These three quick and easy treats are just the ticket to get you falling back in love with your lunchbox.
We've teamed up with
Centra and dietician Sarah Keogh to bring you three simple and healthy lunchbox recipes to take you through a busy week.
Did you know that the average Irish daily consumption of fruit and veg is only 3.2 of the recommended 5 servings?
Give that number a boost this week by following these recipes. Check them out below.
1. Salmon and Spinach Fritatta
This is a perfect meal for getting more veggies into your diet. Packed with iron-rich spinach and protein from the eggs and salmon, this is a great lunch option.
Serves 4
You'll need:
- 8 Eggs, beaten
- Salmon darnes
- 300g spinach
- 1 medium onion
- 16 cherry tomatos, halved
- salt and pepper
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Method:
- Warm oil over medium heat in a frying pan with an oven safe handle. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and salmon; season with salt and pepper. Sauté until heated through. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for a further minute.
- Spread your ingredients in an even layer around the pan and pour over your eggs, moving around very gently to cook through. pre-heat your grill. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 5-7 minutes, until bottom is set but frittata is still wet on top.
- Place the whole thing under your grill and take it out when its lovely and golden on top, usually about 1 or two minutes.
- Slide the whole frittata out of the pan onto a board and cut into slices. Serve with a beautiful green salad for a healthy, delicious meal!
2. Super-Healthy Quinoa Salad
This is one of our go-to Spring salads. Colourful, filling and packed full of goodness, it's the perfect lunchbox treat. Check it out below.
Serves 4
You'll need:
- 2 grated carrots
- 1 diced cucumber
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 sliced scallions
- 3 stalks vine tomatoes
- 1 handful roughly chopped parsley
- 170g uncooked quinoa
- 300ml water
Method:
- Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the quinoa with a pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a low simmer (about ‘2’ on most hobs).
- Put on the lid and cook for 15 minutes. It should soak up all of the water. Allow the quinoa to cool down and then fluff it with a fork.
- Using a large bowl(big enough to hold all of the quinoa and the vegetables) mix the vegetables with the lemon juice and parsley and add a little pepper.
- When the quinoa is at room temperature, stir it into the vegetables. This is ready to eat but If you can leave it for a while before eating, the flavours will develop and it will taste even nicer!
3. Spinach, Tomato & Feta Frittata
Quick, easy and delicious. These healthy veggie frittatas are a midweek must.
Image via savourystyle.com
You'll need:
- 1 pack baby leaf spinach
- 1 pack feta Greek cheese
- 12 medium eggs
- 6 tbsp. milk
- 1 tbsp. oil
- A muffin baking tin with 12 compartments
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200C and using the oil, lightly grease your muffin tin
- Place a small handful of spinach in each compartment and top with one chopped cherry tomato and 1 tbsp. of crumbled feta cheese
- Whisk eggs and milk in a jug. Carefully pour the egg mixture into each tin compartment. You should have approx. 1 egg for each compartment.
- Bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes and carefully remove from the tin.
This article is brought to you by Centra. For lots more healthy lunchbox recipes visit Centra.ie 
