Lunch Time!!

One of my least favourite meals the day might very well in fact be lunch time.

Look, before I get a whole bunch of hate and strong debates thrown my way, I am not saying I don't like lunch time (come on guys, it's food time) it is that of all the meals I consume in my day this is not one of my favourites.

Because it is smack bang in the middle of the school day and I get ready/ start school bright and early in the morning (when I like to fit my workout into my day), there is no time to prepare lunch that morning. Thus lunch is prepared the night before, generally after a long, hard day of learning at school, followed by at least an hour of homework.

The brain's fried people. You can wave goodbye to creativity. So what's a girl to do when she's standing in the kitchen staring blankly into nothing trying to come up wth a delicious tupperware container of food that can taste good cold, last overnight and utterly delicious?

Well, sometimes a girl just chops up a super easy salad of raw veg and some kind of protein (generally a tin of mixed four beans, some peas, lentils, tofu, falafel- that kind of stuff.

But other times, a girl has her tried and true standby's that are super easy to whip up, take no brain power (especially when you've made them a few times over!) and are guaranteed to get one looking forward to the mid-day break for food!

So, without further ado, here are my go-to lunches that are prepped the night before and enjoyed immensely at school:

1. Pesto rice and veg:

This is such an easy recipe and yet tastes so gosh darn good, delivers so many nutritional benefits and will defeat any mid-afternoon slump that tries to barge it's way into your day!

To make, simply cook up a serving of brown rice according to packet instructions (I generally just boil mine for around 40 mins) and leave to cool in a medium bowl. Whip up a serving of pesto (my loose recipe involves roughly two large handfuls of spinach, 5-6 leaves of fresh basil, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon pine nuts, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons water- whazzed up until smooth- you may need to add more water if it's not coming together), steam some peas and corn, drain and rinse a small tin of mixed four beans and stir everything together until combined... and fluorescent green!

Again, leave to cool completely, top with lid and place in fridge overnight for a delightful lunch the next day!
It's even better the next day as the flavours have a chance to develop and mingle and it just becomes oh-so-good. Plus I seem to prefer to eat cold meals; I feel you can taste and appreciate them better :)

2. 'Cheesey' Spaghetti and Veg:

This is another of my all-time favourite, cold, take-away lunches and, once again it is so, so simple to whip up and enjoy!

Simply cook a serving of spaghetti (I used this new ugh-fibre brand that tastes awesome and offers a bunch of important fibre!!), at the same time steam up some pumpkin and parsnip (as much as you like). When the pasta needs about 1-2 mins left, pour in some frozen peas, then at the very end add a handful of spinach until wilted down. Drain pasta and veg. Transfer to medium bowl, add the steamed veg and around 2-3 tablespoons of hommus (optional add in a tablespoon nutritional yeast for extra cheese flavour)

Leave to cool, transfer to container, lid, fridge, done!!

3.And finally, possibly the easiest of them all (especially since I made up a big batch of pesto so it was all ready to go when I needed it) is this deliciously simple (and awesome cold) lunch of steamed veg and pesto:

 I will be the first to admit that it doesn't look too great all mixed together and a large part of that is the awful lighting, but what am I going to do when it's cloudy and stormy outside and the house is internally darkened and gloomy? I'm going to take a picture anyway and let you use your imagination as to how tasty this lunch actually was!

 In the mix was simply some cut up butternut pumpkin, swede, parsnip, beetroot, carrot and baby potatoes, all mixed together with a few spoons of the pesto mentioned above (make another serving- recipe above makes 1 serving)

Cooled, containered, lidded, fridged, nom-ed!

Aaaand that's a little insight into the types of foods I take to school to fight of the mid-day munchies (they become real after a hard session of maths and chem, let me tell you!

Your turn:
What's your favourite prep-away/ take-away lunch made at home?
Favourite lunch of all time?
Favourite way to use pesto? Pizza always wins for me but when I'm feeling the pesto pasta, it sure does hit the spot!

That's it from me today folks, I hope you all have a great day, take time to think of all the things you are blessed with in this very moment, love yourself, love others and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now! :D