If you are like me, lunch is one of the very few times during the day when you have a real break from your work. TBH, I live for that half hour when I can leave my stuffy office building and sit in the sun. But having to be at my internship by 8 am and beat rush hour traffic leaves me with little to no time to prepare a great lunch to bring. If you give yourself a little time, these lunch recipes will change the game.
1. Flavor Bomb Chicken Salad
Photo by Ashleigh De Simone
Chicken salad is a lunch classic. This recipe provides major flavor and the necessary protein to sustain you through the rest of your day. Just throw it over a bed of lettuce, on a piece of toast, or on some crackers, and it will be great. And it only takes 10 minutes (max) to prepare.
2. Roast Beef Sandwich with Pesto
Photo by Alex Tom
Who doesn’t love a roast beef sandwich for lunch? With this recipe, the traditional sandwich just got 10 times better. It’s loaded with pepper jack and provolone cheese melted on to the yummy roast beef. You can also top it with homemade pesto and arugula to finish. This sandwich may just be what you’ve been craving for years. It just takes 10 minutes to get the job done.
3. Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese
Photo by Gabby Phi
Bacon, guac, and cheese may be three of the best foods ever invented. And in combination, their deliciousness is unlimited. A twist on the traditional grilled cheese, this sandwich will have your inner five-year-old grilled cheese loving self super jealous. It only takes 15 minutes for this perfection.
If you want to become a guacamole god, useful for this recipe and just in life in general, here is a homemade guac recipe.
4. Dark Chocolate, Raspberry and Brie Panini
Photo by Bernard Wen
Now as a somewhat grown and *responsible* intern, your parents can no longer tell you that you can’t eat dessert for lunch. This grilled cheese is that perfect dessert indulgence. Sweet dark chocolate, rich melted brie, and tart raspberry spread make the best dessert (lunch-dessert) imaginable – in only 10 minutes.
5. The All-Greens Panini
Photo by Tarika Narain
Summer is prime time for veggies, meaning it’s also prime time for you to get in all those delicious greens that have been growing for months. Learn how to grow your own with these easy steps. This panini is almost too much green to handle with ingredients such as basil pesto, green bell peppers, green zucchini squash, kale, and broccoli sprouts. In no time, think 20-ish minutes, you’ll be enjoying all that green during your lunch break.
6. Smoothie Bowl
Photo by Danielle Cahoon
I can tell you from first-hand experience, that eating a smoothie bowl for lunch has never let me down. In only five minutes, you get a refreshing smoothie of strawberries and clementines.
Add flax seed if you’re feeling extra healthy. Top with any berry, nut, or seed to finish it off. With endless combinations of toppings and bases, it’s the lunch that keeps on giving.
7. Apple Cider Oatmeal
Photo by Claire Waggoner
I’ve never been a big breakfast person so I always tend to go for an early lunch. This oatmeal is the best of both the breakfast and lunch world. Apples, cinnamon, and oatmeal are hardy and refreshing enough to hold ya through the day and just plain yummy. In only 10 minutes, you’ll have a big bowl for yourself.
8. Caprese Grilled Cheese
Photo by Gabby Phi
Caprese salad is one of my favorite dishes, but it’s not always filling. This grilled cheese gives you the perfect lunch staple, and the classic taste of Italy that comes with eating a Caprese salad. Here’s a recipe for the traditional dish. In under 15 minutes, you will have mozzarella, tomato, pesto, and olive oil in one scrumptious sandwich.
9. Curry Chicken Salad
Photo by Kyle Heffernan
Another twist on the traditional chicken salad, this lunch will be sure to spice up your day – pun intended. With plenty of curry powder and pepper, you might need a glass of water after eating this lunch but it is well worth it. Again, whether your want to eat it in a salad or on toast, the choice is yours. Luckily, this DIY 10-minute lunch will not disappoint.
10. Black Bean Hummus Turkey Lemon Cheese Panini
Photo by Tarika Narain
If you have not tried turkey and hummus together before, your lunch sandwich game is seriously weak. This panini highlights that winning combination and gives it even more with the addition of sharp cheddar and lemon Colby cheese. If you aren’t a fan of turkey, substitute it for ham or vegetables, and the panini is still just as addicting.
11. Couscous Greek Salad
Photo by Megan Prendergast
Making things in a mug has been a big trend lately, and if you are into that kind of thing, then this salad will become a go-to for you. In just 10 minutes, your mug will be filled to the brim with yummy couscous, cucumber, Roma tomato, kalamata olives, green onion, and feta cheese. In the thirty minutes you have to eat this lunch, you might feel like you are a little closer to the Mediterranean, where you actually want to be.
12. Chicken Cucumber Pita Pocket
Photo by Abigail Wilkins
This four-ingredient lunch will be the easiest part of your morning. In just five minutes, you will have a totally healthy and delicious lunch. Packed with protein and nutrients, and topped with cool cucumber and dill dressing, this lunch should never be passed up.
13. Tomato Gazpacho
Photo by Helena Lin
Roma tomatoes, red bell peppers, and jalapeno combine to form a wake-me-up soup to cool you off on your lunch break. This single serving sized soup takes five minutes, and it’s almost so easy to make it hurts.