The 5-Minute 5-Ingredient Lunchbox

Alexander Hart

Description

When your cupboard is looking a bit bare, it’s hard to get inspired to make lunch for the day ahead. We can often run out of ideas too, meaning we end up with the same dull lunch every day – or worse yet, buying every meal out and about. Those costs add up.
The 5-Minute 5-Ingredient Lunchbox aims to streamline your lunch each day a breeze according to what you have lying around. Some forgotten rice or grains in the cupboard? Or a random assortment of tinned veggies? These 52 recipes will show you how to quickly turn them into a nutritious and delicious lunch. Plenty of these lunchbox ideas are also vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and/or dairy free. There’s also advice throughout on how to make bulk lunches for your week, if that’s your style, and how you might be able to overhaul last night’s leftovers into a great midday meal.

Sujets

• Cuisine
• Cuisine par plats
• Rice
• Vegan
• Cooking
• Grain (disambiguation)
• Veganism
• Vegetarianism
• Lunch box
• Gluten-free diet
• Leftovers
• Veganismo
• Lunchbox
• Dishes
• Grains
• Vegetarian

Informations

• Publié par: Smith Street Books
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781923049239
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE
5-MINUTE

LUNCHBOX
5-Ingredient

ALEXANDER HART
THE
5-MINUTE


LUNCHBOX HAPPY , HEAL TH Y & SPEEDY MEALS TO MAKE IN MINUTES
5-Ingredient
CONTENTS
6 INTRODUCTION 7 S ALAD INGREDIENTS 10 WRAPS 38 B EANS + LEGUMES 58 G RAINS + SEEDS 78 N OODLES + ZOODLES 106 BENTO BOXES 124 DRESSINGS 128 INDEX
6 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION If you ve opened this book, you re probabl y someone who is pr etty short on time. Sprinting out the fro nt door every morning, late for the tr ain. Busy herding sl eepy-e yed kids into the car . Or just overly fond of the snooze button. All these are valid rea sons to skip the step of pre paring your own lunch in the morning. But it s time to shake thing s up. At rst it might seem har d to br eak the cycle of buying lunch ev ery day . And maybe you work nex t to the best deli in the country . Sur e. But the cost of those meals adds up. Y ou ll be amazed by the money you can save by prepari ng your own lunches. Plus, there s the added bonus of knowing exactly what goes into each and every bite. And all y ou need is 5   minutes and 5 ingre dients. The chapters that foll ow separate i deas for simple and speedy lunches into ve handy catego ries: Wraps, Beans & Legumes, Grains & Seeds, Noodles & Zoodles and Bento Bo xes. At the back of this book you ll also nd the re cipes for all the dres sings used thro ughout -   but feel fre e to use store -bought. If that little timesav er means you actually commit to pre paring your own lunch every day , do so with pride. Each recipe in this book uses 5   ingr edients. Dr essing counts as one. But - quick disclaimer - in the Wrap chapter , the wrap isn t counted in our 5-i ngredient tally . It s merel y a tasty vessel for your lunch, after all. Spending one day a week pr epping all your lunches is one way t o guarantee you ve got something to grab as you re leaving for work. But even if you ar e pr eparing some of these r ecipes in bulk, try to make a few di erent recipes for the coming week. Besides pro viding you with variety -   the spice of life -   this will make sur e that yo u re sneaking into your diet the bro adest possible spectrum of nutrients. One more thing . If you r e someone whose job leav es you feeling constantly stressed, tr y not to eat these tasty lunchboxe s sitting at your desk. Or behind a counter . Or in a windowless break r oom. The best anti dote to stress in our work lives are moments of calm. So, weather permitting, gra b your packed 5- Minute, 5- Ingredient Lunchbox and head outside for 20   minutes. Leave yo ur phone behind for extra points - all you re ally need is a   fork.
THE 5-MINUTE 5-INGREDIENT L UNCHBO X SALAD INGREDIENTS Here are a few notes on some of the ingredients used in this book, al ong with tips and tricks to help cut down your prep time ev en further . BEANS & LENTILS Although the re cipes in this book call for tinned beans and lentils - as they r e a speedy option for adding to salads and wraps - you can, of cour se, soak and cook your own beans and lentils ahead of time and store them in the fridge. One of the major adva ntages to this is that you av oid the salt and sugar of the brine that tinned varieties are stored in. BEETROOT Cooked beetr oot (b eets) are a vailable from the supermark et, usually found in vacuum-seale d packets, tin s or jars. Mix it up and use gol den or striped beetroot when the y r e in season. COOKED CHICKEN Shredded cook ed chick en is a vailable in most supermarket d elis. Alternatively , buy or cook a whole ro ast chicken, chop or shred the mea t yourself and   store in an airtight container in the fridge for up t o 4 days. An other healthy option (if you hav e time) is to poach some chicken br easts for use througho ut the   week. CORN Some of the re cipes call for tinned sweet corn; however , if you have mor e time, chargrill a fr esh corn co b instead. Slice o the ke rnels and add to your lunchbox with the r emaining salad ingredients. Alternatively , you can cook the corn ahead of time and ke ep the kernels in an airtight container in   the fridge for up to 3 days. DRESSINGS For most of the r ecipes in t his book, the dressing is k ept separ ately so you can dress you r salad just before you eat it. You can save your self some mor e time in the morning by mixing your dre ssing the night before a nd keeping the container in the fridge - y ou could even prep a whol e week s worth in advance. GRAINS & NOODLES Bulgur The recipes in this book allow bulg ur t o soak and cook in the time between preparing y our salad in the morning and eating it at lunchtime. If you hav e
8 SALAD INGREDIENTS time to pre pare it the night before (and   you d rather not tak e an e xtra jar with you), make the bulgur accor ding to the packe t instructions and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up   to 4 days. Instant (ramen) noodles Check the packet i nstructions, but these should cook in boiling water in 2-3 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain. Quinoa & brown rice These days ther e ar e various qu ick and instant quinoa and bro wn rice produ cts available that are r eady in 2-3   minutes. Cook accord ing to the packet instructi ons and allow to cool. Alternatively , if you have time t o prep regular q uinoa or brown rice ah ead of time, cook a larg e batch acco rding to the packe t instructions, then cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up t o 4   days. E ven easier , make enou gh for leftov ers when cooking quinoa or br own rice for dinner , then simply toss with   the r emaining sa lad ingredients i n the morning. If you can, try using a combination of black, re d and white varieties of quinoa to mix things up a little. Soba noodles Cook according t o the packe t instructions. Rinse well under cold water and drain. Vermic elli noodles To prepar e vermice lli noodles, place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to sit for 3 -4 minutes, giving them a bit of a stir occasionally to loosen them. Rinse under cold wat er and drain. HARD-BOILED EGGS Make a batch ahead of time and keep in the fridge for up t o 1 week. T o cook them, place your eggs in a sa ucepan and cover with cold wate r . Bring to the boil   over medium-high heat, then cover , remove fr om the heat and se t aside for   8- 11 minutes (d epending on how hard-boil ed you like them). Drain, cool in iced water   and peel just before adding to your salad. HERBS To save time, chop all of yo ur fresh herbs together .
THE 5-MINUTE 5-INGREDIENT L UNCHBO X 9 MINCED GARLIC AND GINGER Avail able in jars -   or tubes (usually sold as paste ) -   from the superm arket, these reall y are a time-sa ving wonder . Alternatively , you can make your own: blitz a larg e quantity of g arlic or fre sh ginger in you r food processo r with a little water , salt and a dro p of olive oil. It will ke ep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up t o 2 weeks, or pre ss at in a zip-lock bag and stor e in the freezer for up to 2 months. PRE-CUT VEGET AB LES Supermarkets now carry a lar ge ran ge of packaged pr e-cut veg etables that keep r eall y well in your fridg e, which is what we recommend using t o keep your prep t ime to aro und 5 minutes. Look out for bro ccoli or cauli ower rice ; shr edded carr ot, cabbage and lettuce; spiralised zucchini / courg ette (zoodles) and beetr oot (b eets); and other convenient combination products , such as coleslaw and mixed   salad le aves. TOASTED NUTS & SEEDS Toa st nuts and seeds ahead of time, leave to co ol completely , then store them in an airtight container in your pantry for up to 1 month. WRAPS There ar e many di erent types of wraps availabl e - some wheat -b ased, some gluten-fr ee, some a voured and coloure d with natural ingr edients including beetro ot (beet), spinach and tomato. Fee l free to use whatever you like for thos e wrap re cipes. NOTES ON QU ANTIT IES We nd you ra rely need exact quantities when putting toge ther a salad, so we v e used handfuls of in many cases, making ingre dients quick to throw in. Feel fr ee to ad just the quantities to make use of what you might alread y have in your fridg e. All tablespoons are 15 ml / 3 teaspoons.
10 NOODLES + ZOODLES
WRAPS
12 WR APS T op the wrap with all the ingr edients. R oll up and secure the wrap. 1 wrap handful of rou ghly torn cos (romaine) le ttuce 100 g (3 /2 oz) smoke d chicken breast, diced 1 small celery stalk, diced /4 avocado, sliced Ranch mayonnaise, stor e-bought or see recipe on pag e 1 6 SMOKED CHICKEN RANCH WRAP Smoked c hicken breast is a gr eat choice if you want t o add some delicious smoky avour to your salad without fussing around with mult iple ingredi ents. Y ou   can buy it from butcher s, delis and supermark ets.

14 WR APS T op the wrap with all the ingr edients. R oll up and secure the wrap 1 wrap handful of nely shr edded kal e /4 granny smith apple, julienned slices honey- roasted turk ey breast 30 g (1 oz) grated g ruy re Honey mustard ma yonnaise, stor e- bought or see re cipe on page 1 5 TURKEY , GRUY RE & KALE WRAP The perfect lunchtime treat - a deliciousl y morei sh wrap with turke y, apple, kale , cheese and a creamy dr essing.

16 WR APS S pread the herbed cr eam cheese over   the wrap. T op the wrap with the r emaining ingredients. R oll up and secure the wrap. 1 wrap Herbed cream cheese, stor e- bought or see re cipe on page 1 5 handful of mixed baby gr eens /2 short cucumber , sliced int o thin   ribbons 70 g ( /2 oz ) smoked sa lmon /4 red onion, thinl y sliced SMOKED SALMON WRAP This wrap is a play on the classic smok ed sal mon bagel. Herbed cream cheese will k eep in your fridge for at least a week - so you can whip it up on the weeke nd for the week of lunches ahead.

18 WR APS 1 wrap 3- falafel balls, rou ghly torn handful of torn cos (ro maine) lettuce /2 t omato, diced some Turk ish pickled turnips, chopped Tahin i yoghurt sauce, stor e-bought or see recipe on pag e 1 7 T op the wrap with all the ingr edients. R oll up and secure the wra