We all know that we need to eat more veggies -- the FDA recommends at least 2-3 cups per day and 90% of people do not meet that goal -- so we’re here to help give you some easy ideas to get more of these amazingly helpful foods into your diets. Lunch is a great time to sneak them in! From carrots to kale, here’s our roundup of the top 5 easy lunches that will help get you your daily dose of veggies.
Egg Scramble
The beauty of an egg scramble (and really of most of the list) is that it only takes one pan which means less cleanup for you! We like to sprinkle a little olive oil in our nonstick pan and then chop up whatever veggies we have in the fridge. Bonus points if you have any fresh herbs to sprinkle on top - that totally takes it to the next level! Here are some of our favorites:
- Dark leafy greens - kale, spinach, chard
- Bell or sweet peppers
- Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Grape tomatoes (ok technically fruit but still a veggie in our minds!)
- Basil/Cilantro
After you’ve sauteed your veggies to desired softness, it’s just cracking a few eggs and scrambling it all together! Takes about 10-15 minutes total from opening the fridge to having a yummy meal. When feeling adventurous, I love to squeeze on some of Haven’s Kitchen harissa sauce to give it all a little zip!
Tacos
Shrimp tacos are my JAM! All of the work in getting a great taco is just buying the right ingredients (and knowing if you’re a flour or corn shell kinda gal) and assembly is pretty darn easy. We also love some of these healthy swaps for our tacos:
- Greek yogurt instead of crema/sour cream (recommend adding a little water to get the right consistency)
- Jicama wraps in place of flour or corn tortillas
- Shrimp or sautéed veggies instead of beef or pork (or a crumbled up Power Veggie Bite)
Salad
I know, I know - it’s a boring choice. But it doesn’t have to be! This can be one of the easiest to throw together, and doesn’t need to be as intimidating as those Mason Jar salads or something from sweetgreen. There are so many easy pre-packaged salad fixins’ out there, it just takes buying them once a week! Here’s our recommendations for a “no cutting needed” lunch salad:
- Bagged salad mix (or bunch of lettuce of your choice)
- Shredded veggies (you can go beyond just carrots - there’s shredded broccoli, cabbage, and even beets out there!)
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
- Salad dressing of your choice, or oil & vinegar
- Power Veggie Bite(s) or other protein source
Just toss everything together and call it a day! Promise that prep will not take more than 2 minutes flat.
Veggie Chop
This is my go-to when I don’t know what I want for a meal but know that I want to get more veggies in. You can sauté your chopped veggies in olive oil on the stovetop or place them all on a roasting/sheet pan and stick them in the oven for 20 minutes. Also highly recommend pouring a good sauce on top, like the aforementioned Haven’s Kitchen or a tasty BBQ or teriyaki.
Lentil sloppy joes
Granted, this one does take a little longer to make, but you can make a huge pot of it at once and get multiple meals (and frankly the leftover mix is even better the next day). This also lets you tailor a little bit to your tastes - some folks like a smokier sloppy joe, while others like a sweeter one. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 cup green lentils (simmer for 15 minutes in closed pot with 2 cups water)
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I like red ones but up to you)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 sliced carrot
- 1 can tomato sauce
- Salt to taste
- Cumin to taste
- Chili powder to taste
- BBQ sauce to taste
Basically toss it all into a pot/large saucepan and simmer until you get the flavor/doneness that you want! I like to top my sloppies with dill pickles but that may be a weird midwest thing - you do you! This will make you a TON of sandwiches so definitely feel free to share :)