Five hacks to level-up your lunchbox
Lunch prep ideas to save money and amp up flavour
For the last six weeks I’ve been on a packed lunch streak. It was broken only once, after a night of zero sleep with my toddler. Even the most committed Tupperware-yielding person, finding the mental bandwidth to cobble something together was out of the question that day.
The lunch-buying ban doesn’t include snacks (I’m yet to break my 3pm chocolate-dash habit) but I’ve managed to swerve shop-bought sandwiches and salads for most of this year. BYO is cheaper, tastes better and fills you up more.
There’s no way, however, that I’m making everything from scratch every day. Instead I prep lunch-friendly, easy-to-assemble lunchtime flavour bombs whenever there’s time, ready to jazz up dinner leftovers or a bag of pre-cooked grains. Here are five of my favourites, plus some ideas for how to use them.
Crispy chickpeas
Take a jar (spring for the fancy jarred ones if you can) of chickpeas, drain, pat dry with kitchen paper and toss with olive oil and 1 tbsp ras el hanout. Air-fry for 10 minutes until crisp or bake in the oven at 200C for 15 minutes. Use as a topper for salads and soups to add crunch and protein.
Whipped harissa cottage cheese
Take a tub of cottage cheese and blitz in a food processor for 1 minute, or until really light and fluffy. Swirl through 2 tsp rose harissa paste. Decant back into the tub, then stash to dollop on salads or jacket potatoes. You could switch out the harissa for pesto, crispy chilli oil or olive tapenade.
Baked sweet potatoes
Next time you’re turning on the oven, prick sweet potatoes and bake for 35 minutes at 180C until tender. Pop in the fridge, ready to serve with tuna and the toppings above or just a handful of salad.
Warm ‘nduja lentil salad
Add a couple of handfuls of halved cherry tomatoes to a large frying pan with a splash of olive oil and cook for 3-4 minutes to allow them to blister. Stir in a tin of green lentils and some finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and olives. Add 1 tsp ‘nduja (you can use a veggie/vegan version if you like) and sizzle until the lentils are warmed through before stirring in a big handful of spinach. Stash in the fridge and eat as it is, or topped with a protein such as jammy soft-boiled eggs, hot smoked salmon, chicken or tofu.
Green chilli coconut sauce
Blitz 8 tbsp coconut milk, 2 finely chopped green chillies, 1 clove garlic, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar and a large bunch of coriander. Serve over roasted veg, such as cauliflower, with a pack of pre-cooked grains, swirl through soups, or drizzle over scrambled eggs on toast.
Five easy assembly-job lunch ideas
Baked sweet potato, tuna, crispy chickpeas and whipped cottage cheese.
Roasted cauliflower, green coconut sauce and pre-cooked grains.
Pre-cooked quinoa, harissa cottage cheese, chopped jarred red peppers and a big handful of rocket with a squeeze of lemon.
Warm lentil salad with a handful of hot smoked trout flaked over the top.
Toast spread with whipped cottage cheese then topped with a soft boiled egg.
What fabulous ideas! Thank you!
Thank you for these. I always find lunch the hardest meal to be organised for but know a good lunch makes all the difference for how I feel in the afternoon! Pre cooked grains are so useful. I’ll definitely be trying some of these ideas. I’ve been air frying a mixture of walnuts and pecans for 8-9 mins with a pinch of salt and some rosemary. I chop a few up and sprinkle over any lunch, really tasty.