6 Protein-Packed Lunches That Pack Serious Flavor

We all struggle to find lunch options that are both healthy and exciting. As the founder of Malibu Farm restaurants, I've spent years creating dishes that nourish without sacrificing flavor. I never had any formal training—in fact, I used to call myself a "cooler lady" because I dragged a cooler full of food around Hollywood doing private chef work and catering for a couple decades. One day, my daughter's friend said, "hmmm 'cooler' lady, you are getting kind of 'cool'"—the highest compliment of my life! Read on to discover spring lunch recipes that will transform your midday meals with fresh, protein-packed ingredients.

My Approach to Creating Flavorful, High-Protein Meals

I never had any ambitions to be in the food world and it was more of an accidental path. One day a friend asked me to help cook a business dinner and then I started to get hired to cook events and before I knew it, I was a caterer. Later I went into private chef work and then I started Malibu Farm in my backyard 2008.

The one thing I love to do is blur the lines between vegetables, grains, and vegetarian proteins. The traditional plate of protein, usually animal, a starch such as potato and a side vegetable were always very boring and uninspired to me.

I grew up in Sweden and therefore potatoes are a staple and a much beloved ingredient of mine, but I always aim to make the magic trio of comforting starch such as rice, potato, couscous, combined with a vegetable and a protein such as quinoa, lentils, or beans.

This is the base for many of my meals which I then pair with a simple salad, and occasionally I add dairy, poultry, or seafood as well.

What Makes Spring Ingredients Special

Spring is always exciting as the produce choices spring up! The more ingredients we have to play with, the more options we have and the more fun our plates become. The excitement when the farmers market in the spring goes from winter roots galore to the joy of more selections, such as the delight of asparagus, carrots, peas, spinach, herbs, arugula, is (literally) palatable.

Six Go-To High-Protein Spring Lunches

1. Spring calls for roasted asparagus with marinated white beans and fresh herbs, grilled fish or shrimp goes great with this.
2. I also love roasted baby carrots tossed with red lentils and Israeli couscous in lemon dressing and a dash of hot honey on a bed of yogurt or goat cheese sprinkled with everything seasoning. Smoked salmon is a great addition.
3. Another quick favorite is spring peas and broccolini with pesto and orzo which takes just a few minutes to make. Roasted chicken is an easy add for more protein.
4. Mixed salad greens, like arugula and kale with quinoa, green lentils, mushrooms, avocado, parmesan cheese and alfalfa sprouts with any dressing of your choice. Add crispy tofu strips for additional protein.
5. Vegetable frittata is always a good idea, especially filled with marinated artichokes and cheese served with a side of freshly raw shaved artichoke salad with micro spring greens.
6. Whole wheat wrap tortilla filled with hummus and Greek salad ingredients, feta cheese, crispy garbanzo beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and chopped black or green olives and lettuce, is delicious and handy.

All the above items go well with your favorite traditional proteins such as roasted chicken, smoked salmon, grilled fish of any kind and so on.

Key Ingredients and Prep Tips

I never start from scratch when cooking at home, or rather I loathe starting from scratch. My number one tip is to always save something from one day to the upcoming days, or to always make extra.

If I am using black beans for one meal, I save half a cup for the next day. Starting from half a cup of black beans I now can bake sweet potatoes and fill it with black beans, herbs, chilies, and sour cream.

If I have some leftover quinoa, I can add it to some cooked rice which quickly with almost no effort elevates plain rice to a quinoa rice side dish.

I often precook and stock my fridge with quinoa, lentils, beans or farro etc. and I season them with salt and toss lightly in lemon dressing and keep a handy stash and meals in a flash.

The cooked grains and proteins will last for several days and can be added to a vegetable, cheese or animal protein and lunch is quickly served and well deserved.

Standout Ingredients That Energize

This is not a spring ingredient but……my daily latte energizes me. I must admit I still enjoy my one cup with whole milk, which is protein, and the joy of coffee all combined in one beautiful cup. Coffee, Sunshine, fresh air, a walk, and connecting with other humans is probably one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves and our mental health.

Best Advice for Quick, High-Protein Lunches

My best advice which I use myself is always make extra and use the leftovers to inspire me for the next couple of meals. For me simplicity rules, so properly seasoned with oil, garlic, salt and lemon or vinegar of your choice is my basic advice.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

I love baby potato salad. Boiled skin on, in salted water, then tossed with some leftover cooked grains in my fridge, beans, lentils, quinoa, lots of fresh herbs, dill is a favorite, aka "dill"icous" then toss in lemon dressing and a dollop of mayonnaise.

Potato salad can be served with eggs or leftover shredded roast chicken or slices of smoked salmon, and a side salad. Fast and Yum.

I make a similar sweet potato salad with roasted sweet potatoes, black lentils, or black beans, lots of herbs, lemon dressing, and a squeeze of honey. Serve with a side salad of kale and some sliced turkey or additional protein of your choice and you are ready to roll.

How These Lunches Compare to Typical "Health Food"

The only thing boring is foods void of color, flavor, and nature's bounty. Spruce up your plate and don't be afraid to experiment.

The sweetness of spring garlic can be added to any dish without overpowering it. I definitely eat with my eyes first and so a burst of color is a joyful thing.

I also love spicy foods, pickled fresno chilies are a great addition to your fridge stables. Everything's better with the kick of chilies which is how I like to chill.

Not to be cheesy but I do love cheese and Cottage cheese, Parmesan, Gruyère, Emmental are high protein cheeses so I would say cheese please.