Don't let yourself fall victim to the January lettuce rut. If you, like us, have made a resolution to up your home-cooking and lunch-packing games, then salads may become an easy fallback meal. They're easy enough to throw together last minute and can require little to no actual culinary skills. But after a week in lettuce land, the salad fatigue inevitably sets in and we are left to bitterly munch our last leaf of baby kale ( damn you, baby kale).
But it doesn't have to be so! Escape this fate altogether by taking a deep breath, putting aside some time to plan ahead, and checking out the ten delectable lunch recipes ahead. Sure, some may hold salad in the title and yes, some have their fair share of romaine and arugula leaves...But friends, lettuce is no longer the main star of this show. So read on for your next week's worth of fresh, fast, and non-fatiguing not-all-lettuce lunches.
Mason Jar Chickpea, Farro, & Greens Salad
Put some punch back into your mason jar salads with hearty chickpeas, farro, and feta.
Photo: Courtesy of Cookie+Kate.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes With Blackberry Salsa
Serve this savoury veggie patty on its own or sandwiched between a toasted bun (lettuce optional).
Photo: Courtesy of How Sweet It Is.
Tailor this sandwich with your vegetables and spread of choice (we're thinking roasted red peppers, eggplant, onions, basil, and pesto).
Photo: Courtesy of Lovely Little Kitchen.
Dynamite Plant-Power Sushi Bowl
This sushi-salad bowl is a fresh and easy to pack-up-and-go lunch with flair.
Photo: Courtesy of Pinch of Yum.
Baked Falafel With Kale, Shallots, & Tahini Sauce
Bake up a batch of falafel and use your favourite greens simply as a bed to serve them over.
Photo: Courtesy of My Name Is Yeh.
Grilled Chicken & Red Pepper Bowl With Whipped Avocado Cream
Whipped avocado cream over any green is A-okay with us.
Photo: Courtesy of Lovely Little Kitchen.
Black Bean-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes With Arugula & Poached Eggs
Don't have time for poaching? Try packing these stuffed sweet taters with a soft-boiled egg instead for easy weekday noshes.
Photo: Courtesy of How Sweet It Is.
Chocked full of savoury Mediterranean veggies and flavour, this "salad" doesn't need lettuce.
Photo: Courtesy of The Candid Appetite.
Spicy Southwestern Salad With Avocado Dressing
Avocado dressing making our lunch dreams come true, again.
Photo: Courtesy of Pinch of Yum.
Whip up this 30-minute soup for slurp-able lunch bliss.
Photo: Courtesy of How Sweet It Is.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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