Lunch ideas Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Cabbage Wrap – Light Chicken Salad with Healthy Spices

Cabbage wrap and chicken salad is a delicious light food pairing. Great for anytime of year for losing weight, and gaining protein and fiber. And you can make your own tasty version with mustard that lasts in your lunch bag.

A cabbage wrap is great option for lunch, dinner, brunch, or an afternoon snack.

You can get a bite of sweet, savory, and crunchy in the recipe below. 🥬

Cabbage wrap chicken salad in a delicious lunch bowl.

Boy, I wish I knew how to make my own chicken salad when I was younger and hungry ravenous for something to eat before dinner.

It’s a snack that can be made very inexpensively and fast. Often you find grocery rotisserie chickens that are already cooked. So all you have to do is assemble. Or you can cook your own chicken breasts and even make chicken nuggets.

To shred the chicken, work along the grain pulling apart longer pieces. Then to make smaller and shorter pieces, with a sharper knife cut the long pieces straight across. Or pull the long pieces into even smaller pieces. You decide.

And you decide what goes in your chicken salad. Celery is a good pairing. And if you don’t have celery on had, lettuce pieces are also a great filler add in.

Onions and grapes are also good and healthy together in synergy. You can think of it as a superfood anti-inflammatory pairing. 🍇+🧅

Grapes bring sweetness to the chicken (or you can sub fish) cabbage wrap.

You can use red or green grapes but usually if you use red grapes, then red onion is good and green grapes with white or yellow onions for color effects.

But you do you deciding how to slice and dice up your onions and grapes.

I like the red onions because they’re more mild. If you cut the pieces small, they will not stand out …and for more fine, you can use a grater or a zester tool.

Then for seasoning I add salt and pepper. And to complement, I add a little anti-inflammatory turmeric powder.

Turmeric and black pepper together are another powerful anti-inflammatory healthy duo. 🎉 Tip: great for pain in joints!

And for tastes to further elevate the chicken salad: you can give it a lemony taste vibe with coriander. You wouldn’t want to use lemon juice here because it would be too sour and add to much liquid, and you wouldn’t want to use lemon zest because then it’s too lemony and overpowering the other tastes.

Coriander is a good dry compromise.

I like to use coriander seeds that I crush with my fingers and eat give a burst of bright lemony flavor when you bite into.

And to to give a French bistro vibe, I add tarragon from spice.

And that goes well with the mustard tastes where you have choices.

I like to lean into my Ayurvedic needs that show up in food preferences that I let decide the choice.

You can use a honey mustard for a sweeter chicken salad or a Dijon mustard to go with the French bistro tastes. Or a plain yellow mustard.

And to give a nice texture crunch 🤩, slivered almonds (or crumbled cashews) complement best with crunchy cabbage! You can also substitute with other nuts and seeds but slivered almonds crush (and in your mouth)! 🧡

Because of the vinegar acid in most mustards, it’s a practical condiment choice because it won’t go bad in room temps. Although after opened, it is better refrigerated to preserve taste.

So whatcha waitin’ for?

You can prep your chicken salad, and then put your salad to (cabbage) bed rest for tomorrow’s lunch (?). 😋

Cabbage Wrap with Healthy Lemony Spices Chicken Salad

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

6 oz cooked chicken, finely shredded
cabbage (Napa, red, Italian, or Bok Choy)
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp grapes, quartered in size
1 tbsp onions, minced
turmeric powder
salt and pepper
1 tsp coriander or lemon pepper
tarragon (optional)
slivered almonds

Instructions

Finely shred chicken and mix in remaining ingredeints.

Easy Shrimp and Grits – 15 Minutes Healthy Spice Recipe

Shrimp and grits is one of my favorite Southern dishes. And it’s healthy! It’s a fast meal to prepare and have on the tasty food table too, anytime of day.

Because 5-minute grits cook fast (7-10 minutes on medium-high heat). You can also go for the Old Fashioned version that’s less processed and takes about 15 minutes on higher heat.

Either way, grits are a healthy corn grain and are easy to digest. They are considered good on a low FODMAP diet (like rice).

And you can’t mess up cooking grits. They are dry to begin with, so as long as there’s enough water in the skillet for cooking, you’re good to go! And even if you run low on water, you can revive your grits easier than say rice.

And you can even microwave grits without worry about texture consistency.

And shrimp and grits is a dish you can get your flavor and spices in. Grits are a great base because grits are mildly tasteless.

So, Old Bay spice blend is a great addition with paprika, celery salt and pepper already built-in as some base notes.

I douse Old Bay on anything seafood! It’s a no-brainer for me. 😊

And coriander is a good way to bring in lemony-summery notes, especially if you’re feeling summer nostalgic or your summer flew by and you wanted an endless summer. It’s a good way to preserve the enjoyable feelings.

You can also substitute with lemon pepper if coriander isn’t one you have in your stash.

I also add tarragon on the shrimp for French bistro vibes. And I add either white pepper or a mushroom spice blend for umami tasting vibes. I’m never shy on the flavors.

Tip: Keep in mind if you use spice blends, they usually have salt in them to optimize flavor, so you may not need to add any more salt. And you may have added salt in the grits while cooking.

You can add the Holy Trinity (pepper, onions, and celery) like in Cajun or Creole-style cooking for a healthy trifecta. But if you want to do less chopping and spend less time preparing this meal (like 15 minutes total), you can find diced pimento peppers (sweet) already cut like in this bowl:

If someone handed me a bowl like this and said, “enjoy” or “bless your heart,” I’d be grinning from ear-to-ear saying, “thank you and yes, ma’am.” 😋

And if you like this shrimp and grits bowl idea, you may like a 20-minute paella you can make with lobster or shrimp seafood that’s low in calories and high in protein and Omega-3 anti-inflammatory goodness. 🧡

Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

1 cup grits, cooked
4 cups water
10-12 large shrimp
spices: tarragon, coriander, Old Bay, white pepper
coriander seeds (or lemon pepper)
Old Bay spice blend
fresh onions and peppers
cayenne (optional) for heat

Instructions

Prepare grits. Follow instructions on the package (or 1 cup of dry grits to 4 cups of water).
Add spices in grits. Spices is tasty art work so add the amount you would like.
Cook shrimp separately (or about 6-8 minutes on medium-high heat)
Arrange shrimp ontop of grits. Add more spices and fresh onions and peppers (if adding). If you're serving for others, keep some spices on the side so they can add to their tastes.

Salmon Salad – No Mayonnaise (Lunch Idea)

Salmon salad is something you can enjoy anytime on bread or by itself. And it can be made deliciously without mayonnaise, in case you’re not a fan. Or if you want to try a different healthy way like this version on an open face toast… toast to that!

And any way you prefer, it’s a great protein snack or meal. Especially for lunch for all ages. As salmon salad is universal and can be eaten anywhere unlike an egg salad (…where I still remember a classmate’s bag lunch).

Cooked salmon has no fish aroma that your companions next to you can detect, (and that can make you feel self-conscious about your lunch).

It also has a more subtle fish taste. So it could be the new tuna salad sandwich… if it isn’t already on your menu!

…This also reminds me of my days as a teen working in a deli where it was all about the scoops. But the scoop wasn’t an ice cream scoop… it was tuna, chicken, or shrimp salad… and served like this salmon salad one on the plate that fits in a 4 oz cup (recipe below 👇).

In the deli, it was served on the side of a bed of lettuce or grapes, or on a sandwich.

And you can smear this salmon salad like butter.

But without butter. I personally like my dinner salmon with a béarnaise sauce, with a French Mediterranean vibe (no butter).

And this version for lunch.

For variety and fresh healthy ways, you can also serve your salmon salad with or without mustard, like Dijon mustard.

And if mustard is what you’re craving, you can substitute the horseradish or add ontop of the salmon salad.

It’s also delicious with crackers, multigrain, rye bread, or sourdough.

And what makes this one different is the lightness. Unlike heavy duty mayo (as in full fat), this version is salad light.

It uses yogurt, so you can hold the mayo. And no eggs.

But you could make an egg salad layer (if you want) for a Smorgastorta effect, or sandwich cake to go with your salmon salad.

That goes hand-in-hand with these 2 Swedish concepts I can get behind:

Lagom is a way to balance and moderation.

Fika is a Swedish concept for a coffee break with pastries and while you’re on yours, you can enjoy a Swedish finger sandwich or smorgastorta. This concept is kinda like afternoon English tea or an American brunching on the weekend (one of my fun things to do!).

And a salmon salad is perfect fit for a brunch. It’s light and protein-full. And if you want to give it a building-an-autumn-fire tasting vibe 🍁, you can add fiery orange color turmeric-spice that has ember burning smokey flavors… in case you didn’t know what the turmeric taste is like.

Black pepper and turmeric are a healthy spice combo so it makes sense too.

You can also substitute with Spanish smoked paprika that’s sometimes harder to find. Now that you have some good ideas, maybe it’s time to make your salmon salad sandwich! 🥪 You can make it today and eat tomorrow.

I bake the salmon and then decide!

A good tip is to decide what you will do with the salmon when it is still warm cooked or baked 🐟 . Because it will finely crumble easier when it’s warm and soft.

Drizzled with olive oil and a little salt and pepper, on 350°F/180°C it’s to my baked doneness liking in 3o-40 minutes depending on the fish filet thickness.

You can also cook on the stovetop if that’s your preference. But don’t add too much EVOO if you plan to make it into a salad, as it leaves the salmon more oily. Vs. baking that will dry out and soak in the oil quicker.

But no worries, you can’t go wrong…and all who love salmon will love. 😋

Salmon Salad - Yogurt (No Mayonnaise)

A healthy salmon salad that can be added to a sandwich.

Course brunch, fika, lunch

Cuisine American, swedish

Servings 4 oz

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2 oz salmon, cooked
1 oz Greek yogurt (use both liquid and thick portions)
1 tsp fresh dill (or spice form)
1/4 tsp black pepper and salt, or lemon pepper
3/4 tsp fresh horseradish
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)

Instructions

Crumble salmon in a bowl into fine pieces.
Make the yogurt mixture: Mix yogurt, dill, horseradish, and other dry ingredients to a separate bowl.
Mix in salmon with yogurt mixture. Add to your sandwich bread or enjoy as a scoop on a plate or green salad.

Notes

Tip: Crumble the salmon for salmon salad when it is still warm. Let cool and then make the salad.

Fish and Chips Cod Healthy Recipe – Baked + Waffle Chips

Fish and Chips with Cod is a recipe to share because it’s easy, filling for a family, and made healthy light when baked (and not fried)… and that’s a tasty way to make healthy food count and enjoy the calories.

fish and chips baked and waffle recipe. — Baked fish and chips cod recipe below. 🧡

This one is accompanied with no-fried waffle chips with a salty and tangy sour dip that has balanced tasty notes (…what’s not to love?). The recipe is below. 🧡

My inspiration for making fish and chips takes me back to travel and one special place memory of my time in U.K. 🇬🇧 hoppin’ in and out of London Cabs after dramatically being re-routed from visiting the Mediterranean south.

I didn’t mind as I had worked in food party planning for Mediterranean (Lebanese, Spanish, and Italian) restaurants for years, so that felt a little like home.

And, re-route is part of adventure.

Oh and travel is always an adventure… and GOOD times…

…even if it’s serious business getting history (Stone Henge) downloads.

…And then getting my bearings back up to food familiarities like with these small BUT mighty food bites at Covent Garden near Westminster where I stayed…

…Even as big as London is, somehow I found the comfort food. What a memory! 💕

And one memory dish that U.K. is famous for and you don’t have to look long and hard for there is Fish and Chips.🐟 … it’s as common as U.S. served crab cakes, corn on the cob, and potato chips.

That’s a mouthful of “c’s” to say.

Saying Fish and Chips is much easier…

The common U.K. fishes sourced for the dish are salmon, cod, and haddock.

The healthiest fish are wild fish anywhere you source because the fish eat what they would in the wild… makes sense.

And cod is the best choice.

Why cod?

It’s easy to source and that means affordable groceries .

Most U.K. fish come from the shared seas in the North Atlantic and Norway I learned working with chefs and travel.

My last fishy travel tale was in the Bergen, Norway fish market as I’m going down memory lane 🐟

…And in the U.S., we have our own fish markets. it’s common that we source wild fish from the Northwest Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

But anywhere you are and anytime of the year, you can make your light (aka healthy) baked Fish and Chips.

This healthy baked fish dish is served with waffle potato fries that doesn’t compromise taste or healthy food notes… and is so simple to make.

Potato waffle fries are made with a little extra virgin oil love that’s healthy. You can use a waffle iron if you have one or you use a skillet on the stove and make potato hash or flat potato pancakes.

And if potatoes are not on your menu choice and you want a different style with the same basic ingredients in baked fish and chips, alternatively you can cook your fish with boiled potatoes.

But if you just want to stick with the traditional fish and chips fare made in a healthy cooking way, enjoy this recipe with no guilt.

You can even pair with a healthy cottage cheese dip as the tartar sauce.

Healthy Baked Fish and Waffle Chips

A healthy baked fish and no-fried waffle chips with a no-mayonnaise tartar sauce recipe.

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, british

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

waffle iron

Ingredients

6 oz white fish such as cod, whiting, or flounder
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1-2 white or all-purpose potatoes
1/4 cup cottage cheese for tartar sauce
1-2 pickles or gherkins

Instructions

Brush fish with olive oil to keep from drying. Add to oven at 325℉/165°C until fully baked.
For bread crumb topping, toast panko crumbs in a separate pan from fish. Set bread crumbs on the top oven shelf so they don't burn. They will toast brown in about 5 minutes or less on the top shelf.
Cook/soften your potatoes until they are mashable. Scoop out small balls about the same size and flatten. You can make the "chips" in a waffle iron or on a sautee pan with olive oil.
For the tartar sauce, mince the pickles and add to a blender with cottage cheese. Add a tiny bit of pickle juice for stronger flavor. You can do this in a Magic Bullet or similar easy blender.

Healthy Habits Today Matter Big-Time for Tomorrow

Healthy habits matter today big time for results tomorrow. And we can get a good dose of influence from the Blue Zones (discovered by Dan Buettner), where their habits feel like worlds apart from our modern, Western world.

But we can adopt their healthy ways. And I share a few of mine below along my journey including a healthy potato habit I have. 🥔

As for healthy habits, I’ve been eating whole-wheat bread and foods since I was young. I don’t think I ever had a slice of white sandwich bread. It was wheat, rye, or pumpernickel… but never white.

Whole wheat cherry glace pancakes with frozen Greek yogurt for Sunday brunch! 🥞

I’m so glad I didn’t let those past years of dissatisfied field trip bag lunches hold me back. Those and other healthy habits are happy keepers.

Below you’ll learn about some Sunday brunch inspo that came from healthy habits and endings too.

And what you create as eating healthy habits today becomes your tomorrow’s habits. And can be part of happy memories.

Some of them stick around from when you were younger, and still work. They need no replacement.

When I was younger, working smart was en vogue. Why?… je ne sais quoi.

…Maybe we were trying to learn how to cut corners? But working hard never went outta-style. Work was (and is) what made the world go round but talking about grunt work especially would be like going rogue.

And today, in a sharing society, we learned that there are no shortcuts. The good stuff is in the work and comes from the working hard process. So glad we kept the healthy habits. 🌱

And even the tough work proved useful for growth and experience.

Especially when we’re young, we need all the experience we can get…

In those years, I walked everywhere. I had no wheels. I walked to the bus, to the dentist, to school, on the paper route, and to my friends’ houses.

And when my high school friend got a new set of wheels, a brand spanking new red Cabriolet convertible for her 16th birthday, she offered to pick me up in the mornings to take me to school. It surprised me when I turned down that exciting offer.

My young mind told me that I shouldn’t count on that routine. Our young intellects were at work even when we weren’t fully conscious. 😉

And in a higher gear, I knew I made the right choice.

At that moment I solidified the habit of counting on myself… and not taking shortcuts that breed laziness.

No lazy (Kapha) mind is a better mantra…

And a good way to break out of that mold is to exercise even when we don’t feel like doing it. You always feel better after the burn.

An easier way is to step outside. Because there you don’t feel the sting. You don’t count calories burned. Your wristband does it automatically for you.

And you breathe in new air and let your senses do the rest.

And when you naturally go up and down steps, you’re doing exercise without having to convince your brain to work. It’s automatic to your mind and legs.

Simply, if you want to get to where you’re going, you need to take steps… or even better, the stairs. Fair, right?

Too often we automatically think of exercise as cardio and keeping up our heart rates. That’s just one type.

And the kind that makes a difference will be the exercises and moves you do.

Another habit area is consistently showing up.

Your presence becomes known. And you’re seen as someone who’s accountable and takes the time to be available. We all like to know people like this.

It’s a form of welcomed dependability.

And there are ways we all can be consistent whether it’s online or in-person. And where we can be part of our community.

For some years, I was part of organizing a regular brunch group. It fit what I was doing. I was helping others plan their hosted events, so why not host my own? It was volunteer mixed with fun healthy habits.

What made the group special was that we (I had a co-lead with me) opened the event to everyone. There were always newcomers to the group and the DC metro area. And the restaurant of choice had to set up several tables.

It was fun to try out new local restaurants including swanky Michelin Blue Duck Tavern places, historic National Press Room restaurants, and mod-deco fare ones on the Potomac River. Many celebrated Cherry Blossoms 🌸 like this one (speaking of en vogue):

And we met restaurateurs like this distinguished chef who put foodie restaurants on the maps in the 90s before Jose Andres.

Restaurant lunch time for brunch isn’t usually busy like dinner so that was a good fit for all. And being plugged in that way became part of healthy habits that season.

And during those years, as a theme, I was also inviting my own bunch to the restaurants where I ran the group events.

Similarly, if you take a look at your healthy habits, you’ll notice some repeats. Your regular habits that stick become what sticks out in your life tomorrow and years later.

Taking inventory of your healthy habits will help show you the gaps so you can have a fulfilling life.

You can consider:

Where are you spending most of your time?

What do you wish you were doing more of?

Are you plugged into your local community in some way?

How are you helping the world?

Just some food for thought as you go about your week.

For anti-inflammatory food shopping inspo, check out this 200 anti-inflammatory food grocery guide/list. 🛒

And these spuds could be part of your healthy habit start.

Healthy Loaded Baked Potato Skins

This used to be one of my favorite lunch meals when they had a loaded potato fixins' bar at my work. The skins are often tossed out and are loaded with fiber and vitamins that can be cooked, baked and enjoyed in our daily meal healthy habits!

Course Side Dish, vegetables

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

Russet potatoes (or favorite potatoes)
Greek yogurt
Herbs (chives, thyme, and/or tarragon recommended)
Alliums (scallions or minced onions)
olive oil (optional)

Instructions

Cook your potatoes until soft on the stove.
Cut each potato in half and face down halves on baking sheet drizzled with a little EVOO if you like.
Bake on 350°F until browning occurs.
Let potato cool sligthtly and then add your healthy Greek yogurt topping and herbs to garnish and enjoy!