Healthy lunch ideas for office workers – just some of the delicious lunch ideas that can be picked up at the local store on your way to work, or even made in advance. Who doesn’t love great tasting, healthy food that is so easy to eat! Easy and delicious – the benefits of healthy lunches on-the-go for any busy day!
Healthy Lunch Ideas For Office Workers
It’s no secret that I love making lunches. I own a company (MOMables) that helps parents make fresh lunches and foods their kids will love. I’m constantly struggling with what to make for dinner, but when it comes to lunch… I NEVER run out of ideas. My cookbook, The Best Homemade Kids’ Lunches on the Planet, contains 200+ recipes! I’m currently working on a second cookbook centered around snacks.
Watch this quick video on how I pack our office lunches with the same ingredients I use for my kids’ lunches. It’s all about the continuity of ingredients!
For quick recipe videos you can use for your office lunch, check out my YouTube channel.
All of these photos came from my personal Instagram feed. If you are into food that’s not complicated, kids, and living life… you might want to follow me there. You can also follow MOMables on Instagram. Loads of ideas, how-tos, and tips on there every day.
There are thousands of people in the MOMables community; but did you know that not everyone is using my lunch menus to pack school lunches? I was shocked to find out that over 10% of my subscribers are grownups who use my menus to pack a healthy office lunch!
Ok, and now the moment you’ve been waiting for… what’s in these lunches? I’m going to tell you! If you need more ideas you can sign up for this blog’s posts to be sent to your inbox every time a new recipe is published (see sidebar right) or head over to MOMables to get a (free) weekly recipe recap of my recipes, a sample meal plan, helpful kitchen and packing how-tos… and more.
I know it says school lunch ideas on the MOMables website, but you know we adults are “big kids” when it comes to our to-go food. Right? Check out the description under each collage for what’s in the packed lunches.
If looking at these images is inspirational but a little overwhelming, click here to see how I can help you reuse leftovers, minimize food waste, and add variety to your meals. The service is less than half of what you’d spend in a single lunch. All the lunch containers shown can be found here.
HEALTHY LUNCH IDEAS
Top rows: easy peasy crustless quiches, magic cookies, berries, and carrots. A happy lunchbox with a love note from my girl. I cut up an ice-pack sheet into mini ice-packs to fit inside my snack boxes. Sabra Lucious lemon hummus, homemade Grab the Gold bar, berries, and a frozen veggie smoothie. Hard boiled eggs, grapes, and Chai Butternut Squash Soup. Grain Free Brazilian rolls with ham and lots of berries.
Bottom row: me, chowing down on hummus. Grapes and veggie lentil soup. Meatballs (red sauce in thermos) with grilled cheese stix, Paleo cookies, and a clementine. Southwestern omelet, sprouted salad, and melon. Cobb salad, hard boiled egg, nuts, dressing, and an apple. Fiesta salad, veggies and dressing, nuts.
LUNCH IDEAS FOR WORK
Top row: crustless quiche (similar to this one), ham, cheese, raspberries, dried fruit, and leftover granola bar.
Second row: paleo chili and berries. Honey orange chicken meatballs in lettuce cups, berries, and a Paleo cookie. Bananas foster overnight oats, melon, strawberries and cream, and a hard boiled egg.
Third & Fourth rows: tomato and avocado (Toufayan gluten free) wrap, grapes, and pineapple. Kind bar, Sabra hummus (single serve), berries and cream, pretzel chips. Ham & cheese apple wraps, yogurt, berries, nuts and seeds. Pita pocket stuffed with hummus, salad greens, Feta cheese, and kalamata olives, strawberries and pineapple. Honey orange chicken meatballs, spinach, berries, and extra honey orange sauce.
EASY OFFICE LUNCH IDEAS
Top row: veggie meatloaf, hummus, celery, strawberries and homemade nutella. Big one: Apple wrapped in prosciutto, almond butter ants on a log, and strawberries. Second left: Hard boiled egg & salad mix bagel thin sandwiches, Sabra hummus single, and cherry tomatoes. Third left: Strawberry-banana-spinach protein shake, watermelon, roasted corn and bacon hash.
Bottom row: spring mix salad topped with grilled chicken, blueberries and veggies, apple pieces and pretzel thins. Prosciutto wrapped melon, Sabra hummus single, and toasted pita chips. Avocado scramble, white peach, pretzel thins. Loaded baked potato, pineapple, homemade brownie bite. Blueberry and granola clusters parfait, almond butter, and diced apple.
LUNCH IDEAS
Top row: salami and avocado crostinis topped with hard boiled egg. My baby G having lunch with me. Blue cheese topped burger in a grain free bun (total recipe flop so I can’t share) and watermelon. Pizza tortellini thermos (I’m sure I brought something else that day but I didn’t picture it).
Second row: Cobb Salad Pizza slice, hard boiled egg, and watermelon. Middle: grain free salmon and cream cheese rolls, berries, Greek yogurt, sliced apples. Grilled ham and cheese, carrots and natural puffs. Sabra hummus single, natural puffs, and blueberries. Turkey sandwich on gluten free bread, natural puffs, and strawberries.
Third row: Asian chicken salad, cantaloupe, and blueberries. Berries, almond butter and greek yogurt, popcorn. Chicken and apple sausage, goat cheese, raspberries, tomatoes, and black olives. Brie and avocado crostinis, blueberries, homemade ranch dip, and sugar snap peas.
PACKED LUNCH IDEAS FOR WORK
Top row: melon and pineapple, almond butter and yogurt topped with nutty clusters, and white peach slices. Brie and avocado baguette sandwich, strawberries, and Spanish corn nuts. One-step guacamole, baked corn chips, Greek yogurt, and berries. Zucchini spaghetti with my famous Bolognese, melon, and a grain free popover (also a failed recipe).
Second row: Asian salad slaw with leftover grilled chicken, berries, and a Kind bar. Pesto Caprese salad, sprouted beans, corn chips. Thinly sliced leftover pork loin, Caprese salad, homemade bbq sauce, and cantaloupe. Greek salad, turkey pinwheels with gluten free wraps, and cantaloupe.
Third row: Loaded buffalo chicken baked potato with avocado. Ham rolls, fruits and veggies and ham sandwich thins. Sprouted bean salad topped with avocado and green olives, strawberries, and corn chips. Ham, cucumber, and tomato spinach wraps (with gluten free wraps), sliced cheese, raspberries, and almonds.
Bottom row: one-step guacamole over green salad topped with black olives, strawberries and cantaloupe. Leftover grilled chicken salad, Greek olive Sabra hummus, pretzel thins. A stack of lunch containers in my fridge, labeled with any morning assembly instructions. Repeat! Brie and avocado sandwich – I LOVE brie.
LUNCH MEAL PLAN IDEAS
Top row: Spinach & avocado sandwich, hummus, pretzel thins, and melon. Mixed salad, mayo-free egg salad, and diced avocado. My homemade punchable remake (did not eat the store bought, it’s just for comparison). Grain free almond butter and banana bread, berries, maple Greek yogurt.
Middle row: leftover mac & cheese bites, berries, sugar snap peas, and carrots. Half of a sushi tray, side of amines (you can do soy sauce), and pineapple. Goat cheese and clementine salad, strawberries, blueberries, and homemade strawberry milk (made with coconut milk).
Bottom row: pressed ham and cheese croissant, grapes, celery and homemade ranch dip. Ham on a stick and turkey + cheese on a stick (the sticks are hot drink caps from Starbucks). Egg salad, spinach, and tomato sandwich, melon, raspberries. Black bean taco salad over baby greens, blueberries and corn chips.
Most of the lunches were put together with leftovers and prepped ahead ingredients. The majority of recipes can be found in the MOMables meal plan service. Some lunches are lighter than others depending on my day’s schedule (some days I have a heavy breakfast). Again, all of the lunch containers I used can be found here.
This is how I prep 1 week’s worth of meals in one afternoon and this is how I shop for real food on a budget.
And this, is what my family’s Monday-Wednesday packed lunches look like on most Sunday nights. With the MOMables plan, I’m able to prep-ahead 3 days’ worth of lunches for the 5 of us on Sunday night, and I prepare Thursday and Friday on Wednesday nights. The meal plan includes a prep-ahead sheet, 5 meal ideas, and a shopping list. I pack food for everyone in my family, including my husband.
Whew! This was a long one! Of course, there are many more ideas and meals that I didn’t picture… but you get the idea. Excuse the photo quality and enjoy the ideas!
If you want to learn how to pack like a pro without soggy sandwiches, how to grill sandwiches and pack them for later, how to rock the thermos, how to feed picky eaters… and lots of other pro-tips, head over to MOMables and subscribe for the free weekly newsletter. You’ll get a sample meal plan and a free Pack Like a Pro email series.
Easy, Healthy, Delicious Lunches for the Office
Pasta
These recipes may start with a simple ingredient, but when topped with everything from beans to veggies to cheese, there are countless ways to make pasta dishes exciting. Whip up one big pot over the weekend, then dish it out all week.
1. The Healthiest Lasagna Ever, The Daily Muse
2. Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad, YumSugar
3. Three-Bean Pasta Salad, Martha Stewart
4. Chili-Spiked Orzo Salad With Pinto Beans, The Daily Muse
5. Chicken, Corn, and Tomato Pasta Salad, My Recipes
6. Spicy Sesame-Soy Soba Noodles, The Daily Muse
7. Roasted Pepper-Corn Pasta Salad, Women’s Health
8. Steak Noodle Salad, YumSugar
9. Greek Orzo Salad, Allrecipes
10. Zucchini and Almond Pasta Salad, Smitten Kitchen
11. Chilled Sesame Soba With Cashews, The Daily Muse
12. Tuscan Bow Ties, Women’s Health
13. Pasta With Quinoa Meatballs, The Daily Muse
14. Fast and Fresh Orzo Salad With Tomatoes, Basil, and Feta, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
15. Teriyaki Soba Salad, The Daily Muse
Soup
You may have left your thermos full of SpaghettiOs in the third grade, but there’s something comforting about a steaming bowl of hot soup, stew, or chili—and it’s the perfect excuse for a break during a hectic day at work. Pick up a fun bento lunch canister, pack some bread on the side, and whip up one of these perfect lunch recipes.
16. Chunky Moroccan Soup, Refinery 29
17. Chickpea, Vegetable, and Pesto Soup, Real Simple
18. Roasted Carrot-Coconut Soup, The Daily Muse
19. Easy Minestrone Soup, Greatist
20. Spicy Tomato Soup, YumSugar
21. Chunky Turkey and White Bean Soup, Fitness Magazine
22. Pasta e Fagioli, Cravings of a Lunatic
23. Quick and Easy Veggie Chili, Greatist
24. Tortilla Soup With Black Beans, Martha Stewart
25. Lentil Soup, Martha Stewart
26. Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Chili, The Daily Muse
27. Classic Tomato Soup, Martha Stewart
28. Chicken Noodle Soup, The Daily Muse
29. Chili with Chicken and Hominy, Better Homes and Gardens
Salads
When you default to a typical salad—lettuce, carrot shreds, and few strategically placed cherry tomatoes—it’s hard to get excited for your lunch hour. But when you throw in an unusual mix of ingredients (um, blood oranges and feta?), those leafy greens get a whole lot more appetizing.
30. Mason Jar Salads, The Daily Muse