Running to grab food at a fast food joint or trying to sneak in a real lunch at a restaurant within an hour’s time can all be a difficult task during lunchtime at work.  The cost, time, and health benefits all diminish over time when buying lunch daily.  Bringing lunch with you, whether in an adult style lunch box, or other leak-proof containers will save your cash and health.  Any appetite can be easily pleased during work hours with a little research and knowledge.

The three “S’s” are traditional lunches: Salads, sandwiches, and soups.  These dominate the lunch scene in Canada.  Wraps (the new styled sandwich) is also a quick, health, and easy idea. And to bring your specially prepared lunch to the office or work site is effortlessly accomplished with a wide variety of lunchboxes, containers, and jars on the market today.

A tried & true classic, healthy soup for those dieting, eating more of a vegetarian lifestyle, or following dietary constrictions is the cabbage-based weight loss soup.  This recipe is inexpensive to purchase all the ingredients.  Easy to make. And it’s healthy, vegetarian and tasty which makes this soup a staple for lunch on the go.

EASY, HEALTHY VEGGIE SOUP

Ingredients

• 6 cups low sodium vegetable (or beef) broth
• 1 cup carrots (diced on the bias)
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 1 cup sliced zucchini
• 1 cup cauliflower (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups chopped green cabbage
• 1 cup chopped bok choy
• 1 cup chopped savoy cabbage
• 2 whole small bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow: Diced & Seeded)
• 1 cup green beans (ends chopped; cut in half)
• 1 small bulb of garlic (finely minced)
• 2 cans “Italian” style diced tomatoes
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon each black pepper, thyme & basil
• Pinch of ground rosemary
• Salt to taste or due to dietary restriction

Directions

1. In an All-Clad 12QT Stainless Steel Stock Pot, cook down the garlic and onion on medium high heat until somewhat tempered.
2. Place the green beans, cabbages, and carrots in the pot and cook for another 6 minutes on medium heat.
3. Toss everything else into the All-Clad Stock Pot excluding the zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower. Cook for another 7 minutes at medium-low.
4. Finally, add in the broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini. Slow simmer for another 10 minutes.
5. Toss the bay leaves and serve.

Additional items that can be inserted into the pot for additional flavor are:

• A Parmesan cheese rind
• A splash of wine
• Hot sauce
• Bouillon or a drop of balsamic
• More fresh herbs with dried herbs

Toppings to add flavor (healthy and not):

• Chicken or turkey pieces
• Cheese
• Dollop of sour cream
• More fresh herbs and spices
• Croutons

A unique way to keep this great soup hot until lunch is with the 1 liter Johnson-Rose Insulated Stainless Steel Double Wall Server.  This multi-tasker of a kitchen tool is great for simply keeping your cups of coffee or hot coco hot.  Bringing your lunch in it works as well!  This server is great at the picnic to keep your iced tea or lemonade fresh, sealed, and cold.  A quality product for less than $50 is also a great gift for the upcoming holidays.

Going to the market and food-prepping for your work week saves time, frustration, and cash.  Salads are so easy, fast, and healthy.  Obviously, everyone’s tastes vary from salad to salad.  Luckily for all of us, ideas are abundant via the world wide web.  Our past blogs have some great salad ideas.  And just Googling salad prep ideas, a ranch avocado cut salad sounds great right about now!

With any salad, keeping everything fresh and not soggy is the key to lunch success at the office.  The Progressive Line of products do just that!  From their 1 Cup Leak-Proof Storage Container, to their Professional Cubing Mandoline to create that perfect salad, soup, or sandwich, Progressive has awesome kitchen equipment!  We know this is about lunch, but Progressive even makes a microwavable grill for bacon,  microwavable omelet maker, and a microwavable egg poacher.  Breakfast is served at the office!

Sandwiches, like salad, is up to your taste buds and health concerns.  Keeping all the ingredients away from each other is the key pint to a successful sandwich!  Use Progressive’s 20 Piece Food Storage Container Set to ensure no soggy sandwich will ruin your day.  Whether you are making a wrap, a panini, or a hoagie, all ingredients should be individualized and assembled at the work site.  Check out some of our older blogs for some great sandwich ideas, as well as the Net to find your ideal innovation for lunch!