Here's a question. How much money do you spend on lunch in a year? Probably too much, right?
I’ll let you in on a secret;
you don’t have to be a Michelin-starred chef to create beautiful, mouth-watering, life affirming food.
Like many things in life,
you just need to know the formula.

I’m a food nerd. I love nothing more than finishing a long day of work by cozying up with a book, a cookbook. That’s right I’m that person. I read cookbooks from cover to cover, I subscribe to multiple food magazines, follow all the blogs, and of course I worship Martha Stewart (All hail Martha).

It wasn’t always this way, and truthfully it’s taken me a couple of years to get to this skill level. Now that I'm here, I want to share my culinary knowledge because I know how hard it can be trying to learn a new skill with no support. But trust me, it can be so much fun once you know where to start

It’s always tempting to grab a quick burger at lunch, but you know you can do better. By turning seasonal vegetables, whole foods, bold dressings, and lean proteins into your friends, I'll show you how to make healthier, tastier, and cheaper lunches with way less work than seems reasonable. I’ll teach you how to create the perfect lunch bowl, without forfeiting those extra 15 minutes in bed in the morning. It can be done.

While making your own lunch every day may seem daunting, as someone who just some years ago microwaved their eggs in a cup and called it a meal, I can assure you that you can do this. Once you become comfortable with the building blocks of this meal, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’re able to create well-balanced, affordable, healthy lunches. I always rely on the following basic formula when constructing a lunch bowl, but feel free to add or remove anything to your taste.

1. Let your freekeh flag fly

For the foundation of a perfect lunch bowl, I always use whole grains – they’re delicious, satisfying, cheap, and healthy. And no, choosing “brown” bread at Subway doesn’t count as a whole grain.

We’ve all got a comfort zone, but there’s a whole world of grains outside of rice, and the right complimenting texture can elevate an ordinary lunch into a mind-blowing one, not to mention providing you with limitless variations. 

Good grains: brown rice, wild rice, amaranth, wheat berries, barley, farro, freekeh, bulgur or quinoa (technically not a grain, but for our purposes it is an honorary member of the Grain Bowl Club)

Advanced variation: combine two different grains.

2. Think green

Once you have your base, the next step in the formula is to add some leafy greens. Full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fibre, greens are crucial to getting the nutrition your body craves. To optimise the integrity of your salad, use a robust green like Kale or Swiss Chard. Their heartier leaves will stay crisp and fresh until lunchtime rolls around.

Spinach and baby Arugula are also excellent choices as long as you keep them separate from the dressing to avoid sogginess.

Good greens: collard greens, beet greens, turnip greens or mustard greens if you like a little spice.

3. Fill’er up

Here’s where you keep the 3pm hunger-beast at bay. Grains and greens are great, but it's protein that keeps you full.

I reccomend chopped bacon. It adds umami flavour without overpowering the balance of grains and greens you’ve so carefully arranged. Don’t worry if meat isn’t your thing, tofu is a solid choice as well. If you’re on a tight budget or just not in the mood, you can omit this step altogether. If you’ve chosen your base well—some grains come pre-loaded with protein (Hi Quinoa!).

Good Proteins: chicken, pork, fish, poached egg, tofu.

4. Be extra

This is where things get a little nuts. Sprinkle on any extra, or combination of extras, you like. Roasted or pickled vegetables, toasted nuts, fresh herbs, cheese, go crazy! This step is great for experimentation and will guarantee you never get bored of lunch bowls. A personal favourite is dates, feta and pickled red onion with sumac on a spinach leaf base.

Good extras: nuts (pistachios, almonds, cashews), cheese (feta, blue cheese, goat’s cheese), cubed roasted vegetables (sweet potato, squash, cauliflower, basically any vegetable you can think of), chia or flax seeds for extra nutrition.

5. Dress well

It's true that fortune favours the bold. A dressing that is bold and rich in flavour will take this lunch bowl to the next level. Make sure to coat your ingredients evenly so that each bite has a perfect balance of taste. When you have quality ingredients, simple is sometimes best, so skip the Kraft and look for something locally sourced and organic.

Good dressing ingredients: high grade olive oil, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon or lime, molasses, chilli oil, toasted sesame oil, miso.

Pro tip: Building up a supply of condiments in your workplace’s kitchen will improve a drab meal in a pinch. If all you had time to make was chicken and grains; hot sauce, mustards, vinegars and a quality sea salt like Maldon will be a lifesaver.

Grains, greens, protein, extras, and dressing. Once you know this formula, you can do anything.

But knowing how won’t change your life/lunch if you never actually do it. For me, the most efficient way of making sure I’m set up for the week is to take a day to prepare all my ingredients, usually on Sunday. Cook up big batches of grains and vegetables. Chop nuts, stems and divide into containers. Make sure you have all the elements you’ll need so you can easily spoon a bit of everything into a Tupperware bowl on Monday morning—you can make it easier and more fun by watching Netflix or listening to music at the same time (just keep an eye on the stove).

 You’ll see immediate results. Not only will you be able to saves money, you’ll be able to maintain a diet of healthy and varied food without sacrificing on taste or experience. Plus your coworkers will want to instagram photos of your food.

And hey! Now you'll have extra time to pop out to that new ice-cream place around the corner. You deserve it after all that healthy eating. Win win.