A week of healthy lunches..

Are you guilty of demolishing a "convenient" lunch at your desk, in the car or on the go? Would you like five quick, portable, nutritious lunch ideas this week with shopping list? In our busy, workaholic culture we not only deserve, but need a nutritious lunch that keeps us high in energy for the afternoon. There is a catch however, you have to commit to giving 10 minutes every evening to preparation - it's as simple as that and you're ready to take on the challenge! If you haven't invested in a great soup container and a good salad container, you should.

They are invaluable if you plan to start the healthy habit of preparing, transporting and eating your own lunches. There are some really gorgeous looking as well as very practical containers available in stores at the moment. Here's a link to some great flasks and containers for transporting lunch http://www.hsw.ie/collections/flasks-thermos

So here are my easy, 10 minute preparation lunches for the week ahead:

Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup with a side of McCambridges brown bread with sliced chicken breast or tinned tuna or salmon or boiled egg

Smoked mackerel pate with oatcakes (Nairns) and chopped raw vegetables (Carrots, Peppers, celery, tomatoes, broccoli)

Veggie loaded whole meal pitta – hummus, avocado, tomatoes, peppers and baby spinach

Homemade breaded chicken breast with harissa roasted vegetables

Power Salad Tuna, chickpeas, scallions, celery, tomatoes, broccoli, toasted seeds (optional: a homemade dressing of your choice)

SHOPPING LIST

You should be able to find all these ingredients in any good supermarket. (Everything you have left over from the shopping list can be used up to make stews, casseroles, stir fries, soups for dinners during the week)

Carrots

Onion

Sweet potatoes

Red peppers

Avocado

Broccoli

Celery

Tomatoes

Baby spinach (or another green lettuce)

Curry powder

harissa paste

McCambridges brown bread

Country Kitchen wholemeal round pitta

Smoked mackerel fillets

Free range chicken breasts

Free range eggs

Hummus (pick a brand with only few ingredients – chickpeas, tahini, oil, lemon juice and garlic are the basic ingredients)

Tinned tuna

Chicken stock pot (stock gel)

Low fat cottage cheese

Lemon

Mixed raw seeds (small bag)

Chickpeas (2 tins)

Nairns Oat Cakes

I look forward to hearing how you get on!