Busy Day Lunch - Simple, Healthy, Tasty, FAST

We all get busy - I’m certainly no exception! I’m regularly on the go, with short breaks between my responsibilities and not much time to prep food (or even eat it) during the day so I’m no stranger to feeling rushed!

If I let my schedule get the best of me and I reach for whatever is closest or hit up the drive-thru, I know that my energy, performance, and health will suffer.

Although I’m sure we’d all love to grill ourselves a nice piece of fish and roast some vegetables to go along with it, we all know that isn’t going to happen on a regular basis in the middle of the day… Life would be pretty rad if we could all manage that though, wouldn’t it?

Here’s how I manage to stay on track during the day even when I’m short on time:

The busy day lunch!

In a big bowl, combine the following:

Romaine lettuce (can be bought pre-washed and pre-cut, 10 seconds from bag to bowl)

Hothouse cucumber (no need to peel, just cut and throw it in)

Bell pepper, chopped

Red onion, slivered

2 strips bacon, pre-cooked (you can buy it this way or make a bunch ahead yourself)

Deli turkey or leftover meat from dinner

BIG squeeze of lemon

SMALL amount of low-cal dressing (I like Bolthouse Farms Cucumber Ranch)

Cracked black pepper and sea salt

I like to make this salad pretty big, and pair it with a Power Crunch protein bar (low in carbs) and a small Envy apple because I love treats - something sweet after a meal is my favorite, and these two things provide a pretty healthy fix!

I usually eat the salad and then the bar, and often don’t even get to the apple because I’m satisfied already and don’t feel the need. I get plenty of lean protein, fiber, healthy fats and micronutrients, plus the option of a little dose of carbs from the apple if I so desire :)

This doesn’t have to be an exact recipe, either! Throw in whatever you have on hand, and feel free to experiment with different flavor combinations - proteins, veggies (raw or cooked), dressings, seasonings…

Sometimes I’ll dice up some apple and throw it IN my salad for a sweet twist, or I’ll add some buffalo sauce to the mix with Bolthouse Farms Blue Cheese dressing to give a regular chicken salad a little hot-wing style flair :)

Remember, the point of this is to be EASY! Choose a precooked protein like deli meat or rotisserie chicken, use up your leftovers, empty out the produce drawer, add (or subtract) any healthy ingredients you feel like that day and just throw it all in a bowl - it usually turns out pretty great!

When I put this lunch together, it’s done in literally 5 minutes. It’s easy to make excuses, but I believe that EVERYONE has 5 minutes to spend making a healthy meal for themselves. I know for a FACT that it takes longer than that to get food from a restaurant, whether it’s a drive-thru or not… And it’s a hell of a lot healthier when you’re in control of your portions and ingredients!

Also, this doesn’t have to be made the minute you eat it - you can throw this together the night before so that it’s ready for the coming day, and put it in a plastic container with a fork and you’re good to go. Little dressing containers are super helpful, but if you don’t have them you can drizzle a little dressing in the bottom of your container before you build your salad, and then shake the whole thing to mix it together - voila, a perfectly dressed, not too soggy salad :)

Grab a small serving of fruit, perhaps a macro-friendly protein bar, and be on your way to a healthier day!

How do you make sure your nutrition is on point when the going gets tough?

Please feel free to comment, upvote, or resteem if you found this helpful! :)