My Trader Joe’s lunchbox and I are besties for the resties. 
I’d forget my backpack before I’d forget my lunchbox. I mean we’ve been through a lot together.
Consider this a little follow-up to my Life Lessons: On Counting Ingredients, Not Calories post. Once you know how to be a label detective, you’re well on your way to buying delish, quality food for your lunchbox. Packing a lunch saves you time, money and a whole lotta added calories, fat, sugar and sodium from restaurant food. Yada yada yada. Tell me something I DON’T know, right?
You’ve all heard it before. You already know that you should pack a lunch and you should eat your broccoli and you should do squats and you should sleep more but the question is HOW? I’m so glad you asked.
1) Buy an adorable lunchbox. Preferably a big, embarrassing, cumbersome bright blue one. But seriously. You can’t be wasting plastic everyday tossing all your yummies in a leftover grocery bag! Buying a cute (or manly) lunchbox is the first step to success. If you want to be twins, you can buy a colorful one at Trader Joe’s. If not, go to Target or buy one online.
2) Invest in the essentials: Tupperware, an icepack and possibly a thermos. Target is the holy land of Tupperware. My favorite are the circular and rectangular glass Pyrex ones because you can microwave them and dish-wash them without any worries about chemicals from hot plastic leaking into your food. They even have nifty ones now that are divided into sections for easy portioning. The possibilities are endless, people! Buy a couple really small ones (for hummus, nut butter, muffins/bites, etc.), a few medium ones (for sliced apples, crackers, veggies), a few large ones (for packing salads, soups, leftover, etc.) and some pretty big ones for storing batches of leftovers in the fridge. Mason jars are great for storing leftovers too.
I absolutely adore my thermos (pictured above). I heat up my soup/chili/leftovers in the microwave in the morning before I leave for campus and then pour the hot contents into the thermos. It stays nice and warm hours later, plus I don’t have to worry about microwaving it. I highly recommend buying one, especially for the wintertime! You can also use it to keep food cold. I also use this thermos for taking coffee, tea and cold smoothies to go. Love it!Whenever I pack yogurt or hummus, I always put an icepack at the bottom of my lunchbox to keep it cold since I’m always gone for hours on end.
3) Prepare a couple main dishes with protein, healthy fats and complex carbs ahead of time. You need your lunch to fuel you until your mid-afternoon snack, so you want to make sure you have plenty of fiber and protein from primarily non-processed, whole food sources. That may mean cooking a batch of chili, quinoa, sweet potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and muffins on the weekend to prepare for the week ahead. Chop your lettuce, slice your peppers and put your hummus and Greek yogurt in individual containers for easy grab-and-go. Putting in a couple of hours on the weekend will make your lunch packing a breeze–trust me.
My protein sources of choice are beans, lentils, hummus, nut butter, eggs, wild salmon, and occasionally tofu, tempeh and tuna. Amp up the fiber factor with whole-grain bread or crackers, quinoa, sweet potatoes, brown rice, nuts, fresh fruit and veggies. Fabulous healthy fat sources include avocado, nuts and nut butter, chia seeds, ground flax seeds and hemp seeds. My formula for packing a healthy lunch most often involves some kind of main dish that’s usually leftovers (homemade veggie burger, lentil/bean/veggie soup, chili, curry, tuna, wild salmon burger) with fruit, veggies with hummus, and a healthy nut-based bite or muffin.
Below are some of my go-to main dishes for lunches. I usually make one or two at the beginning of the week and take leftovers for lunch!
Main dishes:
vegetable chickpea quinoa soup // channa masala // goat cheese and spinach salmon burgers // zesty sweet potato and bean chili // super easy chickpea, brown rice and broccoli casserole // curried butternut and red lentil soup // twenty minute four bean veggie chili // lentil vegetable curry // creamy curried chickpea soup // roasted buddha bowl // avocado chickpea egg salad // avocado bean burgers // hearty lentil, kale and potato soup // Mediterranean tuna salad // avocado egg salad // creamy Mexican tempeh veggie casserole
Easy throw-together meals:
Baked sweet potato + 1/2 cup black beans + 1/4 of an avocado + 1/4 cup salsa // 1/2 cup cooked quinoa + 1/2 cup chickpeas + 1/4 cup feta + 2 tbsp chopped kalamata olives // 1 whole-grain tortilla + 2 tbsp almond butter + 1 tbsp 100% fruit jelly + sprinkling of flaxseed // 1/2 cup cooked edamame + 1/2 cup cooked quinoa + 1 chopped bell pepper + 2 tbsp Asian dressing // 1 can tuna mixed with 3 tbsp garlic hummus, 1 tbsp greek yogurt + 2 tbsp chopped onion + sliced cucumbers/carrots and whole-grain crackers // 1 cup plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup blueberries + 1 tbsp chia seeds + 1/4 cup granola // 2 sliced whole-grain bread + 1/4 cup hummus + cucumber/tomato slices // Amy’s canned lentil soup + 1/4 of an avocado // Amy’s burrito
4) Add one or two satisfying sides.
sliced apple (I love organic gala) with cinnamon + 1/4 cup chocolate peanut butter dessert hummus // two Mexican hot chocolate bites // sliced peppers or whole-grain crackers with 1/4 cup garlic hummus // two no-bake pumpkin pecan cookies // carrots with 1/4 cup guacamole (I like these wholly molly single serving packs) //pumpkin quinoa muffin // 1/4 cup almonds + 1/2 cup grapes // two oatmeal cinnamon raisin chip bites // banana + 1 tbsp peanut butter // peanut butter banana chickpea cookie // sliced pear + hard boiled egg // vegan peppermint protein muffin // larabar // baked sweet potato slices + 1 tbsp almond butter // blueberry walnut muffin
Sometimes I load up on extra snacks since I’m on campus for several hours at a time, so keep that in mind if you see an extra large lunch. Some people may need more food, and some people need less. This isn’t an exact science–figure out what works best for you!
Now that we’ve chatted about meal and snack ideas, let’s see some examples. These are all lunches I ate over the past couple weeks. Clearly I’m on an apple kick…
sliced apples + chocolate peanut butter dessert hummus // two flourless mini chocolate raspberry muffins (recipe coming soon) // luxurious 7 vegetable soup // Simple Truth brown rice crackers
Simple Truth frozen Mediterranean quinoa + 1/2 cup chickpeas // sliced apple //sliced cucumber + Roots roasted red pepper hummus
luxurious 7 vegetable soup // sliced peppers + hummus // two peanut butter blueberry muffins // sliced apple with cinnamon
white bean and kale veggie stew // blueberries // organic Greek yogurt // two flourless mini raspberry chocolate muffins
curried butternut red lentil soup // Mediterranean tuna salad // brown rice crackers // sliced apple with cinnamon // peanut butter banana chickpea cookie + raw brownie bite // sliced cucumbers + garlic hummus (this example was for a longer day)
Now you’re officially a legit lunch-packer. Want a cookie?
Today is the last day to enter to win six tubs of Root’s hummus plus a handful of other goodies! Click here to enter.
that cucumber holder gets me every. time.
Now I’m in the market for a man bag…..for food. Although, I would definitely forget my normal work bag over my (plastic enclosed) food bag. PS…..eat curry cold. trust me. Amazing. It’s my recent discovery and I’m sold.
Arman @ thebigmansworld recently posted…WIAW- WholeArman Day 1
I knew you’d comment on my cuke container…don’t you die of the cuteness? I’m on the lookout for a man bag to house your cold curry.
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Your lunches look amazing! Seriously. I want you to come pack a lunch for me. I’ll just eat it at my kitchen island, but still. Deal? 😉
Maryea {happy healthy mama} recently posted…2 reasons I don’t get fat {hint: one of them is NOT luck}
I’m sure you pack the best lunches EVER for your kiddos 🙂
Girl – your lunches: main dishes, throw together meals and sides sound so tempting! I agree with Maryea – I wish you could come pack my lunches for the week – Could I use more Tupperware and an ultra cute lunch tote to bribe you? 🙂
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com recently posted…Bean & Pumpkin Chili: WIAW
I would totally love to pack your lunches 🙂 Just to warn you, they may feature far too many apples and legumes in all shapes and sizes!!! I’m always in the market for more Tupperware…
I wanna be TJ lunchbox besties for the resties!!!!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven recently posted…Glutes & Gams Workout
LEGOOOOO!!!
this is a great reminder that I need to get me cute lunch bag and stop using plastic ones 🙁
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health recently posted…Starting Whole30..
A cute lunch box is a total game-changer!!
Love!! I consistently pack my lunch, but I feel like I get in a rut and always pack the same things. I adore that this post is packed to the brim with ideas!
Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog recently posted…Moving More with FitBit Flex
I get in ruts and pack the same things too, as you can see from all my apples and mini muffins!! I get obsessed with certain foods, that’s fo sho.
What do you think of KIND bars as afternoon snacks…? Love all of these ideas!!
KIND bars are okay–they have a fair amount of added sugar but I’ve seen some lower sugar versions recently! They’re good for grab-and-go, that’s for sure! Better than lots of other granola bars out there 🙂
LOVE all these tips! I always pack my lunch; although, I’m one of those ones that just carry it in a bag. I definitely need to invest in a proper lunchbox!
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat recently posted…WIAW #35 – Cleaning Eating My Way
Thanks so much, Holly! No shame in carrying it in a bag, but a lunchbox is just so darn handy! And environmentally friendly 🙂
Okay well I seriously have to thank Davida for linking your website in her post which brought me over because I am THRILLED I have found your blog! This post especially was so inspiring and fun to read. I love all your healthy tips and I am totally going to buy that thermos! I am super busy all day at school too and need solid go-to meals throughout the week that are simple and healthy.
So happy I found your blog and extremely excited to explore some of your recipes!!
Hiiii Selena! I am SO glad you found me too because now I’ve found you! Love your blog and love you 🙂
What great healthy lunches you pack. looking at your lists is a good reminder for me that there are so many combinations of beans, nuts whatever to put together for lunch or whatever.
cheri recently posted…Greek Yogurt with Chia Seeds
Thanks, Cheri!
Um, finally got a chance to sit down and read this. MY FAVORITE BLOG POST OF YOURS, EVER. Obvi the counting ingredients one was amazing… but this BRINGS IT HOOOOME by helping you put together how to make use of all the amazing things you just bought at the store. And by you I mean ME. Moi. This girl. This post is so ridic helpful. You went above and beyond with the links to recipes, quick ideas, samples of your lunches, and your formula. OMG OMG OMG I love you. Finding your blog has seriously changed my life. For the better. I never knew I could have so much fun in the kitchen and experience this excitement over packing lunches and snacks. I adore you. Most of all, THANK YOU for listening to your readers’ suggestions on posts (cough, cough) and following through in a MAJOR way. Why don’t we live in the same city again? Thank you for this post, GF! Love all the rave reviews, so I feel better about suggesting this topic when I see it is also helpful to others. YAY! lunch buddies for life.
Eeeeeeeek!!! Move to Ohio. Kay bye.
Greetings from Carolina! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to check out your site on
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Awww thanks so much, Orval! So glad to know that it loads quickly on the iPhone! Thanks for reading 🙂 Come back soon!
LOVE this!! This is so helpful b/c I am going back to work and I need ideas like this!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables recently posted…WIAW: It’s Back to Work
I’m so glad you found it helpful 🙂 It was a fun post to write!
This is FANTASTIC and I’m totally saving it for lunch ideas. It’s easy to just nix the idea and grab something on campus, but why would I do that when I can have chocolate peanut butter dessert hummus? UGH. Love your posts!
Kaitlyn @ Live Run Coffee recently posted…Training Tuesdays: Weather Frustration and New Gear
Thanks so much, friend! You MUST try the hummus 🙂
LOVE! I always always always plan/bring my lunch with me! Saves me money and I know what I am eating because I MADE IT!! I love that about bringing my lunch. Plus, when I bring my lunch, I don’t rush through it. I take my time to really taste my food and it’s a wonderful break in the day, LOL!
GiGi Eats recently posted…Saint Patrick’s Day: Rolling Up a Specialty
Exactly!! I look so forward to lunch…it’s actually weird. What can I say, I love food!
I am so bummed my lack of blog reading made me miss out on Roots hummus… anyway, I can’t wait to share this post because it is seriously amazing. I always need inspo on what to pack for lunch snack since I’m a Pisces and it is always the same things!! You are so creative, I need to get out of my lunch rut.
Cassie recently posted…Autumn Vegetable Fritatta
Awww rats! Sending you virtual hummus today! I’m so glad you liked the lunch packing post. Hope it helps you get out of the rut! If it makes you feel better, I ALWAYS fall into lunch ruts. You’re not alone!
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Clearly you have skills and a knack for doing this. I’m loving all your lunches and the subtle variety (different flavored hummus and different dipping vehicles) so you don’t get bored.
Alright I’m off to buy a lunch box.
Thanks, Meghan! I definitely get into a routine but I try to add variety here and there. Mostly it’s the main dish and the bar/muffin/bite that changes! The apples tend to stay the same 🙂
Is each example what you pack for the whole day or do you add snacks in addition? I’m working on portion control and trying to get a good idea of how much I should be eating throughout the day. LOVE your blog!
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Greetings from California! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to browse your
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I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my mobile ..
I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, superb blog!
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