Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad

With less than five weeks until the wedding I am trying to bring healthy lunches to work. This week I am bringing one of my favorite salads. My friend Dre makes this salad and I love it because I love strawberries and goat cheese. It might sound like an odd combination of ingredients but I enjoy the sweet strawberries, creamy cheese, and the crunchy almonds.

You will need:
Lettuce
Goat Cheese
Strawberries
Almonds
Reduced Fat Poppy Seed Dressing

Step 1:
Mix ingredients together and add the salad dressing.

Turkey Avocado and Swiss Sandwich

A delicious homemade lunch brightens up my work day. Most recently I have been enjoying sliced turkey breast, reduced fat Swiss, and avocado on sourdough. It only takes a few minutes to prepare the night before, and it healthier than most takeout options. I make a couple sandwiches at a time, so my lunches are in the fridge and ready to go.

I am lucky to have a panini press at work! Hot melted sandwiches are the best!

You will need:
Sliced Turkey
Reduced Fat Sliced Swiss Cheese
Avocado
Bread

Step 1:
The night before assemble the sandwich, but leave out the avocado.

Step 2:
Add sliced avocado just before heating or eating. This prevents that avocado from browning. I just bring an avocado with me to work. I use half an avocado per sandwich. Save the half with the pit for the next day.

Spinach Salad

Alright, I am finally going to start eating better.  My favorite healthy meal is spinach salad.  I try to incorporate as many "Super Foods" as possible into my diet.  A Super Food is a food with lots of nutrients.  Cranberries, walnuts, pecans, and spinach are all superfoods.

I like to add 1/2 cup diced baked Chicken breast to salad because it makes salad more filling.  Sometimes I change up the ingredients, or the dressing so I don't feel like I am constantly eating the same thing.  I have found that the easiest way for me to eat a healthy lunch is to spend 30 minutes on Sunday putting together my lunches for the week.  This works for 2 reasons: I won't run out of time or forget to make lunch the night before, and making 5 lunches ahead of time prevents me from cheating and getting takeout instead.  When I make salads days ahead of time I am careful to separate any ingredients that would make my lunch soggy.  With this salad, I pack the mandarin oranges in a separate baggy, and keep a bottle of dressing in the fridge at work.  If you buy fresh spinach, these salads can be made 4-5 days ahead of time.

You will need:
Pre-washed Baby Spinach
2 tablespoons crumbled Goat, Cheddar or Blue Cheese
1/2 cup diced Quick and Easy Baked Chicken
Low Fat Raspberry Dressing

Plus any of the following:
Craisins
Diced Apple
Mandarin Oranges
Walnuts
Pecans
Caramelized Onions


Step 1:
Place a handful of spinach on a plate or in a plastic container.  Add your favorite toppings.  If you are bringing this to work, put the dressing, oranges and onions in separate plastic bags or containers and add to the salad just before eating.  This will prevent the spinach from getting soggy.