Unless we are prepared, it can be a pretty slippery slope to grabbing whatever is available ‘downstairs’ and munching on it at the desk, and it’s never satisfying. Nor is it good for us when it becomes a repeated pattern. In order to make sure we eat well at work, it is imperative to be organised in advance. The beauty of doing this is that it’s not really that difficult!

I want to share with you a simple system that is guaranteed to keep you away from the burritos and schnitzels and in a steady supply of refreshing, rejuvenating, delicious lunch bowls.

If you’re looking for some lunch inspiration, take a look at my recipe ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and the whole family will love!

Off course, the easiest way  is to ALWAYS make extras at dinner to pack for lunch the next day. Here are some meals which provide great lunch bowl leftovers:  fish cakes , make extra and break them up into a garden salad for lunch; make extra Potato, Feta and Spinach Frittata for dinner and pack the rest for work with a salad; Fresh and Raw Zucchini Salad makes an easy ‘pack and run’ lunch bowl option; or this Indian Cauliflower, Potato and Mung Dhal Soup is a great option for Winter; add some diced cucumber and tomatoes to this Middle-Eastern rice and lentil dish; or pack up some of this Asian-Style Vegetable and Noodle Salad.

Other tips when you are making dinner:

• throw in some extra vegetables to roast
• cook up some extra rice or quinoa
• add an extra shank into the slow cooker, chicken thighs into the oven, fish patties into the frying pan.

And now…

Each Sunday spend up to an hour getting your lunch bowl ingredients organised for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then prep again on Wednesdays for Thursday and Friday.
The 4 main components you need to prepare for the lunch bowl are VEGETABLES, PROTEIN, GRAINS/CARBS AND DRESSING. Always ensure you include some healthy fats, which can be found in some of the ingredients suggested below like avocado, olive oil, fish, meat, eggs, olive, cheese and nuts.

VEGETABLES

Vegetables can be raw, lightly steamed, roasted and a combination of all of them can be used in your salad

Here are some of the bounty you can choose from,choose seasonal and make sure to include at least 1 type of leafy green

Eat the Rainbow

• Cucumbers
• Red Capsicum
• Radish
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Green Beans
• Snow Peas
• Beetroot
• Cauliflower
• Eggplant
• Cucumber
• Potato
• Sweet Potato
• Corn
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Avocado
• Pumpkin
• Mushrooms
• Asparagus
• Olives
• Garlic
• Sundried Tomatoes
• Herbs like basil, parsley, coriander, mint

Greens

• Kale
• Baby Spinach
• Brocolli
• Spinach
• Rocket
• Asparagus
• Beet Greens (the leafy bit on top of beetroot)
• Bok Choy
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Chard
• Lettuce
• Sprouts
• Watercress

Fruits which are also yummy in salads

• Grapes
• Figs
• Apple
• Pear
• Strawberries
• Mango
• Raspberries

PROTEIN

• Chicken
• Fish (including tinned wild caught salmon and sustainable tuna)
• Meat
• Eggs
• Nuts and Seeds
• Cheese – cheddar, parmesan regianno, halomi, fetta, gruyere, blue, goats
• Legumes/pulses -adzuki, red kidney, black, chickpeas, navy, pinto, lentils
• Tempeh

GRAINS/CARBOHYDRATE (optional)

• Basmati Rice
• Brown Rice
• Wild Rice
• Quinoa
• Rice or Buckwheat noodles
• Sweet Potato(starchy carb)
• Beans (starchy carb)
• Corn (starchy carb)
• Peas (starchy carb)

DRESSING

• Vinaigrette
• Sesame oil and tamari
• Olive oil,mustard and balsamic
• Fresh herbs, Olive Oil,Lemon
• Honey and tumeric
• Japanese Miso Dressing

ADD ONS

• Fermented Veges
• Dulse Flakes
• Nutrional Yeast
• Dried Herbs
• Spices
• Sesame,chia, poppy seeds

5 SALAD BOWL RECIPE IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED

Warm Spinach Salad with Chicken, Bacon & Mushroom by Becomingness.

Tex-Mex Burrito Bowl  by me.

Spicy Quinoa, Apple and Kale Salad by The Holistic Ingredient.

Crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad by Low Tox Life.

10 minute Nourishing Dinner Bowl (which I think is perfect for lunch too!) by The Fit Foodie.

There you have it. With a bit of preparation, you can keep firing on all systems while you work, and get excited about your next lunch break.

Bren x

He was feeling much better by the second day, courtesy of a pretty tough immune system and also a great example of allowing a fever to do its work. But while he was lounging about like a Roman Emperor and no doubt figuring out how he could possibly eek out another day at home, he noticed some squishy bananas and released his inner chef. Pretty soon he was asking for help to create a recipe incorporating the bananas.

So together we sat down and penned a recipe guided by him. We don’t always see eye to eye with recipes – he’s a bit more exploratory and likes to play with combinations, whereas I play it a bit on the safe side.

We had fun creating the recipe, though, then hung out together in the spring sun in the backyard afterwards (still in our PJ’s) enjoying the fruits of our labour.

The raspberry sauce he had his heart set on making to pour over the cake didn’t quite work, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying his creation.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Wholemeal spelt flour
White spelt flour
Baking powder
Cinnamon
Bicarbonate of soda
Desiccated coconut
Salt
Rapadura sugar

Print

RUSTIC BANANA, BLUEBERRY AND COCONUT CAKE

Ingredients

• 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 cup white spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup rapadura sugar
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 3 large mashed bananas
• 125 grams melted butter
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons natural yogurt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius
• Grease a cake tin and line with baking paper
• *Blueberries don’t get added until the end
• Mix all the dry ingredients together
• Beat all the wet ingredients together
• Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined then add the blueberries and gently stir through
• Pour into cake tin and pop in the oven for 4o-5o mins or until skewer does out clean
• Leave to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto cake rack
• THERMOMIX INSTRUCTIONS
• Mash bananas in mixing bowl 5 sec/speed 6
• Add softened butter (not melted) and sugar and beat 20sec/speed 4
• Add eggs and yoghurt and mix 10sec/speed 4
• Add remaining ingredients and combine 20sec/speed 4
• Pour batter into a bowl and gently fold in blueberries
• Pour into cake tin and bake 40-50 minutes
• Pour into cake tin and pop in the oven for 4o-5o mins or until skewer does out clean
• Leave to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto cake rack

In this recipe I manage to skip the step of stewing the apples by simply slicing the apple thinly enough so they cook through in the oven. And adding the berries means you need less apples to peel and slice.

This dish makes another lovely well-balanced #thinkoutsidethecerealbox breakfast or dessert option, providing good carbs from the apples, berries (not to mention all the antioxidants) plus oats, good fats from the cream and butter and protein from the almonds. And it’s perfect fare to eat in the depths of winter in front of the heater with your favourite ugg boots on. Nom nom.

I make some of the topping nut free by either leaving them out or replacing them with sunflower seeds, so I can pack some of this deliciousness into lunchboxes.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Ground cinnamon
Nutmeg
Spelt flour
Rapadura or coconut sugar
Oats
Desiccated coconut
Vanilla powder

Print

Apple and Berry Crumble (Cheat's Version)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 3 medium green apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced or chopped
• 1 cup mixed frozen or fresh berries
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A pinch of nutmeg
• Cream to serve
• Crumble
• 1 cup spelt flour
• ¼ cup rapadura or coconut sugar
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder or vanilla extract
• 150 grams butter melted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced
• Combine the apples, berries, spices, lemon juice in a bowl and pop into an ovenproof dish with 1/3 cup of water.
• To make the crumble, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
• Spread the crumble mixture over the fruit, then pop into the oven and bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
• Serve with a big dollop (or two!) of thick, fresh cream and a sprinkling of chopped macadamia nuts.

Notes

This is also delicious served cold.
Make extra crumble topping, pop on a baking tray and bake until golden brown. The topping is handy to throw on top of fresh fruit, served with yoghurt for a quick breakfast, snack or lunchbox idea. Just store in the fridge or freezer.

Enjoy!

Bren x

Real Food for Hungry Teens

Created by certified health coach, Brenda Janschek, and her hungry food son Orlando, this eBook contains a rich variety of over 20 nourishing, real food recipes designed to satisfy the tastebuds and growth requirements of developing teenagers.

When life is busy, smoothies are super-quick to make and are highly nutritious.

The better news is that, as a handy breakfast option for the whole family, they leave unhealthy breakfast cereals packed full of superfluous sugar and other nasties in their wake.

Free radical-fighting Vitamin C plays a leading role in this smoothie, and your immune system and energy levels will thank you almost as much as your taste buds.

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Anti-Oxidant Smoothie

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 1

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cup raspberries or blueberries, nb: blueberries make it sweeter
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon mint or basil
• 1/2 cup mixed cashews, chia seeds, and linseeds
• 2 tablespoons grass-fed gelatin optional, l but awesome for all it’s incredible benefits to our skin, elasticity, wrinkles, cellulite, great for weight loss, teeth and hair and nails, digestion, arthritis just to name a few
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil optional but adds a good. healthy fat
• 200 mls coconut water or almond milk or filtered water
• Lots of ice

Instructions

• Whizz all the ingredients in a blender and serve

You might also love these delicious recipes:

Ginger, Mint and Green Apple Smoothie

Super Smoothie

8 Nutrient Packed Smoothies for Dinner 

Fresh and Raw Zucchini Noodle Salad

Enjoy!

And when you can sprout forth on such diverse topics as antioxidants, flavanoids and LDL while going weak at the knees upon hearing the words mousse, ganache, or even cake, you know you are a servant to your dark master.

But it’s not a guilty pleasure, and you don’t need to step behind the big pot plant to consume it, even if moderation is advised (as in all things, except chocolate……..just kidding!).

The best thing about dark chocolate is that it gives you yet another reason to drink red wine, as if you needed one! You could even follow that up with another uncontrollable slip about antioxidants.

C’mon people, I know I had you at ‘chocolate’.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Honey
Vanilla powder
Spelt flour
Rolled oats
Desiccated coconut
Dark choc chips

Print

Choc-Chip Cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 110 g unsalted butter softened
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1.5 – 2 cups spelt flour sifted (use the extra half cup if the final mixture is too wet)
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• ¼ cup dark choc chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees C & line 2 large baking trays with non -stick baking paper.
• Beat the butter, honey and vanilla until pale and creamy. Gently beat in the egg.
• Add the sifted flour, oats and coconut and stir until well combined.
• Add choc chips and gently fold in.
• Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on baking rays and flatten slightly.
• Place in oven and bake for approx 12-15 mins or until lightly golden.
• Leave on trays to cool.

Bren x

Kale chips are a big hit with my kids and, evidently, their friends, who come around and hoover them down before returning home demanding their mums make them too.

The teacher at school has her doubts, however, explaining to the kids (who are starting to ask for kale chips to be packed in their lunch boxes) that chips are bad for your health. Good on the teacher, because eating conventional chips every day is clearly not good for your health, but kale on the other hand is an incredibly nutritious food.

Keeping up with the demand is the real struggle. Luckily, the kids enjoy helping me make these moorish, healthy snacks so we can have them in constant supply.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Coconut or olive oil
Himalayan rock salt

Print

Kale Chips

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 tablespoons of coconut or olive oil
• Celtic sea salt or Himalayan rock salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees
• Place coconut oil into oven for 1 minute to melt
• Cut/pull kale off the stem & wash well
• Spin in a salad spinner to dry then place on tea towel to absorb any extra moisture
• Put coconut oil in a bowl and using your hands, circulate the kale in the oil until well covered
• Lay strips of kale onto large flat pan (I usually need 3 pans) and put in oven for approx 10-12 mins
• Check kale at 10 minutes to make sure they are becoming crispy and not turning brown
• Spin the tray around (to ensure even heating).
• Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with Celtic sea salt or Himalayan rock salt
• Don’t forget to make sure they are completely cool before storing in glass mason jars or plastic container

Why you should be eating kale?…

Kale is a dark leafy green (we all know we should be eating more of these), full of health benefits and nutrients. Like? Kale:

– is loaded with vitamins, especially vitamin A, but also vitamins C and K and folic acid;

– is rich in calcium, potassium, copper and iron. These nutrients are necessary for healthy bones, skin and eyes;

– contains important anti-oxidants such as carotenoids & flavonoids which can help to prevent cancer;

– is low in calories & high in fibre, so it’s great for digestion;

– is an anti-inflammatory food with lots of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to fight inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.

Kale is a very versatile plant that can be cooked in many ways, including steaming, stir-fries and salads … oh, and chips!

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

Other snack ideas you might like are Chewy Choc-Banana Biscuits and Raw Caramel Slice.

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