Today I’m on NBC Los Angeles, NBC San Francisco Bay Area and NBC San Diego sharing easy healthy lunch ideas from my book – salad jars! Salad jars are an easy and healthy make-ahead lunch idea that stay fresh in the fridge when stored right. You can follow my salad jar formula using whatever you have in the fridge.
A Harvard study found that eating healthy (a diet rich in fruits, veggies, fish and nuts) costs about $1.50 more per day than a diet rich in processed food, meats and refined grains. While this may seem like a lot of money it is trivial compared with healthcare costs associated with following an unhealthy diet overtime.
Mostly Plant-Based is a sustainable, realistic way of eating for LIFE that effortlessly supports health, energy, weight management, and more and does away with extreme dieting. A mostly plant-based diet has been shown to help ward off certain chronic disease, improve digestion and gut health, support weight management, longevity and even lower your carbon footprint.
In my book, I help stretch your dollar by using 10 ingredients or less per recipe and getting the most out of those ingredients.
My Apple Harvest Salad Jar
My easy healthy dressing hack is to use hummus thinned out with water. Hummus is a source of plant-protein, fiber and good fats thanks to chickpeas and extra virgin olive oil. For protein, I use Nasoya’s Plantspired Korean BBQ Steak which has the taste and texture of steak, but is 100% plant-based with 14 grams of protein/serving. Just heat it in a skillet or microwave. Then add hard veggies and soft veggies and apples. Then I adding farro which is a whole grain, and a handful of California almonds which add 6 grams of plant protein, 4 grams of fiber, 13 grams of “good” unsaturated fats and other essential vitamins and minerals that help you feel satisfied throughout the day. Finally add one handful of leafy greens. I use the Foxy Brand Green Kale which is sustainably grown in California by the Nunes company, a family-owned company that produces organic and conventional fresh vegetables and strawberries.
Thai Almond Salad Jar
For my almond butter dressing, whisk together almond butter, soy sauce, lime, salt and pepper. Almond butter is a great guilt-free, creamy addition to recipes to make it more filling and satisfying. For protein, I add Nasoya’s Organic Super Firm Tofu which provides 14 grams of plant-based protein per serving. Tofu has a neutral flavor so it can easily be incorporated into a variety of dishes. Add hard and soft veggies and fruit, whole grains, good fats and leafy greens
And for a snack, we have roasted chickpeas and almonds. One 12-week study in healthy overweight adults found that those who consume almonds mid-day are less likely to have a post-lunch dip in memory.
