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Alkalinediet recipes

Midday balance

Lunch recipes

Colorful bowls and salads that travel beautifully.

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All recipesBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDrinks
Bowl of chickpeas, cucumber, greens, and grainsEasySave on Pinterest

lunch

Lemon Herb Chickpea Garden Bowl

Herbed chickpeas, crisp vegetables, and lemon tahini turn lunch into a bright ritual.

Prep 15 min 2 bowls
Nori rolls with avocado and cucumberEasySave on Pinterest

lunch

Avocado Cucumber Nori Wraps

Crisp cucumber, avocado, sprouts, and herbs wrapped in savory nori sheets.

Prep 15 min 2 servings

Lunches that travel

Our lunch recipes are built to pack well: grain bowls, sturdy salads and wraps that hold up in a container for a few hours. Most combine a cooked grain or legume with raw and roasted vegetables and a bright sauce.

To keep a packed salad from going soggy, put the dressing in a small separate jar and layer the heaviest vegetables at the bottom with tender greens on top.

Build your own bowl

Start with a base of brown rice, quinoa or greens. Add a protein such as chickpeas, lentils or white beans. Pile on two or three vegetables, one raw and one roasted. Finish with a sauce made from tahini, lemon, herbs or avocado, and a crunchy topping like seeds.

Packing and food safety

Cooked grains and beans keep for three to four days in the fridge, so one batch on Sunday covers most of a work week. Store dressings in a separate small jar and add them just before eating so greens stay crisp. Anything with cooked rice, beans or tofu should stay cold, so pack an ice pack if you will not have a fridge for more than two hours. Sturdy greens like kale, cabbage and romaine hold up far better than delicate lettuce, and roasted vegetables taste good at room temperature.

Ten-minute lunch formula

Start with a base of greens or a cooked grain, add a legume such as chickpeas or lentils, pile on two or three raw or roasted vegetables, and finish with a spoonful of seeds and a lemon-tahini or herb dressing. Change one element each day so the same batch never feels repetitive.

Building a satisfying plant-forward lunch

Most of the lunches here follow one simple bowl formula: a base of whole grains or greens, a protein such as chickpeas, lentils, beans or tofu, plenty of raw or roasted vegetables, something crunchy such as seeds or nuts, and a dressing with flavor. A lunch built that way stays filling well into the afternoon, and it is easy to swap ingredients around depending on what you have on hand.

Legumes make the meal

Beans, lentils and chickpeas give you protein and fiber, and they cost very little money. Canned legumes are convenient, and rinsing them in a colander washes away some of the sodium from the canning liquid. Dried legumes cost less per serving, and you can cook them in batches and freeze them.

Packing lunches

  • Keep dressings in a separate small jar so greens stay crisp.
  • Put heavier ingredients such as grains and legumes at the bottom of the container and leafy greens on top.
  • Most grain and legume salads keep three to four days in the fridge.
  • Follow USDA food safety advice: refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking and keep cold lunches chilled with an ice pack.

Flavor without heavy sauces

Lemon juice, vinegar, fresh herbs, garlic, tahini, mustard and spices such as cumin and smoked paprika all bring a lot of flavor, even in small amounts.

Sources: USDA: Leftovers and food safety; Dietary Guidelines for Americans.