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5 Healthy Lunch Ideas

Quite often, the reason we like fitness classes lead by an instructor is because we don’t have to plan our own exercise routine.  We can turn up, do the work and reap the benefits.  When we make hundreds of decisions a day, this can be a welcome break.  For many of us, the reason we often fall foul to less than optimal eating habits is because our decision-making cup has nearly emptied by the time we come to make food choices.

We’ve compiled 5 of our favourite healthy lunch ideas to help you make a few less decisions this week.

Healthy Lunch Idea 1: Sweet Chilli Chicken Wraps

Whipped up in 10 minutes, this recipe serves 2 people.  It also includes 2 of your 5 per day.

Ingredients

2 wholemeal tortilla wraps

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 large cooked, chicken breast, thinly sliced

2 handfuls baby spinach or lettuce leaves

2 stalks spring onions, chopped

1 tomato, thinly sliced

Black pepper to taste

Coriander to taste (optional)

Recipe

  1. Spread chilli sauce onto one side of each wrap
  2. Place the chicken and spinach, tomato, spring onions & coriander on top 3. Add black pepper to taste
  3. Wrap and cut into 3 pieces

Nutritional information per portion

Energy 332.5kcal, Carbohydrates 35g, Protein 32g, Fat 7.4g, Fibre 4g, Sodium 386.5mg

Healthy Lunch Idea 2: Mexican Chicken & Salsa Taco

A speedy 20 minute recipe, there’s enough to serve 1 person.  It also includes 2-3 portions of your 5 fruit and veg per day.

Ingredients

1 x taco shell

1 & ½ tsp garlic & paprika taco seasoning

½ chicken breast

1 tsp oil (olive, rapeseed, hemp seed or

spray oil)

¼ red pepper, sliced

¼ green pepper, sliced

¼ onion, diced

¼ cucumber, diced

A squeeze of lime

½ small chilli pepper, deseeded & finely

chopped

3 baby plum tomatoes, diced

Small handful of lettuce

I tbsp sweetcorn

Recipe

  1. In a bowl mix together the onion, chilli, lime & salt
  2. Into the bowl add tomato, cucumber, and peppers and ½ tsp taco seasoning mix altogether
  3. Cover the bowl with cling film and put in the fridge for 15 minutes to 1 hour. (Tastes best left overnight   and can keep up to 4 days)
  4. Meanwhile mix together 1 tsp taco seasoning & the oil.
  5. Rub this mixture all over the chicken
  6. If possible, leave the chicken to season in the fridge for an hour
  7. If chicken was put in the fridge, take it out and leave out for 30 minutes to get to room temperature 8. Grill the chicken under a hot grill until brown and cooked through for 10 minutes, turning halfway 9. Mix the chicken with the salsa mixture in the fridge
  8. Layer the taco with the lettuce, then add the chicken salsa mix, then top with sweetcorn & more salsa

Nutritional information per taco

Energy 252kcal, Carbohydrates 23g, Protein 19g, Fat 9g, Fibre 5g, Sodium 347mg

Healthy Lunch Idea 3: Smoked Haddock & Red Kidney Bean Fish Cakes with Light Lemon Mayo

This one is a little longer, so perhaps best saved for the weekend.  It takes around 1 hour & 25 minutes (includes 1 hour marinade time), serves 2 people and includes 1 of your 5 per day.

Ingredients

2 spring onion stalks (50g total weight), chopped

200g smoked haddock fillets (skinned) (boneless)

100g tinned red kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 tbsp chopped fresh or dried parsley

Grated zest of ½ lemon

1 small egg yolk

25g dried wholemeal breadcrumbs or 1 slice of bread

1 tsp ground flaxseeds

1 tsp chia seeds

2 tbsp oil (olive, rapeseed, hemp seed or spray oil)

1 tbsp 0% fat Greek yoghurt

4 tbsp light mayonnaise

2 tsp lemon juice to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Recipe

1.Fry the spring onions in frying pan with a little oil for 3–4 minutes until soft and golden. Leave to cool.

2.Meanwhile, boil a pan of water on a high heat, add the smoked haddock to it and keep it boiling with the  lid off the pan for 5 minutes. This is to remove some of the salt from the haddock

3. After 5 minutes remove the smoked haddock and rinse it under cold water.

4. Roughly flake the smoked haddock

5. Mash the kidney beans to a thick purée with a fork. Mix in the fish, parsley & lemon zest with the cooled  leeks. Season with cayenne pepper

6. Stir in the egg yolk and shape the mixture into 2 burgers. Chill in fridge for one hour

7. Meanwhile put the breadcrumbs or slice of bread into a blender with the chia seeds & flaxseeds, blend up  until all combined

8.Pour the breadcrumb mix onto a dry plate, and press in the fishcakes, once they have finished chilling

9.Add 2 tbsp oil to the pan, fishcakes are soft, so use a spatula to add them to the pan and to turn them

10. Fry fishcakes on a medium heat for 3–4 minutes on each side until cooked through, golden and crispy

11. Mix the yoghurt, mayo & lemon juice together for the lemon mayo

12. Serve with salad and the lemon mayonnaise

Nutritional information per portion

Energy 486kcal, Carbohydrates 20g, Protein 31g, Fat 32g, Fibre 6g, Sodium 809mg

Healthy Lunch Idea 4: Bruschetta with Olive Tapenade, Avocado, Red Onion & Basil

A firm favourite here at InstructorLive, this is whipped up in a speedy 10 minutes, serves 2 people and includes 1 of your 5 per day.

Ingredients

4 x slices of ciabatta bread or 2 x wholemeal ciabatta rolls cut in half making 4 pieces in total

2 tbsp olive & sundried tomato tapenade

½ avocado, sliced thinly lengthwise

2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped

1 handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

½ clove garlic, chopped small

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

* For an extra 6g protein per portion add 1 slice smoked or basil flavoured tofu per bruschetta

(optional)

Recipe

  1. Mix 1 tbsp olive oil & the garlic together in a bowl, and brush onto each of the 4 ciabatta slices 2. Place under a hot grill and toast until golden
  2. In another bowl combine the chopped basil & red onion with ½ tbsp olive oil 4. Spread the tapenade on to the toasted rolls
  3. Top with the sliced avocado, then layer on the basil & red onion mixture

Nutritional information per portion (2 bruschetta slices) excluding optional ingredients  Energy 492kcal, Carbohydrates 46g, Protein 11.5g, Fat 30g, Fibre 6g, Sodium 386mg

Healthy Lunch Idea 5: Pitta slices with Homemade Hummus &  Vegetables

A quick recipe, prepared in 10 minutes, this serves 1 person and includes 2 of your 5 per day.

Ingredients

2 heaped tsp tinned, drained chickpeas

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tbsp low fat Greek yoghurt

1 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp paprika

½ tsp cumin

1 peeled clove garlic

1 wholemeal pitta bread, cut into mini slices

1 tomato, sliced

5cm cucumber, sliced

Another vegetable of your choice – we’re a fan of carrot or celery sticks!

Recipe

  1. Blend the chickpeas, lemon, yoghurt, oil, spices, & garlic until smooth
  2. Serve with the pitta & vegetables

Nutritional information per portion

Energy 371kcal, Carbohydrates 45g, Protein 13.9g, Fat 15g, Fibre 7.5g, Sodium 334mg

Don’t forget to check out our recipe page for even more healthy lunch ideas!