Ideal Healthy Lunch
or Dinner

Although a healthy breakfast is the most important meal of the day, a healthy lunch is not far behind. Since more than half of the day remains, it’s important to fuel up with a healthy lunch to ensure maximum productively and enjoyment.

Skip lunch and your body and mind will not operate at their full capacity. This is especially true if you skip breakfast since your body wouldn’t have had any nutrition for 12-14 hours by the time you eat lunch.

Your second largest meal of the day should be lunch. Dinner should be your smallest if you want to control your weight. Breakfast should be your biggest meal. But it should be a healthy breakfast even so.

Much of what I will describe for a healthy lunch can be used for preparing a healthy dinner, but I recommend that you reduce the portions on all the ingredients by 20-30 percent.

You can also adapt my healthy lunch recipe to how you order a healthy meal at a restaurant or select it from a salad bar. Whoops! I give up some of my ingredients. You can really blow your diet and health goals at a restaurant and especially a salad bar it you don’t know what you’re doing.

The salad dressings, cheeses, meats, pastas, and other sides that you find at restaurant salad bars can put more bad fats in your body than a double cheeseburger, large French fry, and a shake!

The healthy lunch that I am about to describe contains all the healthiest ingredients I could identify. It includes high quality proteins, carbohydrates, and fiber. Some of ingredients contain omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, which promote heart and cardiovascular health and cancer prevention.

My Healthy Lunch

• Health nut salad (as I call it) with cabbage slaw; broccoli slaw; carrots; celery; unsalted, raw or dry roasted peanuts, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds (Pepitas); warm salmon, turkey breast, chicken breast, tofu, or tuna; avocado; and cherry or grape tomatoes. Seasoned with chili powder and ground red pepper. (Full recipe & downloadable copy below.)
• Vegetable juice and/or fruit juice (unsweetened) - Vegetable mixture (juicer or store bought): apples, carrots, celery, beets, tomatoes, cantaloupe or watermelon. Fruit (mixture or separate): blueberry, pomegranate, acai berry, and/or cranberry. 4-8 oz.
• Spring or purified water with fresh squeezed (or concentrate) lemon and/or lime juice. 24 oz.
• No coffee. Gave it up!

My Health Nut Salad Recipe

Ingredients (1 serving.)

• 1 1/2 cups of cabbage slaw with carrots. (Plain – no dressing.) I use pre-cut cabbage slaw that comes prepackaged in 14 oz. bags found in the produce section of a grocery store. (Note: Cabbage is better for you than lettuce and it lasts longer and stays crunchy.)
• 1 cup of broccoli slaw with carrots. (Plain – no dressing.) I use pre-cut broccoli slaw that comes prepackaged in 12 oz. bags found in the produce section of a grocery store. (Note: Broccoli is one of the most health benefiting vegetables of all. Many nutrition experts place it at the top of their list.)
• 1/4 cup of diced or chopped celery.
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. I use white balsamic vinegar. It’s slightly milder and it doesn’t stain your teeth. Available at Trader Joe’s.
• 1 tsp unsalted peanuts. Higher quantity used because peanuts add heartiness and richness to the recipe, and they are inexpensive.
• 1/2 tsp unsalted chopped walnuts.
• 1/2 tsp unsalted slivered almonds.
• 1/2 tsp unsalted sunflower seeds.
• 1/2 tsp unsalted pumpkin seeds.
• 1/4 tsp chili powder or other low or non-sodium (salt) seasoning.
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper or other low or non-sodium (salt) seasoning.
• 3/4 – 1 cup or 3-4 oz. diced or broken up salmon, turkey breast, chicken breast, tuna, or tofu. I used canned skinless/boneless salmon, canned turkey breast, canned chicken breast, canned white albacore tuna, or refrigerated extra-firm tofu.
• 1/2 diced small avocado. I use Hass avocados.
• 4-6 cherry or grape tomatoes.

Equipment

• Large (deep, 6-8” diameter) salad bowl.
• Medium size microwave-safe cooking bowl with cover.
• Heat protection pads or gloves.
• Cutting board.
• Multi-purpose kitchen knife.

Preparation

• Add 1 1/2 cups of cabbage slaw to a large (deep, 6”-8” diameter) salad bowl.
• Add 1 cup of broccoli slaw.
• Add 1/4 cup of diced or chopped celery.
• Add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
• Mix olive oil with other ingredients thoroughly.
• Add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar.
• Mix vinegar with other ingredients thoroughly.
• Add 1 tsp unsalted peanuts.
• Add 1/2 tsp each of unsalted chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
• Add 1/4 tsp chili powder or other low or non-sodium (salt) seasoning.
• Add 1/8 tsp ground red pepper or other low or non-sodium (salt) seasoning.
• Mix seasoning with other ingredients thoroughly.
• Place 3/4 – 1 cup or 3-4 oz of diced or broken up salmon, turkey breast, chicken breast, or tofu in a medium size microwave-safe bowl, cover, and microwave on high for 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 minutes depending on your preferences. Heating the meat brings out the flavor and it kills any unwanted microorganisms. Sprinkle some seasoning on the tofu prior to cooking and drain it afterwards. Tuna is served at room temperature or cold.
• Add meat or tofu and mix.
• Dice half of a small avocado (Hass).
• Add diced avocado. Place on top.
• Add 4-6 cherry or grape tomatoes. Place on top.

Recipe Download

Here’s a downloadable copy of this healthy lunch recipe. It is in a PDF format. You’ll need Adobe Reader to view and make a copy of it. To download a FREE copy of this software, click: Adobe Reader. Downloads come from my publishing website, Propel Publications.com.

To download a copy of this recipe, click: Health Nut Salad Recipe

For a healthy, naturally sweet dessert, I suggest fresh or dried unsweetened mango, papaya, dates, or non-sorbate (preservative) pitted prunes (plums). (All available at Trader Joe’s.) During hot weather months, I’d suggest frozen black grapes. Freezing them makes them sweeter. It’s like eating tiny balls of sorbet (not to be confused with the preservative mentioned above).

You can get into the habit of eating a healthy lunch, by just doing it without internal debate and learning about the benefits as you go along.

To your health and fitness,

Brad Paul

Note: Please report text or link errors here.

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Ideal Healthy Breakfast

Ideal Healthy Lunch or Dinner

To further educate yourself on these topics, check out the self improvement books page on this site. Look under the topic category heading, “Nutrition, Supplements, Weight Loss, Exercise.”

Important Notice: The information in these articles is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for any medical, psychological, dietary, nutritional, or kinetic advice by a licensed professional. You are advised to check with your doctor or other professional before beginning or re-starting any new exercise, diet, vitamin supplement, or addiction cure program.

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