lunch box

Gorgeous Green Lentil Salad

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With the weather improving it’s time to eat a little lighter, and make use of all the delicious veggies that are now coming in season. If you want something healthy full of crunch and protein, then this is the perfect salad.

Ideal for lunch or as a side dish, this salad has lots of colour and fresh flavours (don’t skimp on the herbs).  If you don’t already do it, window boxes full of herbs will transform how you cook and eat. The dressing has some Asian flavours for a little extra zing, but if it’s not your thing you can leave out the miso and ginger.

Ingredients

75 Grams Green lentils (dry weight, or use 1 Can of ready cooked lentils)

150 Grams Bulgar wheat, dry weight (you can also use cous cous, barley or whatever grain you prefer)

2-3 Scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)

1 Courgette /zucchini (grated)

75 Grams Cucumber (seeds removed, and chopped into 1 cm chunks)

1 Apple (chopped into 1 cm chunks and cover with some od the lemon juice for the dressing to stop it going brown)

1 Carrot (grated)

1 Handful Parsley or mint (chopped)

1 Handful Coriander (chopped)

I Tbsp Pumpkin seeds

Salt and pepper

Dressing

1 Lemon (juiced)

2-3 Tbsp Oil

1 Tbsp Grated ginger

1 Tsp Miso paste

Method

  • Cook the lentils and Bulgar wheat according to the instructions on he packaging, set aside and allow to cool. If you are using pre cooked lentil just drain them
  • Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
  • In a small bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients together and drizzle over the salad ingredients
  • Mix well and add salt pepper if you think it needs it.

Spanikopita (Greek Feta and Spinach Pie)

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This pie is very satisfying but still quite light and a good way to get your daily dose of veggies.

I use frozen spinach, because it’s cheaper and a kilo of fresh spinach will take up half your kitchen, make sure to squeeze out as much water as possible so the pie won’t be soggy. Fresh herbs add flavour, and while dill is traditionally used, I used parsley and mint which are also used in some parts of Greece.

Filo pastry can be bought in most larger super markets. Make sure to cover the pastry with a slightly damp tea towel to stop it drying out when you are making the pie.

The pie can be eaten hot or cold and can live in your fridge for 2-3 days. It’s great as a lunch dish served with some salad or as a side dish.

Ingredients

1kg Frozen spinach (defrosted, and all excess liquid squeezed out)

3 eggs

Handful of finely chopped parsley and mint

250 Grams Filo pastry

200 Grams Feta style cheese (crumbled)

1 Leek or bunch of scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)

1 Tbsp Oil

25 Grams Butter (melted)

Salt and pepper (to taste)

2 Tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • In a large pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the leek until soft. Set to one side and allow to cool
  • Add the drained spinach to a large bowl and loosen up with a fork. Stir in the eggs, feta, herbs leeks and seasoning. Stir until combined
  • Grease a 6 x 9 in baking tin and line with sheets of filo pastry, brush each sheet lightly with butter before topping with another sheet (lay 5-6 sheets of filo pastry as a base)
  • When the tray is lined, spread the spinach mixture evenly across the base. Fold in any overlapping pastry and top the pie with the leftover sheets of pastry (brush each sheet lightly with butter before topping with the next.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until brown and crispy

Asian Noodle Salad

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Trying to get away from winter’s stodgy comfort food, doesn’t mean giving up on flavour.

This salad is jam packed with flavour and texture and takes 10-15 minutes to knock up. It’s also gluten free and vegan and makes a great lunch box filler if you’re fed up with sandwiches.

Ingredients

500 Grams Dried rice noodles

1/4 Red cabbage (finely sliced)

3 Scallions/spring onions (finely sliced)

2 Small carrots (grated)

1 Red pepper (finely sliced)

2 Tbsp Coriander (finely chopped)

2 Tbsp Mint (finely chopped)

Dressing

2-3 Tbsp Peanut butter

1 Tbsp Sesame oil

1 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Tbsp Grated ginger

1 Tsp Maple syrup or Honey if you’re not vegan

1 Tsp Chilli flakes

1 Tbsp White wine vinegar or lemon juice

Topping (option)

2 Tbsp Pumpkin seeds

100 Grams Cashew nuts/peanuts (toasted)

Method

  • Toast the nuts in a hot frying pan and set to one side and allow to cool.
  • Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the noodles and add to a bowl of ice water to stop them over cooking.
  • Add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl and mix well. You might need to add some hot water to loosen up the dressing if its too thick.
  • Drain the cold noodles and add to a large bowl. Stir in the vegetables and dressing and mix well.
  • Top with the pumpkin seeds and nuts if using.

Vegan Sausage Rolls

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A good sausage roll is one of my many weaknesses and when I was making some some for a work party I realized I work with quite a few vegetarians and would need to have something for them.

Only psychopaths make their own puff pastry, so when you are buying your pastry check that its vegetarian/vegan friendly (most are), unless you want to use the “all butter” versions but this would obviously not be suitable for vegans.

Pastry glazes for vegan dishes obviously can’t use the traditional egg or milk glazes but plant milk or coconut oil can work well, I used some onion seeds as well to add some interest.

While these are mushrooms flavoured, I also included some lentils to add some meatiness to the texture as well as some protein and some miso paste to give it that umami flavour that some vegan dishes lack.

Ingredients

1 x 375 Gram Sheet ready rolled puff pastry

300 Grams Button mushrooms (finely chopped)

25 Grams Dried Porcini mushrooms

100 Grams Breadcrumbs

1 Tsp Miso paste

200 Grams Tinned lentils (or cooked green lentils)

1 Leek (finely chopped)

1 Tablespoon Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Plank milk/Coconut oil to brush the pastry with

2 Tsp Onion or sesame seeds to decorate (optional)

Method

  • Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl with 100 Mil boiling water and allow to soak for at least 15 minutes
  • In a large frying pan over a medium heat, and the oil and when hot add the mushrooms and leek. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally (don’t move the mushrooms about too much or they will become watery)
  • When cooked add the lentils, miso, and porcini mushrooms (including the water they were soaking), cook for a further 5-10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated, and then add the breadcrumbs and stir well. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool
  • Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius) and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
  • Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking and cut the pastry sheet in half lengthways.
  • Spoon the cooled mushroom mix down the centre of each strip of pastry leaving enough space for when you roll the edges together. Wet the long edges of the pastry and gently bring the edges together to slightly overlap each other then press together
  • Turn the side where pastry meet to the bottom and brush with your glaze before sprinkling with seeds, if you are using them.
  • With a sharp knife cut the pastry sausage into 3-4 cm slices before transferring onto the lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown

South Western Pin Wheels

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I usually find sandwiches a bit meh!, but I love these. I make these as pinwheel sandwiches, which is basically a tortilla rolled up and cut into slices. They are nice for parties, or just because you want to fancy up your lunchbox.

The filling is packed full of flavours from America’s South West, black beans, corn, coriander (cilantro) etc. This makes it full of colour, crunch, fibre and flavour.

I used full fat sour cream and cream cheese, but you can use lower fat versions. This sandwich filling also makes an amazing topping for baked potatoes, or stirred into left over pasta to make a salad.

Roll up

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

400 Gram Can Sweet Corn (drained)

400 Gram Can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

1 Large red pepper (chopped into 1cm cubes)

2-3 Scallions/spring onions (finely sliced)

2 Tbsp Coriander (Finely chopped)

150 Grams Cheddar Cheese (grated)

2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

1 Tsp Chilli Powder

1 Tsp Salt

200 Grams Sour Cream

200 Grams Cream Cheese

4-5 Tortillas

Method

  • Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and stir until well combined
  • Spread 2 large spoonfuls of the filling on a tortilla, and roll the outside edge inwards tightly
  • Cut into 3-4cm sclices and serve

The “Friends” (Jennifer Aniston) Salad

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Sometimes random things pop up on your social media feed and this was the “Friends” salad, apparently the female cast members all ate the same thing every day for lunch for 10 years.

I followed the recipe provided by icecreamandneondreams.com and I have to say it’s very tasty (maybe not eating it every day for 10 years), but definitely worth including in your salad or lunch dish rotation.

Needless to say its very healthy with plenty of fibre and protein and full of lovely flavours that compliment each other. Like any salad you can play with the ratio of ingredients depending on your taste

The original salad doesn’t have any dressing, but you can also add some olive oil and lemon juice if you think it needs it.

Ingredients

250 Grams Bulgar Wheat (dry weight cook according the instructions on the packet)

1 Large or 2 small Cucumbers

400 Gram Tin of Chick Peas

1 Small red onion (finely sliced)

200 Grams Feta Cheese (crumbled)

50 Grams Shelled Pistachios

2 Tbsp. Fresh mint (chopped), or 2 tsp dried mint

2 Tbsp. Parsley (chopped)

Method

  1. Cook the bulgar wheat according to the instructions on the packet and allow to cool
  2. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out and discard the watery seeds on the middle. Cut each half in half again and slice into 1 cm slices (you can make them chunkier if you prefer)
  3. Drain the chick peas and add to a large bowl along with all the other ingredients and mix well. Have a taste and add some salt and pepper if you the salad needs it

Blackberry Muffins

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When it’s cold and wet outside its nice to have a recipe that you can rustle up something yummy out of what you have in the cupboards. These are great for brunch, lunch boxes, or just because you want something nice with a cup of tea or coffee.

I’ve used frozen blackberries and orange zest to flavour these. This can be swapped for blueberry and lemon, which is also delicious. Dried fruit works well too.

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients

300 Grams Self raising flour

100 Grams Sugar

100 Grams Butter

2 Eggs

150 Grams Blackberries (defrost first if using frozen)

1 Tsp Vanilla extract

1 Tsp Baking powder

Zest of one orange

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius), line a muffin tin with paper cases
  2. In a mixer or with an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together
  3. Add the eggs and mix well before adding the flour (set aside 2 Tbsps of flour), baking powder, orange zest and vanilla and mix until combined (it might look a bit lumpy, but that’s OK)
  4. Toss your fruit in the flour you set aside (this will stop it sinking to the bottom of your muffins). Gently fold the fruit through your muffin mix
  5. Spoon the mix into your muffin cases as evenly as possible and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

Spinach Falafel

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Sometimes if you’ve been overindulging your body tells you to eat something healthier. When that happens, this what you should be eating. Packed full of flavour and protein these little falafel are great as the protein element of a main meal or in wraps for a tasty and filling packed lunch. These falafel are baked rather than fried, which helps make them even healthier.

I made these with cannelini beans, (I thought I had chickpeas in the cupboard, but you could probably use any type of tinned beans). These are also gluten free and suitable for vegans.

Ingredients

400 Gram Can of cannelini beans or chickpeas

2 Tablespoons Porridge oats

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 Tablespoon Tahini

2 Cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)

100 Grams Spinach

1 Teaspoon Salt

Handful of Coriander or parsley (toughly chopped)

Tablespoon Sesame Seeds (optional)

Oil for spraying

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  2. Add all ingredients (except the sesame seeds) to a food processor and blend until you have a smooth mix
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment, the falafel mix should be quite soft, so I used a tablespoon to scoop the mix on the baking sheet.
  4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you are using them and bake for 15 minutes before turning them and bake for another 15 minutes

Mock Crab

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It may not be pretty, but OMG it’s tasty.

I have no idea why this is called mock crab, as it isn’t remotely fishy. But, what it is, is a really quick and tasty filling for sandwiches, toasties, and maybe controversially baked potatoes.

My Mum made this mix of corned (chipped) beef, tomatoes and onion for slightly fancier lunches. I love her, but she wasn’t especially adventurous, this was one of the things she knew we all loved.

Someone told me that this was devised during World War II, because people had to rely on tinned food as there could be shortages of fresh food. However it came about, it’s really delicious.

Ingredients

340 Gram Tin of corned beef

1/2 Small onion (finely chopped)

2 Small tomatoes

2 Tbsps Mayonnaise (you can increase this if you want a creamier texture)

Method

  1. Remove the corned beef from the tin and either chop finely or mash with a fork
  2. Finely chop the onion, and chop the tomatoes into 1 cm chunks (you can makes the mix a bit chunkier if you prefer)
  3. Add the mayonnaise and mix well, before filling sandwiches or baked potatoes

Green Eggs and Ham Fritatta

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Super tasty way to use up leftovers

I hate food waste. So when I see stuff has been hanging about the fridge for a couple days I try to find a way to use it up.

I had some lardons left from another dish I had made. I also had some feta cheese and vegetables. I decided to make a fritatta, which is great to slice up and use from breakfast or brunch, and makes a great lunch box filler.

Fritatta packed full of green veggies, salty bacon and feta cheese.

Ingredients

8 Eggs

100 Grams Feta cheese

100 Grams Lardons (cut up streaky bacon would also work)

1 Onion (finely chopped)

100 Grams Kale (cooked)

100 Grams Frozen peas (thawed)

1 Tbsp Chopped parsley (optional)

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat a large pan, and add the lardons
  2. Fry until crispy, and then remove from the pan
  3. Add the onion to the pan, cook over a low heat until soft
  4. The kale, parsley and peas, and crumble the Feta cheese into the oan
  5. In a separate bowl, crack 8 eggs and beat, before adding to the frying pan.
  6. Remove the pan from the heat and mix all the ingredients well
  7. Transfer to a 8 inch x 12 inch baking tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes in an oven pre heated to 200 degrees. Cook until just firm and allow to set in the tin