Recipes

lunch-food

Quinoa and Black Beans

This vegan quinoa recipe is a very flavorful alternative to black beans and rice. Quinoa is a nutty grain from South America.

These apple chips with cinnamon will disappear almost as quickly as you make them! They're perfect as a healthy snack and easy to take on the road. The secret is to bake them at a very low temperature

The Best Vegetable Salad

A refreshing vegetable salad using all different kinds of vegetables. You can use whatever you like, but the tomatoes and cucumbers make it taste great. It is very much like an Israeli salad. The home

Sofrito

Sofrito is the base for most Puerto Rican dishes, and this one is better than store-bought (it's difficult to find in the stores in the western United States). Sofrito can be added to beans, rice, sou

Microwave Corn on the Cob in the Husk

Cooking corn in the husk in the microwave is easy. This is one of my favorite ways to fix corn on the cob, even when I have several to fix. Without the water from boiling, the corn stays nice and swee

Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)

This easy onigiri recipe is also fun to make! These rice balls are a staple of Japanese lunchboxes (bento). You can put almost anything in these rice balls; try substituting grilled salmon, pickled pl

Mexican Ceviche

Learn how to make ceviche with this recipe for a traditional Mexican version. I've had it several times in Mexico, and have also learned to cook Mexican food for my husband. Every time I make this it'

Slow Cooker Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

These slow cooker black-eyed peas are flavored with jalapeño pepper, cumin, ham, and bacon for a spicy side dish. Perfect for potluck dinners and barbecues!

Sopa de Fideos

This sopa de fideos recipe is my version of the tomato noodle soup they give you in Mexican restaurants before the meal. This can easily be made at home with just a few simple ingredients.

Warm Dijon Potato Salad

This warm potato salad has loads of creamy dressing made with mayo, Parmesan, Dijon mustard, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and paprika for a bit of a kick!

Vegetarian Chickpea Sandwich Filling

Spread this chickpea sandwich filling on crusty whole grain rolls or pita bread and serve with lettuce and tomato.

Tofu Salad

This tofu salad is made with marinated tofu, snow peas, ginger, and garlic.

Slow Cooker Ham and Beans

This recipe for crockpot ham and beans is perfect for those blustery days when you don't really have time to cook, but want a hearty meal for the family. It's a basic meal in your slow cooker that eve

Grilled Corn Salad

This grilled corn salad made with roasted corn, garden-fresh vegetables, and cilantro makes the perfect side dish for any BBQ or hot summer day. It will last several days when refrigerated in an airti

Slow Cooker Applesauce

This applesauce is easy to prep and make in a slow cooker. My kids and I came up with this recipe one fall weekend and we love it!

Healthier Sloppy Joes

This healthier version of Sloppy Joes includes more veggies and real garlic. Be sure to serve on whole wheat buns!

Black Bean and Chickpea Chili

This easy, filling meal uses lots of fresh vegetables, and some frozen or canned to make it easy. Ground turkey breast can be added for meat lovers. Serve over wild rice with shredded cheddar cheese,

Mom's Portuguese Beef Stew

This is a favorite home meal from my mom. My sister had to write while my mom cooked in order to get the recipe right. It's easy and will impress anyone. Serve steaming hot on a bed of white rice.

Simple Peanut Butter and Tomato Sandwich

I have been making these for years! It's a recipe my grandma used to make us when we were kids. This seems like it wouldn't taste any good, but it is AMAZING!

Octodogs

These cute little guys will be a hit at any kids party, fun get-together, or in a child's lunchbox!

Home Made Top Tarts!

This is an easy pop tart recipe. I didn't think anything could be better than a toasted store-bought pastry tart in the morning — until I made these. Very, very easy to make! Kids (and adults) love

Baked Sweet Potato Sticks

These baked sweet potato sticks are best eaten at room temperature.

Cafeteria Macaroni and Cheese

This is an old-fashioned comfort food recipe.

Tabbouleh

This tabbouleh recipe is the real deal! It's great tasting, refreshing, and easy to make ahead for a crowd-pleasing salad.

Tofu Sandwich Spread

This is a favorite vegetarian sandwich spread made with tofu. It makes a great sandwich filling, or you can eat it with crackers.

Quick and Easy Pimento Cheese

I came up with this simple pimento cheese recipe for a party one day. It's a quick and yummy alternative to anything you'll find in a store.

Apricot Leather

Learn how to make your own apricot fruit leather with this recipe. It's a great way to use extra apricots, especially when your tree gives a bumper crop. Apricots are very nutritious and this makes a

Blueberry Oatmeal Chia Seed Muffins

These blueberry and chia seed muffins are perfect for the lunch box, the breakfast/brunch table, or the coffee room at work. They're so moist and bursting with blueberries!

Pork Empanadas

This empanada recipe makes tender pork turnovers. The filling can be used for almost anything else, such as taco filling; can be frozen, baked or unbaked. The pork and the empanada dough can be made a

Ukrainian Red Borscht Soup

Borscht is a classic beet soup that's so comforting and delicious. This recipe comes from my Ukrainian friend's mother, who taught me how to make it.

Belizean Chicken Stew

I learned how to make this when I dated a Belizean man for about a year. He is long gone, but I still make his stew and I love it! This is a very healthy dish but the limes and the hot sauce make it v

Po' Boy Remoulade Sauce

This sauce is perfect for any seafood dish. Excellent for shrimp po' boys. Serve with fried shrimp on a toasted hoagie roll with shredded lettuce and tomato.

Reuben Sandwich

A Reuben sandwich is one of my family's fix-it-quick favorites. They are really delicious and easy to make. I like to serve them with big bowls of steaming vegetable soup and dill pickles on the side.

Simple Salami Sandwich

This simple salami sandwich is perfect for those hot summer days when you don't want to fire up the oven. The olive mixture poses as a dressing for the lettuce and tomato but also soaks down in that t

Sloppy Joes

These crowd-pleasing Sloppy Joe sandwiches will take you back to your childhood! This is my mom's recipe and it always gets compliments!

Spinach Roll-Ups

I got this recipe from a co-worker after having them at a baby shower. They are absolutely wonderful, even if you're like me and NOT fond of spinach. They are so easy to make.

Turkey Wraps

These tasty turkey wraps are great for lunch or sliced into smaller pieces for little after-school snacks or party appetizers.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

These blueberry bars are easy to make and kids love them! Any berry can be used.

Split Pea Soup without Pork

To make a delicious Pea Soup without all the fat simply substitute chicken stock for most of the liquid in your favorite recipe! The soup will cook down and be flavorful, though mild in taste. My fami

Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls

Skip the takeout with this grilled chicken teriyaki bowl. Grill marinated chicken, pineapple, and seasoned broccoli and red pepper and serve over rice.

Spinach and Artichoke Farro Bowl with Chicken and Mushrooms

This spinach and artichoke grain bowl gets extra heft from the addition of chicken and mushrooms, plus a nice tangy zip from marinated artichoke hearts.

Egg Roll in a Bowl

You might think this was invented to avoid all of that time-consuming wrapping and messy deep-frying, but it wasn't! It was invented by the keto people, because they can't eat egg roll wrappers-but th

Sausage Egg Roll in Bowl

This sausage egg roll in a bowl has all the egg roll ingredients without the fried wrapper.

Bibimbap (Korean Rice With Mixed Vegetables)

This bibimbap recipe makes a popular and delicious Korean meal. Meaning mixed rice, bibimbap is a delicious rice bowl topped with vegetables, beef, a whole egg, and gochujang (red chili pepper paste).

Vermicelli Noodle Bowl

This vermicelli bowl combines fresh herbs, rice vermicelli noodles, cucumber, bean sprouts, and grilled shrimp. Tossed with a tangy sweet-and-sour sauce, it's a simple and satisfying dinner that's per

Air-Fryer Grilled Cheese

This easy air-fryer grilled cheese recipe yields an evenly toasted exterior, crisped frico edges and a perfectly melted middle — in record time. As Julia Moskin points out in her stovetop recipe, so

Kimchi Grilled Cheese

Spicy heat plays well with melty cheese (think: queso dip, stuffed jalapeños, Buffalo wings and blue cheese). Here, kimchi and mozzarella cheese come together for a twist on the classic grilled chees

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken

This creamy chicken noodle soup recipe has a delicious potpie feel to it. We call for rotisserie chicken to streamline your prep time—look for a nice big one with lots of breast meat on it. Pair thi

Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

The creamy mushroom linguine is ready in 40 minutes, so it's quick enough for an easy weeknight recipe but it feels fancy enough for entertaining.

Spaghetti with Creamy Lemon-Spinach Sauce

Give your veggie servings a boost with this easy spaghetti with spinach sauce recipe. Loosely inspired by the flavors of classic pesto, this vibrant pasta packs in plenty of spinach and basil with a g

Fettuccine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Any variety of mushroom will work in this creamy vegetarian pasta sauce, but we particularly like a combination of shiitake, oyster and cremini. Adding a few wild varieties, such as chanterelle or lob

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Shrimp

Yogurt makes a fine substitute for cream in the sauce for this easy pasta recipe. Just warm the yogurt (do not boil) and add some pasta-cooking water to thin it out. Lemon and fresh basil brighten up

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This easy slow-cooker chicken noodle soup is chock-full of vegetables and noodles, and gets extra creaminess from a little light cream cheese.

Creamy Mac & Cheese Soup

A package of frozen pureed winter squash adds sweetness and good nutrition--namely vitamin A, potassium and fiber--to this soup version of a family favorite, mac and cheese. It also lends its orange c

Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken & Zucchini

In this creamy peanut noodle recipe, we swapped half the pasta for zucchini noodles to reduce the carbs and calories, and bump up the vegetables. Zucchini noodles can be found in the prepped vegetable

Creamy Rotisserie-Chicken Noodle Casserole

This creamy chicken noodle casserole recipe is inspired by our popular Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken by Karen Rankin. We use store-bought rotisserie chicken to cut down on cooking

Mushroom-Ricotta Tartines

Enjoy the art of presentation with a tartine—a sandwich that's a feast for the eyes and taste buds, served open-faced. Here, we slather a thick slice of good crusty whole-wheat bread with a creamy p

Teriyaki Tofu Rice Bowls

With a handful of shortcut ingredients from your grocery store, including precooked rice packets and seasoned baked tofu, you can prepare several high-fiber, high-protein meals in about 15 minutes

Spinach & Egg Sweet Potato Toast

Skip the gluten and get some vitamin C with this healthy sweet potato toast recipe. Topped with spinach, egg and a dash of hot sauce, it's a delicious alternative to eggs Benedict.

Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing

Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one!

Ham and Broccoli Topped Baked Potato

Jazz up your simple baked potato with a quickly microwaved topping.

Whole-Wheat Veggie Wrap

Use whichever veggies you have on hand to fill up this veggie wrap. The avocado and hummus help hold the wrap together—and provide heart-healthy fat and fiber

Roasted Veggie & Hummus Pita Pockets

These satisfying and tasty pita-pocket sandwiches are packed with roasted veggies and greens. A spread of hummus adds creaminess and keeps everything from falling out.

Turkey Apple Cheddar Sandwich

It only takes 5 minutes to make this healthy sandwich with whole-wheat bread and the classic combination of Cheddar cheese and apples that your kids will love.

Chicken, Quinoa & Veggie Bowl

With a whopping 19 grams of protein, this one-dish meal will keep you feeling full and satisfied for hours.

Cauliflower Rice Bowls with Grilled Asparagus & Chicken Sausage

Stock the fridge with a week's worth of lunches using a handful of ingredients from your local grocery store. To save on carbs, we're swapping in riced cauliflower for regular rice and adding pregrill

Chickpea & Veggie Grain Bowl

This high-fiber vegetarian grain bowl is packed with colorful veggies and plant-based protein to keep you feeling energized and satisfied.

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas

This healthy high-fiber salad comes together in just 10 minutes. Serve it right away or pack it in individual servings for four super-satisfying high-fiber lunches for the week ahead. To cut down on p

Chicken & Cabbage Salad Bowls with Sesame Dressing

Everything you need (just 4 ingredients!) to prepare a week's worth of healthy, low-carb lunches can be found at your neighborhood grocery store. A bag of prechopped red and green cabbage serves as th

Peanut Butter-Banana Roll-Ups

These healthy roll-ups with peanut butter and bananas make eating lunch fun! Kids will love the bite-sized version of this sandwich. Try sunflower seed butter as an allergy-friendly alternative.

Turkey-Cranberry Wrap

This wrap is quick-and-easy to prepare and is the perfect lunch solution for all of those Thanksgiving leftovers.

Strawberry-Pineapple Smoothie

Blend almond milk, strawberry and pineapple for a smoothie that's so easy you can make it on busy mornings. A bit of almond butter adds richness and filling protein. Freeze some of the almond milk for

Salmon Couscous Salad

This healthy and easy salad is designed to be made with precooked or leftover salmon. To quickly cook salmon, lightly brush with olive oil, then roast in a 450 degrees F oven until the fish is opaque

Green Goddess Wrap

A soft and silky green goddess dressing blends with crunchy fresh cucumber and tender greens in this easy wrap. If you prefer, you can ditch the wrap and enjoy the filling as a salad instead.

Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables, depending on your moo

Vegan Superfood Grain Bowls

This nutrient-packed grain bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwavable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahea

Get Your Greens Wrap

This healthy, quick wrap is packed with plenty of green vegetables—cucumber, sprouts and lettuce add crunch, avocado lends creaminess and edamame provides some plant-based protein.

Orange-Mint Freekeh Salad with Lima Beans

This salad is loaded with colorful produce: fresh mint, snap peas, radishes and oranges. For pretty snap pea slices, cut them into long, thin strips.

Matcha powder and spinach give this healthy smoothie bowl a beautiful green hue. If you don't have s

Matcha powder and spinach give this healthy smoothie bowl a beautiful green hue. If you don't have spinach on hand, try swapping in another dark leafy green like kale.

Spicy Tuna Salad English Muffin Sandwich

This quick lunch idea has a delicious balance of flavors. A slightly spicy Sriracha-mayonnaise mixture adds heat to the tuna salad, while the quick-pickled cucumbers provide brightness. Be sure to toa

Roasted Vegetable & Black Bean Tacos

These hearty vegan tacos are quick and easy to make, perfect for busy weeknights. They are so tasty no one will miss the meat or dairy.

Chickpea & Quinoa Grain Bowl

It seems grain bowls have as many variations as there are stars in the sky, and there is no wrong way to build one! But we prefer to keep things classic and simple with hummus, quinoa, avocado and loa

Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl

This flavorful burrito bowl features grilled chicken coated in a spicy chipotle glaze. Loading it with vegetables and using quinoa in place of rice adds nutrition for a healthier dinner.

Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

These hearty kale salads hold up well for 4 days, making them perfect for meal-prep lunches. To keep the ingredients from getting soggy, dress this salad and top it with peanuts just before serving. F

Chicken Shawarma with Yogurt Sauce

The key to cooking juicy chicken without a spit in this healthy recipe is high heat and dark meat. The yogurt in the marinade gives the chicken both its tender texture and its alluring char. More yogu

Chicken & Cucumber Pita Sandwiches with Yogurt Sauce

Cucumbers do double duty in this healthy Greek-inspired chicken pita recipe—they're grated to lend a refreshing flavor to the quick cucumber-yogurt sauce and sliced to provide cool crunch tucked int

Chicken & Cabbage Soup with Pesto

This one-pot chicken and cabbage soup is topped with flavor-boosting store-bought pesto. Big, fiber-rich butter beans add a creamy bite, but you can easily swap them out for cannellini beans or navy b

Chicken with Spinach & Tomato Orzo Salad

Baked chicken breasts cook in the oven while you mix together a Mediterranean-inspired salad—packed with veggies, whole-wheat orzo and an easy homemade vinaigrette—for a weekend-worthy dinner on t

Avocado, Tomato & Chicken Sandwich

In this healthy chicken sandwich recipe, the avocado is mashed to create a healthy creamy spread.

Instant Pot Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Noodles

To make a flavorful base for this soup—while still using some shortcuts—we pressure-cook store-bought broth with ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine.

Cucumber Sandwich

This creamy, crunchy cucumber sandwich recipe strikes a lovely balance between decadent and light. The cream cheese-yogurt spread complements the crisp refreshing cucumber, while the hearty flavor and

Buffalo Chicken Grain Bowl

Get the flavors of spicy Buffalo chicken wings, without frying, in this nutritious couscous bowl loaded with protein and crisp veggies.

Chicken Avocado BLT Wrap

Who doesn't love a BLT? In this Mexican-inspired version, we've added chicken and avocado and wrapped it in a tortilla, making it easy to eat.

Easy Brown Rice & Veggie Wrap

Use leftover brown rice and roasted veggies for this easy vegan lunch idea to pack for work. To serve this wrap warm, simply pop in the microwave for about a minute to warm through.