The pandemic has affected so many things over the past year, and perhaps none more so than the world of work. As the #WFH (work from home) hashtag has found its way into everything from LinkedIn posts to Instagram stories, people have been left wondering, What can I eat for lunch at home?
Seeing as how the business lunch has gone the way of the dodo – at least for the time being - we’ve no longer had the opportunity to catch up with colleagues or get down to business over a three-course meal. But the answer to that question up top doesn’t always need to be the store-bought sandwich you got while shopping for groceries the night before.
Soups, salads, sandwiches, or pasta dishes, you’re just about spoiled for choice when you get to set your own menu. There is a world of opportunity in your kitchen, not to mention all the extra time you'll have without having to commute into the office. Here are a few delicious home-cooked dishes to get you thinking about what you can eat for lunch at home.
An easy way to get more omega-3 into your day
Fish holds a special place as the only food out there that feeds your brain, and recent studies show that it can even prevent the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Oily fish such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon are going to be your best options here, but the last option is a real winner as it goes well with so many other things. Salmon is also easy to cook, as you need only bake it in aluminum foil and serve with a helping of steamed greens.
Take two salmon fillets and place them on two separate sheets of aluminum foil; keep the skin on, as this is where most of the omega-3 is stored. Drizzle a teaspoon of sesame oil over the fillets and sprinkle with chopped chilli peppers and a little bit of grated garlic. Gently wrap the foil around the fish and bake them in an oven pre-heated to 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes.
While that’s cooking, steam some broccoli and green beans - and if you want a bit of extra flavor, why not squeeze a lemon wedge over a small serving of mayonnaise.
The ultimate BLT? Try using more organic produce
Traditional dishes are often the best ones to try and reinvent. The BLT may be as easy as 1-2-3, but this how to make it the highlight of any lunch break. First, get your hands on some smoked bacon and some fresh vegetables: a green pepper, a handful of mushrooms, and a red onion. The fresher the better, as organic produce is much more flavorsome than ordinary store-bought groceries.
Some of the best mushrooms for frying are Baby Bella mushrooms, as they’re small and easy to chop up. Slice your pepper into thin strips, dice your onion, and fry everything up in a large pan until soft. Next, add your rashers of bacon, and just a couple of minutes before everything is cooked, crack open a free-range egg. Just remember this isn’t an omelet, so you don’t want to mix everything up in the pan.
Now, for a special sandwich like this, you don’t want to just use any sliced bread. While sourdough bread is usually the best option here, I would recommend some seeded bread for extra texture - and for that I can’t think of anything better than this organic hemp and chia seed loaf, packed with flavor and nutrients.
Gently stack up your bacon, eggs, and fried vegetables onto the bread and layer it with two leaves of washed lettuce and couple slices of heirloom tomatoes (less common than your standard cherry tomatoes but worth seeking out). Now that is one BLT fit for the CEO.
Something a little different: buffalo meat chilli
You might think that ground beef mince is just about the only option you have when it comes to making chilli, but you would be happily surprised to find that buffalo meat makes for a delicious alternative. A leaner variety of meat than beef, buffalo is actually the healthier option here and, thanks to its smoother texture, which nicely compliments the natural creaminess of chilli.
If you’re keen to try your hand at this more unusual take on a classic dish, check out our recipe for buffalo meat chilli and you might be asking yourself why you never thought of it in the first place.
Put more spinach in your diet
Smoothies are perhaps the best way to make a delicious liquid lunch that will keep you going all afternoon. It’s also an easy way to load up on superfoods such as spinach - it’s not for nothing that Popeye the Sailor ate cans of the stuff! Spinach is packed with vitamin k, which is vital for blood clotting to help wounds heal, and it’s also packed with zinc. Your skin will love you for eating spinach, as it acts as an antioxidant and reduces those red flare-ups that can lead to nasty zits.
You can also add mixed frozen berries, which are loaded with antioxidants and do a good job of protecting you from heart disease and a few cancer variants. And why not add a handful of walnuts for added texture? They not only taste good but offer a dose of vitamin E and folate, proven to assist memory retention.
And there we have it! Just because you can’t sign the big business deals over a three-course meal, you can still make an event out of your lunch break - and make that #WFH life a lot more flavorsome. If you're looking to get creative in the kitchen, why not take our buffalo chilli recipe one step further with this take on traditional meatloaf, the buffaloaf? Made with ground bison, it's lean, simple to prepare and the recipe can be found right here.
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