Quick Healthy Lunch Ideas for Work and College
Always feel like you are running errands with no time to think about cooking? We are here to help! We broke down and simplified quick and healthy lunch recipes for work. The recipes require minimal time, and you can go do other things while they cook in the oven.
Read our list of healthy easy lunch ideas for work or college:
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts
- Red and yellow pepper
- Zucchini
- Red onion
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Feta cheese
Get ingredients near GEC Viva.
Get ingredients near GEC MG & Pearson.
Get ingredients near GEC Burnaby Heights.
Recipe
- Chop everything! Chop chicken breasts, peppers, zucchinis, red onion, and feta cheese in cubes.
- Add all chopped ingredients on a large sheet pan and mix with olive oil, garlic, oregano and salt to taste — except Feta cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 375 F until the chicken is fully cooked. Then, divide it into meal prep containers and add feta cheese on top.
Pro-tips
- You can use this baked chicken and veggie mix as a salad topper. Simply use a salad base and add in your baked dish with some more olive oil.
- This dish can also be put in tortilla wraps for a different take on the recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- ½ Sliced kalamata olives
- 1/3 cups of sun-dried tomatoes
- 6 tbsp Feta Cheese
- ½ of a red bell peppers
- 4 cups of lettuce
- 250 grams of cherry or grape tomatoes
- ½ a Red Onion
- Avocado pieces (1)
Get ingredients near GEC Viva.
Get ingredients near GEC MG & Pearson.
Get ingredients near GEC Burnaby Heights.
Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (or garlic powder)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
Recipe
- Boil the pasta as you always do. Drain, and put in a large bowl.
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients.
- Chop or mince all salad ingredients as instructed.
- Put the veggies alongside the pasta and mix with the dressing. Enjoy your quick healthy lunch!
Ingredients
- 2 cans of flaked tuna
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup diced celery
- 1/2 chopped red onion
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 eggs (optional)
- Lettuce leaves
- 1 sliced cucumber
- 1 sliced apple (optional)
Get ingredients near GEC Viva.
Get ingredients near GEC MG & Pearson.
Get ingredients near GEC Burnaby Heights.
Recipe
- Put drained tuna in a bowl with Greek yogurt, celery, onion, mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Boil the eggs and peel them. Cut eggs in half or chop them.
- Toss tuna mixture, eggs, cucumber, chopped lettuce and apples in a bowl. Mix– your healthy and protein packed salad is ready!
Pro-tips
- Spread the tuna salad mix in between two slices of bread for a sandwich! If you go with the sandwich option, it may be a good idea to take off apple and cucumber slices from the mix as they may not work the best with bread.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 large cucumber (or 3-4 small)
- 24 cherry tomatoes
- 1 small red onion
- 7 oz cubed feta – (200g)
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
Dressing (4 servings)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp tahini
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Get ingredients near GEC Viva.
Get ingredients near GEC MG & Pearson.
Get ingredients near GEC Burnaby Heights.
Recipe
- Cook quinoa as instructed on the package. When it cools down, dump it all in a bowl.
- Wash and cut all veggies.
- Mix the dressing ingredients. But, do not pour it in!
- You can divide the mixed ingredients in 4 different containers as this recipe produces 4 servings to cover you for 4 days/lunches!
- Only pour the dressing on the day of your lunch or before eating to prevent sogginess. This is one of the best healthy lunch ideas for work!
Ingredients
- 1 grated garlic clove
- 8 oz udon noodles
- 8 oz shredded chicken
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- Sesame seeds and salt to taste
Sauce
- 1/4 creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 unseasoned vinegar rice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Get ingredients near GEC Viva.
Get ingredients near GEC MG & Pearson.
Get ingredients near GEC Burnaby Heights.
Recipe
- Whisk all sauce ingredients but the vegetable oil. Add vegetable oil gradually and whisk more.
- Cook noodles as instructed in the package and drain.
- Boil the chicken until soft. Shred the chicken with a fork.
- Chop veggies and put in a bowl with the noodles, chicken, and combine with 3/4 of the dressing.
- Drizzle remaining dressing, salt and sesame to taste. Enjoy easy healthy lunches!
Ingredients
- Japanese Short Rice
- Meat or Fish
- Eggs (omelette or boiled)
- Vegetables (Carrot Sticks, sliced peppers, or salad)
- Fruits (Grapes, apple slices, raisins, or blueberries)
Get ingredients near GEC Viva.
Get ingredients near GEC MG & Pearson.
Get ingredients near GEC Burnaby Heights.
Recipe
- Traditionally, Japanese follow a 4:3:2:1 ratio when filling their bento boxes. Rice or salad will occupy the largest portion size while others can be customized by individual needs.
- Soak the rice in cold water for 30 mins, and drain the water.
- For 1 cup of rice (180 ml), use 1.25 cups (200 ml) of water.
- Bring rice to boil in medium heat. Once boiled, turn the heat low and boil for 10-15 minutes.
- Grill the choice of meat on a pan with olive oil or other choice of oil.
- Chop veggies and fruits.
- First put your rice, then meat, choice of egg, vegetables and fruits to your bento box. It is important to pack your food in order of placement so everything fits to the box. Enjoy your healthy boxed lunch!
Where Can I Find the Ingredients?
Lucky you, there are so many local grocery stores near GEC residences, all featuring foods and spice from all over the world! We linked some stores below to help you find the ingredients you need.
GEC Viva
GEC Pearson & Marine Gateway
GEC Burnaby Heights
Thank you for reading our healthy work lunch ideas. Here are some other blog posts by GEC that may interest you:
