HEALTHY MEAL PREP | 5 Make-Ahead Healthy Lunch Box Ideas for School or Work - Feelin Fabulous (2024)

Today, I’m doing another healthy meal prep but this one is all about prepping your lunch in advance. I’m sharing5 make-ahead healthy lunch ideas plus snacksthat you can whip up in minutes and will stay fresh in the fridge for 3-5 days.

I’m going to show you how to prepare and pack your lunch box with both your lunch and healthy snacks for the day. Lunch meal prep is key to helping you stay on track with your healthy eating routine. By planning and prepping a healthy, nutritious lunch in advance, you’re less likely to get fast food or indulge in whatever is available at the office.

Today’s lunch recipes are not only super easy to make, but they’re all100% gluten free. I’m sharing a combination of paleo, vegan, and low carb lunch ideas. You can easily work these recipes into my othermeal prep menusfor more variety to help you reach your health and weight loss goals much faster.

How to Easily Pack Your Lunch and Snacks for the Day

When packing your meals and snacks on-the-go, it can get a little crazy with lots of different containers. So, it’s important to find meal prep containers that make sense, which is why I’ve partnered with Monbento again for today’s post because their lunch boxes are super functional and great quality.

Additionally, their containers are BPA Free, airtight, leakproof, and dishwasher safe. Their bento boxes are stackable and have plenty of space of both lunch and snacks. And, best of all, you can customize them with added containers to build the perfect meal prepping system.

They also have their new MB Jar, which is perfect for prepping salads, Buddha bowls, etc. and their MB Positive M bottle for things like smoothies, juices, etc.

And, Monbento has been kind enough to give all of my subscribers and followers10% off their entire website(including promos) until December 31, 2021(code: KAYLACHANDLER10).

Watch Lunch Meal Prep Video Below

Healthy Lunch Ideas | 5 Make-Ahead Lunch Box Recipes

When it comes to healthy lunch ideas, I try to create simple recipes that can be made days in advance and even frozen (if necessary) without sacrificing on flavor. All of the healthy lunch ideas below make multiple servings, so feel free to prep them on Sunday or Monday to serve throughout the week for an easy on-the-go healthy lunch.

Lunch Recipe #1 – Loaded Burger Bowl Salad-In-A-Jar with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

This may be the best healthy salad you’ve ever tried! And, when prepared salad-in-a-jar style, you can prep it up to 3-4 days in advance without worrying about the lettuce getting soggy! You can use a regular mason jar for this or use the MB Jar from Monbento (as pictured above).

Additionally, you can easily make this salad recipe low carb and keto friendly by substituting the thousand island dressing with my homemade dairy free ranch dressing.

Print the Loaded Burger Bowl Salad Recipe Here >>> RECIPE

Lunch Recipe #2 – Autumn Harvest Nourishing Buddha Bowl

If you’re not familiar with Buddha Bowls, they’re a one-bowl meal that’s typically plant-based. In most cases, each ingredient is cooked instead of raw like a salad, which is why Buddha Bowls are so delicious served in the cooler months.

If you don’t like eating salads during the Fall and Winter months, you’ll definitely want to try a Buddha Bowl. And, feel free to add an animal-based protein, such as chicken, beef, fish, etc.

For today’s Buddha Bowl, I’m keeping it 100% vegan with a homemade Tahini Dressing, Quinoa, Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Beets, Chickpeas, and some sauteed kale and broccoli for my greens. Each layer is individually seasoned so it’s packed with flavor!

And, I’ve found the best way to prep Buddha Bowls days in advance is salad-in-a-jar style where we layer the ingredients. This way, it’ll keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Print the Autumn Harvest Nourishing Buddha Recipe Here >>> RECIPE

Lunch Recipe #3 – Pecan Butternut Squash Chicken & Wild Rice

The next healthy lunch recipe is my Pecan Butternut Squash Chicken & Wild Rice dish and it’s perfect for Fall! It’s chock full of flavor, I love the sweet and savory combination with the added crunch from the chopped pecans.

If you love the traditional chicken and rice dish, you’ll definitely want to give this one a try. I packed it using the MB Original Bento Box. In the top tray, I added the chicken and rice dish. In the bottom tray, I packed some snacks to-go, including my Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad (keep scrolling for recipe).

Print the Pecan Butternut Squash Chicken & Wild Rice Recipe Here >>> RECIPE

Lunch Recipe #4 – Creamy Salmon Salad + Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad

You can’t share healthy lunch ideas without including some sort of healthy creamy salad recipe, right? Lol! I’ve already shared my avocado egg salad and traditional egg salad recipes. So, it’s time to share my creamy salmon salad recipe!

For this recipe, I like using fresh wild-caught salmon instead of canned salmon because, in my opinion, it tastes so much better! And, to keep it clean & paleo-friendly, I’ll be using the Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayonnaise.

And, to pack this lunch box, I’m using the larger MB Square Bento Box, which fits things like sandwiches and wraps really well plus lots of extra space for snacks.

In the second tray, I’m also packing some healthy snacks, including celery sticks, almond butter, and my Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad, which is so tasty and kid-friendly!

Print the Creamy Salmon Salad Recipe Here >>> RECIPE

Print the Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad Recipe Here >>> RECIPE CARD BELOW

Lunch Recipe #5 – Meal Replacement Superfood Smoothie

If you’re trying to boost your weight loss efforts naturally, try replacing your lunch with this superfood smoothie a few times per week. Not only will it provide beneficial nutrients and natural fibers, but it’ll keep you energized all afternoon!

For packing smoothies on-the-go, I love the MB Positive M bottle. It has a beautiful sleek design and it’s BPA Free!

Print the Meal Replacement Superfood Smoothie Recipe Here >>> RECIPE

Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad | gluten free and grain free

0.0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Kayla ChandlerCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

See Also

Making Time for School Lunch | Healthy Schools

This delicious Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad is a healthy snack that you can prep at the beginning of the week!

Ingredients

US Metric

• For the Salad:

• 1 C. Strawberries, cut into halves or fourths

• 1 C. Blueberries

• 1 C. Grapes, whole or cut into halves

• 1 Apple, de-seeded and chopped (any variety)

• 1 C. Peaches, de-seeded and chopped (can also use apricots or pears)

• 1/2 C. Pecans, chopped

• Fresh Mint Leaves, to garnish (optional)

• For the Greek Yogurt Dressing:

• 1/2 C. Plain Greek Yogurt (can also use a dairy free yogurt)

• 2 Tbsp Raw Honey

• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

• Zest from 1 Lemon

• Juice from 1 Lemon (can add more for more tanginess)

• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Directions

• Add all greek yogurt dressing ingredients to a small bowl and mix until fully combined.
• In a large mixing bowl, add all of the salad ingredients. Then, pour the dressing over top. Mix until all of the fruit is coated with the dressing.
• Cover and serve right away or let marinate in the fridge. ENJOY!

Notes & Nutrition

• This fruit salad will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @KaylaJChandler on Instagram and hashtag it with #FeelinFabulous

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Nutritional Info (Macros) for Fruit Salad

Below, I’ve calculated the macros for one serving of the Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad. 1 Serving is about 1 Cups worth.

Looking for more healthy meal prep ideas?

If you’re on the search for healthy meal prep ideas, here’s a few of my most popular meal prep menus.

• 5 Make-Ahead Lunch Box Ideas (for more healthy lunch ideas!)
• Ultimate 5-Day Fat Loss Meal Prep for Weight Loss
• Another 5-Day Fat Loss Meal Prep
• Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep
• Weight Loss Meal Prep for more variety

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Monbento, and I did receive compensation for this post. All of the opinions are my own. Thank you for your support! It is because of you that I’m able to maintain this blog and continue posting new recipes and content for y’all.