Yup, those gorgeous, drool-worthy charcuterie board pics everywhere you look lately are the inspiration for this easy, exciting lunch of your dreams: Charcuterie-Inspired Lunch Box. Say goodbye to Sad Desk Lunch/Sad School Lunch Syndrome!
I decided that I don’t need to wait for a party to enjoy a fancy-ish spread like a charcuterie board. In fact, it’s a perfect choice for an easy weekday lunch!
- You can throw it together in two minutes, and it’s flexible enough for everyone in your household to customize as needed.
- It’s an easy way to ensure that you’ve got protein, healthy fats, good carbs, and a rainbow of veggies and fruits on your plate.
- It totally delivers on taste and texture variety, which is often missing from your average Sad Desk Lunch.
- Snacking-style lunch just feels fun, doesn’t it?
The secret to keeping this easy and doable is doing a tiny bit of prep early in the week. And when prepping the ingredients, consider how you can use the foods in a variety of ways, and not just for this one lunch idea.
Make those meal prep minutes count, worthy of your precious time. Efficiently leverage your efforts so you can protect the rest of your time for everything else in your life.
For example, here’s a rundown of a recent charcuterie-inspired lunch my kids packed for themselves:
- chopped veggies: Red peppers, cucumbers, and radishes. Those veggies are also appearing in other meals this week, too. Chop once, eat a bunch of times!
- roasted asparagus: I wrapped some stalks in prosciutto before roasting, and left the rest of the stalks plain. The entire sheet pan got a toss of EVOO, salt, pepper, and smidge of grated Parmagiano Reggiano. Beyond these lunches, we’re adding the asparagus to breakfast (omelet, frittata), and for a extra boost of veggies at dinner once or twice this week.
- radishes: Oh, the conundrum of an ENTIRE bag of radishes, right? Like, who actually eats a whole bag of radishes? (And please don’t suggest roasting them, because I tried that. I’m going to save you some time – don’t roast them. Don’t believe the hype.) I chopped up the rest of the bag, and plan to quick pickle them with some shredded carrot and the rest of the chopped cucumber. I think that might end up in a banh mi bowl . . .
- Leverage those leftovers!: I intentionally made plenty extra when I roasted chicken on Sunday (for chicken soup). That came in handy to add a few bites here to boost the protein for this meal. Satiety for the win!
- olives: Even a picky eater might enjoy these super mild Manzanilla olives. They helped me discover that I actually do like olives. #olddognewtricks You can find them at Trader Joe’s.
- Not pictured: dried apricots, plus sides like crackers and crunchy baked chickpeas (perfect example of how everyone can customize to their own preferences/needs)
Need some inspiration?
How are you keeping lunch easy, nourishing, and exciting? Drop a comment? #sharingiscaring ?
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- proteins of choice (meat/poultry) cooked, cubed chicken or turkey; cured meats; minimally processed deli turkey;
- protein/fat combo eggs, cheese, nuts
- olives
- veggies, raw, blanched, or roasted chopped, sliced, even canned/jarred (i.e. artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers)
- dried or fresh fruit
- beans/legumes ideas: canned or roasted chickpeas, white beans, lupini beans
- grain-free crackers or socca (made using chickpea flour)
- whole grain crackers
- whole grain sourdough bread
Ingredients
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- Add all ingredients to a lunch container, as artfully as you have the tolerance for.
- Open at lunchtime, smile, and nosh to your heart's delight.
I used Trader Joe’s sweet Italian style sausage, and sliced onions and peppers tossed in a little bit of olive oil. I sprinkled the veggies with a little bit of salt and pepper, and sprinkled the whole pan with a smidge of Italian seasoning. I cooked at 400F for about 25 minutes*. Served it all with brown basmati rice, and some fresh fruit for dessert. Busting out of our Taco Tuesday rut here, I tell ya.
And when life gives you leftover sheet pan sausage, peppers, & onions, you take advantage and dump it into a frittata for an easy peasy Thursday night dinner. Along with the frittata, we had meal prep roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.