Summer Lunch Ideas
Warm temperatures scream for a cold and fresh lunch, don’t they? Fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and cold drinks are always particularly welcome in warm temperatures.
I’m currently an everyday cold lunch eater again and with alternating toppings it never gets boring. Here you can find a compilation of top 5 healthy summer lunch ideas. Maybe there’s something you’ll want to make right away next week. These summer lunch ideas are also great as meal prep dishes that you can store in the fridge.
Let the Summer Lunch Food Inspo begin!
1. Rice Bowl with Fruit & Vegetables
Could actually pass for a Poké Bowl, right? Super fresh dish with sushi rice as a base topped with:
- Avocado
- Mango
- Pomegranate seeds
- Hummus
- Cucumber
- Edamame beans
- Spices of your choice as topping
2. Italian Lunch: Burrata Salad
A little Italian lunch is of course always a wonderful option – here we have a super delicious burrata served with very sweet and ripe tomatoes and grilled vegetables. The whole thing is topped with extra virgin olive oil from Sicily + salt and pepper. It was accompanied by grilled sourdough bread.
3. Green Salad with Sweet Potato
Salad with sweet potato, pomegranate seeds and roasted nuts. Roasted nuts are such a game changer in salads. They really spice up every salad in a special way and currently have a fixed place on my menu, no salad escapes them just now. As a base here kale is used, but that can of course be exchanged, because not everyone likes Kale. How about lamb’s lettuce or baby spinach?
The sweet potato was for this recipe simply baked in the oven with a little oil and salt.
4. Mexican Lunch: Veggie Tacos
Also one of my favorite lunches. It’s a combo of hot and cold ingredients and is pretty quick to prepare and really a treat to boot. When I make these tacos, I always make double the amount of filling because it stores so well in the fridge and the tacos go even faster the next day. When storing, make sure to keep the filling separate from the tortillas so they don’t get mushy.
5. Mixed Salad with Hummus
Currently my favorite, so fresh and tasty and with bread sticks or a slice of bread to it’s also good filling.
As a base I use spinach and as a topping:
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Colorful tomatoes
- 1/2 mozzarella
- Wholewheat bread sticks
- Hummus
As a sauce I almost always just use: oil + vinegar + herbs / spices. In combination with hummus a dream. And nuts always fit very well as a topping here. Like to use walnuts or pecans. Just toast them for a few minutes in a pan without oil.
The toppings, especially the protein source, I change every now and then to alternate something. Other variations I’ve already tried:
- Roasted chickpeas
- Beans
- Lentils
- Feta
Which one is your favorite?
Leave a comment and tell me which summer lunch idea you like the most and follow swapitktichen on instagram too!
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