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Easy healthy lunch ideas

5 recipes in this collection.

A large oval cream-speckled stoneware platter on a white marble counter holding four slices of grilled sourdough bread topped with thick juicy slices of ripe red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, generous pillows of torn burrata cheese with creamy centers spilling slightly, scattered fresh basil leaves of various sizes, a generous drizzle of green-gold olive oil pooling at the edges, flaky sea salt flakes, and cracked black pepper. A small clear glass cruet of more olive oil, a small dish of flaky salt, a halved lemon, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel sit beside the platter. Soft summer afternoon light from the kitchen window.

Lunch is the meal I’m most likely to phone in, so these are built to be easy without being sad. A few are ten-minute, no-cook assemblies for a busy weekday. A couple are meal-prep bowls you can make once and eat all week, which is honestly my favorite kind of cooking.

The thread running through all of them is the same thing I want from any lunch. Something fresh, something with enough protein and texture to carry me to dinner, and nothing that leaves me hungry an hour later.

Two slices of grilled dark rye bread on a small cream-speckled stoneware plate on a white marble counter, each piled high with creamy cottage-cheese tuna salad showing visible flakes of tuna, small curds of cottage cheese, scattered bright green capers, finely chopped fresh dill, a thin slice of red onion, a few cracks of black pepper, and a flake of flaky salt. A small lemon wedge rests on the plate beside the toasts. A small clear glass jar of capers, a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel, and a small bunch of fresh dill sit on the marble beside the plate. Soft midday light from the kitchen window.

Cottage cheese tuna salad on grilled rye

Tuna salad with cottage cheese instead of mayo: lighter, brighter, and quietly delivering 35 grams of protein. Piled on grilled dark rye with dill, capers, lemon, and cracked pepper.

A large oval cream-speckled stoneware platter on a white marble counter holding four slices of grilled sourdough bread topped with thick juicy slices of ripe red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, generous pillows of torn burrata cheese with creamy centers spilling slightly, scattered fresh basil leaves of various sizes, a generous drizzle of green-gold olive oil pooling at the edges, flaky sea salt flakes, and cracked black pepper. A small clear glass cruet of more olive oil, a small dish of flaky salt, a halved lemon, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel sit beside the platter. Soft summer afternoon light from the kitchen window.

Tomato burrata salad with basil and grilled bread

Peak-summer tomatoes, torn burrata, fresh basil, and slices of grilled sourdough rubbed with garlic. Twenty minutes of assembly and you've got the kind of lunch that needs nothing else.

Overhead view of a wide cream-speckled stoneware bowl with a grain bowl lunch: a base of nutty farro topped with golden roasted carrot wedges, crispy roasted chickpeas, a handful of fresh arugula, chopped parsley and dill, a small mound of crumbled feta, a halved lemon, and a slow drizzle of pale lemon tahini dressing. On a white marble counter with a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel, a small jar of tahini dressing on the side, and a light oak fork resting at an angle.

Roasted carrot grain bowl with lemon tahini

Warm farro, golden roasted carrots, crispy chickpeas, a tangle of fresh herbs, and a lemon tahini that ties the whole thing together. The kind of lunch that makes future-you grateful.

A wide cream-speckled stoneware bowl on a white marble counter, sectioned into a generous meal-prep bowl: a pile of warm cooked French green lentils glossy with olive oil and lemon zest, a section of cubed roasted sweet potatoes with caramelized edges, a small handful of thinly sliced cucumber rounds, a generous crumble of white feta, scattered chopped fresh parsley, a small wedge of lemon, a drizzle of pale-green herb-yogurt dressing, and a few cracks of black pepper. Beside the bowl: 4 glass meal-prep containers each holding a portion (ready for the week ahead), a small glass jar of more dressing with a tiny wooden spoon, a small bunch of fresh parsley, a small lemon, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel. Soft mid-morning kitchen light.

Lentil and feta meal-prep bowl with lemon herb dressing

A Tuesday-through-Friday meal-prep bowl: warm lentils, roasted sweet potatoes, crumbled feta, cucumber, parsley, and a bright lemon-yogurt dressing. Twenty-three grams of protein, no sad lunch.

Two wide cream-speckled stoneware bowls of wild rice and roasted butternut squash side by side on a white marble counter, each with dark nutty wild rice topped with deeply caramelized orange squash cubes, scattered dried cranberries, crumbled white feta, toasted pumpkin seeds, fresh parsley and thyme leaves, and a slow drizzle of golden-amber brown butter vinaigrette. A small ceramic dish of more dressing sits between the bowls with a small wooden spoon, with two light oak forks resting on a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel beside the bowls. Soft autumn-morning light from the kitchen window.

Wild rice bowl with roasted squash and brown butter

A fall lunch bowl of wild rice, roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, feta, and toasted pumpkin seeds, all dressed in a quick brown butter apple cider vinaigrette.