Healthy Lunch Ideas

I've taken a break this week from my usual Weekend Baking post to write about something else that hopefully will be just as tasty. I've found it really difficult during the winter months to be creative with lunch ideas that are filling and also full of good stuff to get me through the afternoon without craving bad things. 

Today, I wanted to share three lunch ideas that include at least 2 of your 5 a day and can be made in advance if you don't have lots of time during the week. Read on to check them out...

Feta, Salmon & Broccoli Fishcakes

Fishcakes are a great way to pack lots of flavour around carbohydrates and protein and they're so easy to make and adapt to whatever you like. These are made by combining mashed potato, salmon, broccoli, feta, red onion and parsley then rolling them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. I baked these in the oven for around 25 minutes instead of frying them to keep the fat content down and served them with a fresh salad.

Spicy Tomato Soup

Soup isn't something that I would immediately think of making at lunchtime as it seems so time consuming and not really worth it. However, once made, soup can last 3-4 days in the refrigerator or be frozen to eat at a later date. For this soup I cooked fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrots and red chilli until soft then added stock and blitzed until smooth. I served it with parsley and lots of sourdough bread and it definitely warmed me up on a cold day!

Pearl Barley Salad

This salad has definitely been my new favourite discovery and proved to me that not all salads will leave me feeling hungry and wanting snacks a few hours after lunchtime. To make it, I cooked some pearl barley and added grilled chicken, red onion and courgettes then mixed in some feta, fresh tomatoes, black olives and mint leaves.

What's your favourite dish to eat for lunch?

Rosanna

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