch before leaving for work, but now that I’m recently unemployed, I am realizing that it’s not much different. Like yourself, if I don’t plan, hours can go by without eating, and then I don’t eat ideal meals. I’m going to try your approach to “packing lunch” in the morning.

    Reply