Anyone else always searching the internet for healthy lunch ideas? I know I am! I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to them! I think I found my new go-to salad though. I say that because I’ve had it almost every other day for the past two weeks. The thing I love most about it, is that I can make the full batch and portion it out for separate lunches. Since I know so many of you are focusing on healthy eating in January, I thought I’d round up five easy and healthy lunch ideas.
5 Easy & Healthy Lunch Ideas
This recipe comes from Ina Garten’s Cook Like a Pro, one of my new Christmas cookbooks {love my cookbooks so much!}. It’s actually a recipe that Ina tweaked slightly from a NYC restaurant. Funny enough, I’ve heard about this recipe before which is what led me to want to visit in September. While I liked the salad in person, I almost didn’t think it was worth the hype. Then, I try Ina’s version and I think it’s the best thing ever. Ina can do no wrong in my opinion, although I do have a couple of notes on things I did tweak slightly as well. I hope you try this salad and love it as much as I have!
- 1 cup pearled farro 6 ounces
- 1 cup fresh apple cider*
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup good olive oil
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup roasted salted pistachios, whole or chopped
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved through the stem
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced radishes 2 to 3 radishes
- 2 cups baby arugula
- ½ cup shaved Italian Parmesan cheese
- Flaked sea salt such as Maldon
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Place the farro, apple cider, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt**, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, until the farro is tender. (If all the liquid is absorbed before the farro is tender, add a little more water.) Drain the farro and transfer to a large serving bowl. Discard the bay leaves.
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Meanwhile, in a small measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir the vinaigrette into the warm farro and set aside for at least 15 minutes to cool.
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Before serving, stir in the pistachios, parsley, mint, tomatoes and radishes.*** Add the arugula and lightly fold in the Parmesan so as not to break it up too much. Sprinkle with the sea salt and serve immediately.
*one time I made it I was out of apple cider (remember this is apple cider NOT apple cider vinegar) and I used broth but added a sprinkle of apple cider spices (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg) and it turned out great.
** I would cut this down to 1 teaspoon salt. I think it was a little salt heavy when I made it the first time so each time after I’ve made this modification.
*** If you’re prepping this for the week, stop here and add arugula and cheese before serving so as not to wilt the lettuce.
One thing that makes this dish so amazing is the very simple lemon and olive oil vinaigrette that is mixed with the flavorful farro. It tastes amazing!!
4 More Healthy Lunch Ideas
Vegan Power Bowl with an Herby Green Tahini
Detox Rainbow Roll-Ups with Peanut Sauce
Roasted Eggplant and Bell Pepper Sandwich with Garlic Aioli
Some of these recipes I’ve tried before and some I’m really excited to make for the first time! You can probably tell from the recipes that I picked that I love greens and grains. Not a bad combo if you ask me! When packing salads on the go, I swear by on-the-go salad containers like this one {you can check out my other healthy essentials here!}.
What’s your favorite healthy lunch idea?
xox
