Cooking lunch at home saves money compared to ordering in and gives you full control over ingredients. But who has time to make elaborate meals at noon? ! Here are 5 quick and easy lunch recipe ideas for busy people working from home. These recipes require minimal prep and use ingredients you likely already have on hand.
Whether you want something fresh like a wrap or salad, or comfort food like quesadillas or fried rice, there’s an easy weekday lunch recipe here for you! Making your own lunches at home will give you a productive and energizing break in the middle of your work from home day. And forces you to take a break and get some steps! Woo-hoo for multi-tasking!
Benefits of Making Lunch at Home
Making your own lunch at home has some great benefits compared to eating out or buying pre-made food. Here are a few of the biggest advantages:
Saves Money – Making your own lunch is a lot cheaper than eating out or buying lunch every day. Just the cost of a sandwich, chips, and a drink from a cafe can easily be $10-15. But you can make sandwiches, wraps, salads, and more at home for just a few dollars each. Over time, preparing your own lunch saves hundreds of dollars.
Healthier Options – When you make your own lunch, you control exactly what goes into it. You can pack it full of nutritious whole foods like veggies, greens, proteins, beans and avoid processed ingredients. Restaurant and pre-made meals often have excessive sodium, saturated fats, and calories. Making it yourself leads to a healthier lunch.
Customize For Your Tastes – Preparing your own lunch means you can customize it to match your personal tastes and preferences. Don’t like mayo? Leave it out. Want extra avocado? Toss some in. You can tweak lunches to your heart’s desire when you make it yourself. It’s hard to get customized food from a cafe or delivery service.
Recipe #1: Tuna Salad Wraps
Tuna salad wraps are a quick, delicious, and portable lunch option that provides a good amount of protein. To make tuna salad wraps, start by draining a 5oz can of tuna and mixing it in a bowl with 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp relish, 1/4 cup diced celery, 1/4 cup diced red onion, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir well until fully combined.
Smear a spoonful of mayonnaise on a tortilla or wrap of your choice and lay a few lettuce leaves on top. Spoon the tuna salad mixture onto the wrap, then roll it up tightly. Wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate until ready to eat. The prep time is only about 5 minutes, and it provides 20g or more of protein per serving.
Tuna salad wraps are portable, tasty, and easy to customize to your liking. Try adding sliced avocado, tomato, sprouts, or other veggies. Use different seasonings like paprika, chili powder, or Italian seasoning to change up the flavor. This is a nutritious lunch you can feel good about eating and make ahead in batches for the whole week.
Recipe #2: Adult Lunchables
Adult lunchables are a fun twist on the classic kid-favorite. You can customize them however you’d like by choosing your favorite crackers, meat, cheese, vegetables, fruit, nuts, dips, and more. It’s a great way to create variety in your lunch.
To make adult lunchables:
- Choose a base: whole wheat crackers, bread, pita, wraps, rice cakes, etc.
- Add protein: sliced deli meat, canned tuna or salmon, hard boiled egg slices, nut butter, etc.
- Include cheese: cheddar, pepper jack, provolone, cream cheese, etc.
- Add veggies: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper slices, carrot sticks, etc.
- Don’t forget fruit: grapes, berries, apple slices, orange wedges, etc.
- Consider other toppings: nuts, seeds, pickles, olives, hummus, guacamole, salsa, etc.
Layer everything together in separate compartments just like a kid’s lunchable. The combinations are endless! Adult lunchables are fun to make, easy to pack, and give you lots of variety to look forward to at lunchtime.
Recipe #3: Mason Jar Salads
Mason jar salads are a fantastic make-ahead lunch option for busy remote workers. You can assemble them in advance and store them in mason jars or other airtight containers. This makes it super easy to grab one from the fridge and take to your desk or workspace.
The key to mason jar salads is layering the ingredients so the dressing doesn’t make things soggy. Start with hardy ingredients like veggies and cheese on the bottom. Then add lighter ingredients like leafy greens next. Top with protein like chickpeas or chicken. When ready to eat, dump the salad out into a bowl and mix everything together.
The great thing about mason jar salads is you can customize them endlessly. Swap in different greens, veggies, proteins and dressings to create variety. Some delicious dressing options include balsamic vinaigrette, Italian, ranch, honey mustard or lemon vinaigrette. Get creative with mix-ins like nuts, seeds, dried fruit and crunchy toppings.
Mason jar salads make it so easy to have a fresh, homemade lunch without needing to go out or order takeout. They’re nutritious, tasty and perfect for busy remote work days.
Recipe #4: Quesadillas
Quesadillas make for a quick and easy lunch that can be customized in endless ways. They come together in just minutes, making them the perfect meal for busy work-from-home days.
The basic quesadilla is just a flour tortilla filled with cheese, then grilled or pan-fried until the cheese melts. But you can really load up a quesadilla with all kinds of fillings to make it a hearty meal. Try fillings like cooked chicken, sautéed veggies, black beans, diced avocado, salsa, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, shredded pork, chorizo, and more. The possibilities are endless!
Quesadillas are great because you can make them with ingredients you likely already have on hand. They are also super fast to cook. Just place your desired fillings on half of the tortilla, fold it over, and cook on each side until the cheese melts. Vegetarians can opt for bean and veggie fillings for a meatless lunch option.
With minimal prep time and easy cleanup, quesadillas are an ideal quick lunch to make while working from home. Their endless variety and customization makes them a go-to meal that never gets boring.
Recipe #5: Leftover Fried Rice
Fried rice is the perfect quick lunch that allows you to repurpose leftovers into a delicious one pan meal. Simply take about 2 cups of cooked rice (preferably day-old rice), and heat in a skillet or wok with a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. Add any leftover cooked meat and vegetables you have on hand. Some tasty additions include carrots, peas, corn, bell peppers, chicken, beef, shrimp, turkey, or tofu. For extra protein, you can scramble an egg right into the rice.
Soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and sriracha make tasty seasoning additions. Stir and cook the fried rice for 5-10 minutes until heated through. Top with sliced scallions, sesame seeds, or crushed peanuts for extra flavor and crunch. Fried rice comes together quickly, uses up leftovers, and makes for a filling and savory midday meal when working from home.
Tips for Storing and Reheating
Packing lunches to take to your desk or somewhere else in your home office doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some tips:
- Use containers with tight-fitting lids like plastic containers, mason jars, or stainless steel containers. This prevents leaks and keeps food fresh.
- Make sure containers are microwave-safe if you plan to reheat. Glass and most plastic containers work well.
- Pack fresh fruits and veggies in their own container to avoid sogginess.
- Keep dressings and sauces separate until ready to eat.
- Use small containers like mini mason jars for dips, dressings, sauces.
- Use ice packs and insulated bags or lunch boxes to keep items cool.
- Label containers with the name and date of the food.
Reheating in the microwave is quick and easy with a few tips:
- Use microwave-safe containers. Transfer food from storage containers if needed.
- Cover containers loosely or vent to allow steam to escape.
- Heat in short intervals like 1 minute, stir, then 30 seconds more. Check for hot spots.
- For fried foods, wrap in a paper towel or cloth to absorb moisture and prevent sogginess.
- Allow thick dense foods to stand 1-2 minutes after microwaving so the heat can equalize.
- Take care when removing lids or handling hot containers and food. Use potholders if needed.
With proper storage containers and some simple reheating tips, you can enjoy delicious home-cooked lunches easily while working remotely!
Final Thoughts
Making your own quick, delicious lunches while working from home has many benefits. It saves you money compared to eating out or ordering delivery. You can ensure your meals are healthy by controlling ingredients and portions. And preparing your own food is rewarding.
Meal prepping some components on your days off makes assembling lunches even faster on busy work days. You can prep proteins, grains, and veggies in advance. Consider double batches of rice or quinoa, roasted vegetables, and proteins to have leftovers ready to go.
With a little planning, you can enjoy flavorful, homemade lunches without spending much active time in the kitchen each day. The recipes in this post are perfect to make ahead or assemble quickly. Having satisfying lunches ready to grab and eat will make your remote work days more enjoyable and productive.
