A little while ago, The Debrief gave you a work lunch meal planner. It told you that buying one set of ingredients on a Monday then preparing four different lunches for the rest of the week in your work kitchen is the future.
Enough with the pain of realising halfway to the tube that you forgot your carefully prepared lunch then resorting to eating it for dinner we said!
I am sure you have since followed said meal planner to. the. letter. You have become convinced it is a foolproof way to save your millions and basically end up looking like Gisele. As a result, you are now dying for a second installment so you can continue with your holier-than-thou existence which is almost definitely going to make you become the next Ottolenghi...
OR you are just still a bit skint, bored of eating the ingredients in the first planner or hated sweet potato in the first place.
Either way, here is a new meal planner to make your work lunches significantly less shit. Enjoy!
Monday Shopping List
Basic list under £6
1 large box of cherry tomatoes
1 ball of mozzarella
2 bread rolls from the bakery bit
1 tin of tuna
1 tin of butter beans
1 small red onion
1 bag of rocket
1 small tub of hummus
Toppings that can be added to all meals depending on your budget that week
A squeeze of fresh lemon
Mixed seeds kept in a jar in your desk
Fresh parsley snipped using your work scissors
Grilled red peppers in a jar cut up into thin slices (only £1 from Lidl)
To bring from home and keep in your desk draw
1 garlic clove
Salt and pepper
Small bottle of oil and vinegar
Smoked paprika
Monday - Hummus and Tomato Mezze
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Cut ⅓ of the cherry tomatoes in half. Put them into a mug with a small dash of water, loads of salt and pepper and some smoked paprika.
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Cover the mug with a plate then microwave on a high heat for three minutes. What you will get is a really nice, sweet and spicy tomato sauce (there may be a little seepage in the microwave so have some kitchen roll to hand).
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Put the tomatoes on a plate along-side a dollop of hummus topped with a handful of rocket and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Serve with one of the bread rolls cut up into sticks for dipping.
Tuesday - Mozzarella Bruschetta
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Day old bread is best for bruschetta so take your second bread roll, split it in half and toast till crispy (you may need to cut it into thirds to make it fit in the toaster).
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Take the skin off the garlic clove, cut in half and rub all over the toasted side of the bread.
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Dice ⅓ of the cherry tomatoes and mix in a bowl with plenty of salt and pepper and a dash of oil.
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Top the bread with the tomatoes followed by half the mozzarella ball torn up into chunks. Keep the rest of the mozzarella with its liquid in a covered bowl in the fridge for later on in the week.
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Drizzle over a splash of balsamic vinegar if you have it. Eat.
Wednesday - Tuna bowl
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Cut the whole onion into really fine slices. Put half into one bowl, the other into a separate bowl.
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Drain both the butter beans and tuna, and again, put half into each bowl, mixing both with salt and pepper. Cover one of the bowls and put it in the fridge to use tomorrow.
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Cut a small dash into ⅓ of the cherry tomatoes with a knife. Put them into a mug with plenty of salt and pepper and a small dash of water. Cover with a plate then microwave on high for 3 minutes then lightly mush with the back of a spoon.
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Add the tomato to the beans, onion and tuna. Microwave all together then microwave for another minute.
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Tear the mozzarella from yesterday into chunks and stir through the mixture with a few rocket leaves. The heat from the tomato and tuna mix will wilt the rocket slightly and melt the mozzarella. Eat.
Thursday - Nearly Nicoise
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Take the bowl with the onion, butter beans and tuna from yesterday out of the fridge. Make sure the big chunks of tuna are broken up using a fork.
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Add a big dollop of hummus and mix well,
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Put a handful of rocket dressed with oil and vinegar on a plate then top with the tuna mixture. Eat.
Friday - Pieday
Congratulate yourself on being a smug healthy bastard by eating a pie.
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
How To Make A Chicken & Asparagus Risotto In 10 Minutes Flat
How To Make A Healthy Weeknight Microwave Jambalaya In 3 Minutes Flat
Follow Izzy on Twitter @OnIzzysPlate
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.