Quick lunch: 20 recipes in just 15 minutes
Lunch is the most underrated meal of the day: while breakfast, the start of the day, is of particular importance, and at dinner it's important to make sure everything is healthy and low carb, we just gobble something up at lunchtime that just got between our fingers. Low-nutrient ready meals, fatty fast food, sugar-rich pastries and thin salads that leave a big hole in the stomach afterwards – these are just a few of the unhealthy classics that are served too often for lunch.
Lunch is essential for well-being and mental and physical fitness in the second half of the day. Everyone knows the feeling: after a heavy lunch, you return to work and actually want to continue working in a concentrated manner, but the body is currently using all resources to digest the greasy currywurst with fries that you have given yourself for lunch. Concentration? Nothing! The belly is full and the head is empty – no wonder that what we do during this afternoon low is usually not our best job.
Four tips for a healthy lunch in the office
Regardless of whether you have lunch in the cafeteria of your own company, whether you stroll to a nearby snack bar, take advantage of the lunch menu in a restaurant or eat your own lunch in the break room – there are a few basic rules for a lunch that has energy delivers and saturates without weighing it down. You should note this when you have lunch:
1. Pay attention to a healthy diet!
In order to achieve full performance, the body must be regularly supplied with important nutrients. A lunch that provides you with plenty of fresh energy for the second half of the day should therefore contain complex carbohydrates that will fill you up for a long time and only slowly and gradually drive up your blood sugar. But it should also be rich in vitamins and minerals. That keeps the performance curve up. The lunch recipes that we have put together for you meet these requirements very well.
2. Lunch in the office should also be brain food
Did you know that the brain alone consumes 20 percent of the body's energy? Do you want to burden him with the fact that he has to use extra strength to digest fat? High-fat foods always have a negative impact on motivation and concentration in the workplace.
So you better stay away from thick roasts, fries and pizza and eat warm, light food instead – preferably from fresh vegetables. Low-fat meat, poultry or fish and a small amount of carbohydrates (e.g. from rice or potatoes) support the brain in its work and do not put additional strain on the body. For example, a pan with chicken, peppers and zucchini, a light soup or dishes with salmon are always a good idea for lunch.
3. A good lunch takes time
Don't just gulp your lunch down hungry. Take your time to enjoy eating consciously. If you eat slowly and listen carefully to yourself, you will sooner notice when you are full – and then you will not come back to work with a full stomach. This little exercise also helps to train mindfulness and creates a mini break. So you are also mentally rested when you start working again. It is often only then that you realize how delicious the food that is on the table in front of you is.
4. If you want to lose weight, you also use low carb at lunchtime
Simply skipping lunch is not an option if you want to lose weight. Because when the hunger becomes noticeable, you are much more likely to eat fatty and sugared snacks, which harm the figure much more than a balanced lunch. Rather eat regularly and give the body the nutrients it needs, relying on low carb instead of starving. Because the pungent feeling of hunger also damages performance, nerves and a good mood.
Prepare the quick lunch for the office at home
If you take these things to heart, you have already taken an important step – and know which dishes you can access in the canteen in the future. It is even better, of course, that you prepare something for lunch at home. A salad or a ready lunch in a glass are ideal and very contemporary. The Iberian chickpea salad can be cooked at home in just 15 minutes and then taken to work in a mason jar.
A corn wrap is also good for the lunch box. Pineapple, corn and lettuce become a wholesome meal in a wrap or wholemeal roll. Or you can take a sesame bagel with olives and chicken for lunch. Rocket, chicken, olives and parmesan bring a bit of Mediterranean flair to your lunch break. Many dishes from the recipes above can be easily prepared at home and taken to work in the lunch box or in the glass. Here they hike in the fridge until the break and then give you a delicious lunch.
But of course the recipes are also suitable for family lunches on weekends. On particularly eventful weekends, you simply don't want to spend valuable time standing in the kitchen for a long time. These dishes are on the table in just 15 minutes, are healthy and nutritious and taste really good to everyone. You can't even order food any faster …