A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett
Orange ginger dressing is light and zingy. It’s perfect for your green salads, but also great for dressing grain salads. Made with only a handful of ingredients, this dressing is quick and simple.
Salad dressings, like sherry lime vinaigrette, are easily made at home and are much less expensive than store-bought.
…This colorful Beet Salad Recipe will quickly become one of your new favorite salads. Spiralized beets, apples and carrots on a bed on baby spinach, lightly dressed with a tangy vinaigrette. I’ve added a sprinkle of roasted pepitas for crunch and a handful of crumbled feta for extra deliciousness.
Israeli salad is the perfect summer bite. It takes the absolute best of summer’s bounty and combines it into a light and refreshing salad. It makes a great side or light lunch during the warmer months when we all crave tomato salads and lighter meals.
I first had this salad about 25 years ago. A friend introduced me to it and I fell in love instantly.
It is refreshing on a hot summer day and it’s also good for you! If you have a garden or you happen to have salad ingredients in your fridge, you likely have almost everything you need already.
…Chicken fajita bowl for lunch? Don’t mind if I do! This delicious, low carb salad will have you looking forward to lunch again. A bit of light chopping and grilling makes this meal feel like you had lunch at your favorite Tex-Mex place, but with half the calorie count. Like these Mediterranean chicken meal prep bowls, healthy eating doesn’t have to be bland or boring.
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Bulgur wheat salad with chickpeas, red onion and pine nuts is packed with flavor. It’s also fast and easy, making it a hit for weeknight dinners. This tasty side dish is ready in less than 30 minutes.
Chewy, roasted chickpeas and toasted pine nuts are tossed with bulgur or cracked wheat, sautéed with sweet red onions and finished with fresh herbs.
This vegan side dish, or meatless main, uses pantry items like canned chickpeas to make this a quick and easy dish. It is also a great option for meal-prepping, as it will keep in the fridge for days.
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Light and fresh Mediterranean couscous is quick, easy and delicious. Loaded with fresh vegetables like tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers, it is a healthy side dish perfect for weeknight cooking. Couscous salad also makes a great weekday Mediterranean lunch!
Filled with fresh Mediterranean flavors, like fresh dill and mint, and a bright, tangy lemon dressing, this couscous salad is hearty enough to be the main dish.
It is a vegetarian recipe, but can easily be made vegan by omitting the feta cheese. Want to bulk it up even more? Add in a handful of chickpeas for extra protein or a few slices of grilled chicken.
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Butternut squash arugula salad topped with white beans and toasted pecans, then drizzled with maple vinaigrette. This is the perfect fall salad. Spicy arugula is studded with roasted butternut squash, creamy cannellini beans, crunchy pecans and sweet cranberries. This salad can easily be a meal on its own, or a healthy, filling side. Try it with my stuffed acorn squash for a fantastic fall dinner.
The combination of the vegetables and beans with a little sweet and a little crunch makes this a delicious salad any day of the week, but especially if you try to do a meatless meal once in awhile.
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Mediterranean chicken meal prep bowls are a tasty way to stay on track and eat a nutritious, flavorful lunch. A few minutes of planning ahead and you will have a week’s worth of lunches ready for the work week. Meal prepping with chicken, like this Moroccan Chicken Meal Prep Bowl, is likely the easiest to do because it’s what most of us eat.
Dedicating a few extra minutes on weekends to set up your meals for the week is time well spent. Whether it be lunches, dinners or both – chicken with Mediterranean vegetables is a healthy and nutritious choice. You can find even more healthy meal prep ideas on this post.
Meal prep can be the difference between staying on track with healthy eating choices or going off the rails and finding yourself ordering through a speaker in the drive-through.
You probably had chicken for dinner at least one night this week, right? So, why not cook a few extra pieces and make a few Mediterranean lunch recipes like this chicken with Mediterranean vegetables. Focused on lean protein, leafy greens and vegetables, this is a tasty lunch that is also good for you.
Vegetarians can leave out the chicken and make a chickpea lunch bowl and still get protein, vegetables and greens. No matter what you substitute, as long as you are keeping it in the Mediterranean diet lane, you’re in for a nutrient-dense and delicious lunch.
Trying to figure out what to do for lunches during the week can be a drag. Especially when you are trying to eat healthy, nutritious food instead of hitting the drive-thru. Stocking up on fresh vegetables and staples like chickpeas, feta and olives make meal prep a breeze.
As long as your meal prep lunches are focused on leafy greens, lean proteins, fresh vegetables and a whole grain, you can’t go wrong. This Mediterranean Bowl Recipe has a scoop of quinoa, which bumps up the protein in this healthy bowl.
If you aren’t a fan of feta, substitute it for something you like. Ricotta salata is a crumbly cheese similar to feta but milder in flavor. Not an olive lover? Leave them off.
When I’m making a “bowl” like this for meal prep, I usually include a grain. This time, I made roasted chickpeas in place of the grain. Roasted chickpeas are crunchy and delicious when they are warm. After they’ve cooled, they are chewy and nutty which gives great texture to this salad.
I grilled a few extra chicken breasts when I made them for dinner a couple of nights ago. I knew that I was going to do these for lunches for the week, so I planned ahead and made more than I needed. Do you love chicken meatballs? Same deal. I made meatballs one night and made extra to make meal prep easier.
I’m far from consistent on this, but I try. I find that if I have something already prepped for the week, it helps me stay on track with good choices instead of grabbing whatever I can because I’m starving and I have nothing ready to eat.
With a little planning and a little time spent prepping, you can stay on track and weekday meals become one less thing to worry about. Personally, I can attest to this. When I don’t have a plan, I stand in front of the fridge and scrounge for whatever I can find.
In order to avoid this, I have a handful of go-to healthy make ahead meals like these Low Carb Chicken Fajita Bowls and our newest obsession – Mediterranean Meal Prep Lamb Meatballs.
If you’ve never had lamb meatballs, please, please try these. I have converted more than a few people to lamb lovers after trying these meatballs. They are incredibly good and so full of flavor.
Mediterranean recipes are focused on leafy greens, lean proteins and whole grains. Finding a way to work these foods into your routine is the key to eating nutrient-dense meals, at least most of the time. Because, let’s face it, none of us are perfect and no one eats this way every single day.
If you are looking for a few Mediterranean lunch recipes to help get you through the work week, this link has everything from fish to salads to grains and everything in between. There are lots of delicious and healthy weekday lunches to help keep you on track.
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I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting. I love hearing from you! Did you make these Meal Prep Mediterranean Chicken Bowls? Tag me on Instagram @pookspantry or share it in the Fabulous Foodie Friends Facebook group! I can’t wait to see your version!
Weekday meals are a snap with Mediterranean chicken meal prep bowls
Some brands of tahini can be bitter. I've provided a link to the brand that I use.
If the flavor of raw garlic is too sharp for you, consider using roasted garlic instead, or sauté the garlic for a few minutes just to take the bite out of it.
If you need a little sweetness with your dressing, add a tablespoon of honey.
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This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 8/6/2019
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Mediterranean lunch recipes are perfect for those looking for delicious lunches that are also full of nutritious food that is good for you. Are you tired of the same, boring work lunches? These mediterranean diet lunch ideas will help you pack a healthy lunch that is full of flavor. You’ll find everything from chicken to healthy grains to fill your lunchbox with tasty meal options. Say goodbye to bland lunches!
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This superfood salad with pomegranate is not only packed with nutrient dense foods, it is also delicious, making it an ideal light dinner or side dish. This salad is gluten-free and can be easily veganized by omitting the goat cheese.
This salad is full of flavor and texture. I served it to our dinner guests a few weeks ago and we ate every single bit of it. If you are looking for a new salad recipe, this is it. By using what is in season and available, this has quickly become one of my favorite winter salads.
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