6 ideas for a quick, original and light lunch!
Are you looking for ideas for a quick, original and light lunch?
Lunch is the main meal of the day, but we often find ourselves having to eat it quickly in the office, or we would like something original, but ideas are scarce ... Here are 6 ideas full of variations that could give you a little inspiration, especially if you don't have much time to waste in the kitchen, want to lose weight or simply would like to try some original dishes, even at lunchtime when you are in the office or for a trip out of town.
You will discover that sometimes a pinch of imagination is enough to make even the simplest of dishes more delicious!
Before proceeding, we suggest a list of precious foods that, in addition to being good, do not make us fat!
See also
Dissociated diet: separate proteins and carbohydrates at lunch and dinner to lose weight
1. Choose a light and original first course
Consuming a nice, tasty, original and possibly light first course is an excellent idea for a great lunch. Put aside the usual prepackaged sauce and try to unleash your imagination! If your problem is not to have much time, prepare a cold pasta: you can prepare it the night before or in the morning and store it comfortably in the fridge. If you think it is not particularly tasty, you're wrong! Try seasoning it with marinated zucchini with lime juice, then flavoring everything with cherry tomatoes, celery, feta cut into cubes and a few mint leaves: you will feel delicious!
Equally quick to prepare, super-light and suitable for a quick lunch break is the rice salad. Not the usual one, however, especially because with classic condiments such as sausages, pickles, cheeses and mayonnaise it is not exactly light ... cook it with healthier but equally tasty ingredients such as hard-boiled eggs, carrots, cubes of primo sale cheese, tomatoes, courgettes, natural tuna and a little lemon. Then preferring brown rice.
If, on the other hand, you prefer very Italian spaghetti, also in this case focus on a wholemeal version, rich in fiber: add cherry tomatoes, feta and a good rocket pesto, to be prepared with extra virgin olive oil, anchovies in oil, pine nuts and lemon juice: you will feel that goodness!
2. Bet everything on a velvety, healthy and tasty
A cream soup, especially in the cold months, can represent an "excellent solution for a healthy and balanced lunch, as well as light. If you choose the right ingredients, moreover, it can also be very greedy! Try for example to prepare a cream based on potatoes and avocado, a new combination full of surprises and very delicate. It is a very nutritious dish (but remember that avocado are good fats!) and full of beneficial qualities for our body. In the summer months it is also good to be served cold.
A great autumn classic is the pumpkin soup, which you can revisit in an original way, playing with spices. Prepare it with potatoes and white onions, then add black pepper, lean cinnamon and nutmeg. Then add some croutons made with homemade bread and extra virgin olive oil, you will feel that goodness! You can also turn the soup into a first course by adding barley or rice.
Very simple to cook and definitely nutritious is the chickpea cream, a typical dish of our kitchen, which you could prepare in a lighter version avoiding the sauté and without adding other fats than the good ones of the extra virgin olive oil, strictly raw, to be poured. at the end. And if you are looking for an original touch, try the variant which includes the addition of fresh prawns: just sauté them in a pan with white wine, a winning combination!
3. Ideas for a quick lunch? Make an original "salad!"
A nice salad is the queen of light lunches. With a little imagination, it can also become much less boring than expected ... What would you say, for example, to a salad of cabbage, cherry tomatoes, salmon and pine nuts? All super healthy and tasty ingredients. This dish will be colorful and nutritious, full of minerals, omega 3 and vitamins ... what more could you ask for? Salmon can be used fresh or smoked, while pine nuts will taste even better if lightly toasted in a pan!
Another "other idea for a delicious" (and satiating) salad is to add tasty ingredients such as eggs, bread and almonds. Use a crunchy Roman salad, mix it with anchovy fillets in oil, toasted almonds, hard-boiled eggs and large crumbs of bread passed in a blender and toasted in a pan with a little "d" oil. It will be delicious!
If you love sweet and sour, a decidedly original salad is the one with raw ham and grilled peaches, with a fresh and unforgettable flavor. All you need is ripe peaches to roast, ham to cut into cubes, primosale cheese and fresh rocket. All to be seasoned with salt, pepper, oil and balsamic vinegar.
Other ideas for a "tasty salad? Here is the Greek recipe on video:
4. How about a lunch with an exotic flavor?
Are you a "lover of exotic cuisine? So why not focus on a lunch that marries the scents and ingredients of a" different culture? For example, you could prepare "poke temaki wrap", real wraps rolled into a cone and stuffed with marinated tuna, soy sauce and chilli, with the addition of guacamole! To stuff them you can also use crescenza and season the all with sesame oil.
Another balanced and nutrient-rich dish is Vietnamese chicken salad, which has almost nothing in it. In fact, it is prepared with rice noodles, chicken and raw vegetables (carrots and cucumbers to be cut into strips), with the addition of soy sprouts. All to be dressed with a sauce based on vinegar, lime juice, oil, chillies and crumbled peanuts.
And for a spicy and fiery dish, go for the curry tofu! To prepare it you will need, in addition to the two main ingredients, coconut cream, a spoonful of tomato sauce, two of peanut butter, soy sauce and then some rice to accompany it all, preferably Thai or Basmati. Enjoy your meal!
5. Vegetarian lunch: anything but boring!
The world of vegetarian cuisine reserves many (excellent) surprises and, even in this case, the imagination can indulge itself! For example, you can prepare an excellent carbonara pasta. Don't you believe it? Just marry the vegan version, delicious and very fast. Instead of pancetta, use seitan, to be cut into strips and browned in a pan. Then season the pasta with soy cream and turmeric, a pinch of pepper and you will feel that goodness!
Another tasty idea is that of a special gazpacho, which as ingredients requires cherry tomatoes, peppers in oil, celery, basil, sheep's milk ricotta, Tropea onions and croutons to accompany everything. It is a fresh and delicate dish, easy to cook. to prepare and that gives a lot of satisfaction.
Finally, for all avocado lovers (and there are many around), prepare one in the oven with eggs and chives. Just cut the avocado in half, remove the stone, flavor it in the oven with salt and pepper and then slip an egg over each half and sprinkle it with chives. Bake everything in the oven and in a quarter of an hour it's done!
6. Ideas for a packed lunch outside the home
The classic of packed lunches is the sandwich, quick to prepare and suitable for any kind of experimentation. You could prepare one, for example, with anchovies, olives and a knob of butter, or another with soppressa, Dutch cheese and cabbage, or with smoked salmon, rocket and cream cheese ... the combinations are endless! Get inspired by our article.
For a quick and light lunch away from home, a raw zucchini salad is also very suitable: to prepare it, just cut zucchini into strips, just like spaghetti (there are specific machines to do this!), And dress them with chopped hazelnuts, gorgonzola and / or ricotta. or flakes of parmesan. All to be served with wholemeal croutons.
And if you prefer the dear, old sandwich, here are some very, very (perhaps too) original ideas:
