Two Easy (and Healthy-ish) Lunch Ideas to Try This Week

Remember when you only had to think about two meals a day? I’ve always been ritualistic when it comes to breakfast, making myself an open-faced egg sandwich while my coffee brewed. Whether I was hungry or not, breakfast was non-negotiable. Lunch was always sort of my “meh” meal that would be thought about on the fly. Sometimes I would skip it altogether, but during my time working at home, that’s all changed.

I’ve noticed that when hunger crept in, I was reaching for my phone to order Jimmy John’s, or looking for a reason to get in the car to escape the sameness of my surroundings to hunt down a delicious gyro sandwich. Part of the issue was the food choices I was making. I was grabbing empty snack-type food, focusing on the ease and convenience of the food vs. being mindful of what I was eating.

So I began to think about how to make lunch the meal I look forward to upon waking, allowing hunger to sink in after breakfast and letting my body tell me on its own that, “Yep! It’s time for some food!” instead of relying on the clock.

I’m going to show you how to prepare a Honeysuckle White Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloin on a Sunday so you are ready to go all week long with two delicious options for lunch that will keep you satisfied. A little prep work on the weekend to make lunchtime a little easier. Honeysuckle White Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloins are so versatile, you can substitute them for another protein without sacrificing the taste. (As an added bonus, Honeysuckle White Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloins are raised without growth-promoting antibiotics!)

New year, new you. 2021 will be a time to reset. I’m going to reset my habits and my way of thinking; it’s time for a fresh start, especially when it comes to eating.

Part of resetting and picking up healthier habits and making them stick is setting yourself up for success rather than shaming yourself all the way to the finish line. So, I thought, what if I made small tweaks to the meals I crave and prepped them in advance so I could enjoy that moment away from work and make some healthier choices for myself along the way?

When making tweaks to your favorite sandwiches, I recommend selecting healthier proteins before forgoing your favorite spreads and toppings. When you use a higher-quality protein, such as turkey, you get all the benefits (a vitamin- and mineral-rich protein) without sacrificing flavor.

Substituting your current protein of choice with turkey is one of the simplest choices you can make (and one that’s beneficial to your health). Honeysuckle White® has a wide variety of products—ground turkey, meatballs, patties, and breasts—to make meal planning easy.

Before the week begins, prepare a Honeysuckle White Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloin according to the package using your preferred method. Turkey Breast Tenderloins can be grilled, baked, or broiled straight from the package, as they come pre-marinated with seasonings.

While you cook the tenderloin, wash and chop toppings for the turkey gyros and store them in a glass food storage container. Make dill-cucumber sauce and store it in a glass container. Then, mix together the sauce for your Cubanos. Set aside in a glass food storage container.

Divide Turkey Breast Tenderloins and cut according to the recipe directions. Store in separate glass food storage containers along with pre-chopped and prepared ingredients for two lunch recipes for your week ahead.

All the work is already done, and you can assemble these sandwiches with minimal prep time. No offense to deli meat, but the extra effort in using a Turkey Breast Tenderloin is well worth it. The flavor, the texture—it’s all there in these lunches. See how easy it was to eat healthily?

Turkey Gyros, adapted from Taste of Home

• 1 medium cucumber, peeled
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 to 4 ounces cooked Honeysuckle White Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloin cut into thick strips
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
• 1-1/2 cups shredded lettuce
• 8 thin tomato slices
• 4 whole pieces of pita bread, warmed
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1. Finely chop a third of the cucumber. For the sauce, mix sour cream, onion, dill, lemon juice, and chopped cucumber. Thinly slice the remaining cucumber. *Tip: Make the dill-cucumber sauce while cooking the turkey.
2. Serve the turkey, lettuce, tomato, and sliced cucumber on pitas; top with sauce and cheese.

Turkey Cubano Sandwich, adapted from NYT Cooking

• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Hot sauce or mustard, to taste
• 2 (12-inch) soft hero rolls or semolina loaves split in half horizontally
• 3 to 4 ounces cooked Honeysuckle White Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloin, thinly sliced
• 8 slices deli ham or prosciutto
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• ⅓ cup sliced pepperoncini peppers or other pickled hot peppers (optional)
• 1 large dill pickle, sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. In a small bowl, add the mayonnaise and stir in hot sauce or mustard to taste.
2. Spread mayonnaise mixture inside the rolls, coating both the top and bottom halves. Layer rolls with turkey, ham, cheese, pepperoncini peppers (if using), and pickle slices.
3. Using your hands, press the sandwiches down and make sure nothing slides out. Then, use a brush to butter the top and bottom halves of the rolls.
4. Cook on a hot cast iron skillet with a heavy weighted pan on top to smash the sandwich down while it cooks.
5. Grill for 4 minutes until golden and toasted, then flip until the remaining side is a golden brown and the cheese is melted, another 4 minutes.
6. Cut sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

Lunch will soon become your favorite meal; use this as an opportunity to step away from your desk and enjoy a little mental health break.

Editor’s Note: This post was sponsored by Honeysuckle White. The compensation we receive in exchange for placement on Wit & Delight is used to purchase props, hire a photographer, write/edit the blog post, and support the larger team behind Wit & Delight.

While compensation was received in exchange for coverage, all thoughts and opinions are always my own. Sponsored posts like these allow us to continue to develop dynamic unsponsored content. Thank you for supporting our partners!

Kate Arends

Kate is currently learning to play the Ukulele, much to the despair of her husband, kids, and dogs. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.

Original Article