With a busy work life schedule it can be hard to think of inspiring lunch ideas. You may find yourself reaching for that high-street meal deal more often than you’d like. We’ve dedicated this weeks blog to bring you some simple tasty recipes to brighten up your lunch time.
Super Speedy Spicy Chicken and avocado wraps
Prep Time= 10 minutes Cook Time= 8 minutes Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ tsp of chilli powder
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tsp of vegetable oil
- 2 wholemeal wraps
- 1 avocado
- 1 red bell pepper
- A few sprigs of coriander
- Optional- grated cheddar cheese
Method
1) Finely chop the garlic clove and add to a mixing bowl
2) Add the chicken, chilli powder and lime juice. Leave to stand for 5 minutes
3) Cut a red bell pepper into 5-6 large chunks
4) Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and tip in the chicken and lime juice. Cook for a few minutes
5) Once the lime juice has evaporated, add the pepper pieces into the same pan. Cook the pepper until it becomes soft and starts to char
6) Chop the avocado into chunks and sprinkle with a little lime juice (this stops them going brown
7) Once the chicken is cooked (cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken breast), carefully slice into 8 pieces
8) To make sure your wraps don’t go soggy. It’s best to assemble them just before you plan to eat lunch. So put all the cooked ingredients in a little container (chicken and peppers) and add the fresh ingredients to another (coriander, avocado and grated cheese)
9) Just before eating: Heat the wraps (Follow the back of pack instructions) and then the chicken and peppers in the microwave (for around 3 minutes or until heated throughout. You can also have the wraps cold if you prefer
Tuck in and enjoy!
Tasty Tuna Pasta Salad
Prep Time= 10 minutes Cook Time= 15 minutes Serves 2
Ingredients
- 150g Wholewheat pasta
- Zest and juice of 1 Lemon
- 160g cherry tomatoes
- 80 g peas (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tin of tuna in spring water
- ¼ red onion
- Handful of parsley
Method
1) Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions
2) Boil the peas for 5-6 minutes and allow to cool
3) Meanwhile dice the red onion and halve the cherry tomatoes
4) Grate half the lemon zest and then squeeze the remaining juice. Add a little black pepper to taste
5) Drain the water from the tin of tuna
6) Mix the pasta, tuna, peas, tomatoes and onion together with the lemon juice
7) Chop the parsley and scatter
Serve and enjoy!
Scrumptious sweet potatoes with chickpeas and tahini yoghurt
Prep Time= 10 minutes Cook Time= 10 minutes Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 200g of chickpeas
- 40g of spinach
- Small bunch of dill
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- 30g of low fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp of tahini
- 10g of pine nuts
- 60g of pomegranate
Method
You can either bake your sweet potatoes (around 45- 60 minutes), or to make it quicker, you can microwave them at work (around 5-8 minutes).
1) Heat 1 tsp of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat
2) Add the crushed garlic and chopped onion and cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften
3) Stir in the drained chickpeas and gently cook these for a couple of minutes
4) Add the spinach and leave to wilt for a few minutes
5) Add the chopped dill
6) Wisk together the lemon juice, zest and 1 tsp of olive oil in a mixing bowl
7) Add a little black pepper to taste
8) Add the mixture to the chickpeas
9) Gently mash the chickpeas, so they are slightly crushed
10) Mix together the Greek yogurt with the tahini, again adding a little black pepper to taste
11) Halve the pomegranate and carefully extract the seeds
12) Once your potatoes are cooked (at home or at work), split them open lengthways. To check your potato is cooked, use a knife to test how soft the center is
13) Drizzle over the tahini and yogurt and then fill them with the chickpea mix
14) Top with pine nuts and pomegranate
Serve and enjoy!