- Hey guys, with 2017 in full swing,
I thought you might be ready for some new lunchbox ideas.
So for this episode I'm collaborating
with one of my favorite YouTube channels,
The Girls with Glasses.
If you do not know of this channel,
you guys are in for a treat.
Brooke and Summer upload awesome videos
around clever DIYs, beautiful style tips,
and, of course, motherhood.
In fact, some of my favorite video of theirs
are some of their amazing parody
that will make you laugh out loud.
They are so well-done.
So for my part, I'm gonna show you
three lunchbox ideas featuring salads,
and Brooke and Summer are gonna show you
three lunchbox ideas featuring soups.
So between the two of us, you will get hooked up
with six new lunchbox ideas for the year ahead.
Okay, so let's get started.
I'm gonna show you how to make
my southwestern chicken salad.
A really great lunch option for those of you who eat meat.
Now, if you're vegetarian or a vegan,
not to worry, stay tuned.
I have something for you, too,
and we'll get to those in a minute.
So you're first gonna begin
with laying down a bed of romaine lettuce.
To that you're gonna add half a cup of frozen corn
that has been thawed.
Then you're also gonna add five to six cherry tomatoes
that you've sliced so that they're easy to eat that way.
A third of a cup of some orange bell peppers,
just to add one more color.
And again, all of the nutrients
that are in this colorful food
will make this a very nutrient-packed lunch.
And then we're gonna top that with a cup
of just shredded rotisserie chicken.
So this is a great idea for a little time-saver.
If you want to go out and buy a rotisserie chicken
to use throughout the week to put in your salads,
it's a great way to go,
and then it's always ready to pop in a lunchbox.
And then for a little crunch,
we're gonna add some tortilla strips.
So it's a really easy technique.
All you're gonna do is take one corn tortilla,
cut it in half, and then take those halves
and cut those into strips.
Pop them on a cookie sheet,
and then you're gonna bake at 375 for just 10 minutes.
Allow them to cool, and they will crisp up as they cool.
And then you can top those on top of your chicken.
So now that the salad part is done,
let me show you how to make the dressing.
It is a delicious creamy avocado cilantro lime dressing
that takes minutes to put together.
And you can make a big batch
to last you throughout the week,
because the lime juice is gonna keep that avocado green.
So in a blender we're gonna add
a cup of lowfat sour cream.
You could probably also use Greek yogurt
if you couldn't find sour cream.
Then you're gonna use the zest and juice of one lime.
A half of an avocado.
A quarter teaspoon of salt.
One garlic clove.
You can just chop it up
so that it's easier to blend that way.
Two tablespoons of fresh cilantro.
A quarter teaspoon of ground cumin.
That's gonna give this dressing
a really nice smokiness in the background.
And then for a little bit more flavor and some kick
I do like to add two teaspoons of jalapeno peppers.
You can just roughly chop them.
Just don't add in the seeds or it'll be really hot.
And then finally you're gonna add
one to two tablespoons of water.
So this is meant to be a pretty thick and creamy dressing,
so you can just thin it to however you like it.
Then you're gonna whirl it all up,
and you'll see you'll have this
beautiful creamy green dressing.
And then you can pour that into a small container.
Truth be told, I actually really like using
baby food containers for dressings when I pack salads,
because they're the perfect size.
They're glass, and they just tuck right into a lunchbox.
So I'll leave you a link in the description
if you want to know where to get them.
And hey, if you have kids at home,
you can use them for the baby food, too.
And then when you get to work or school
and you toss up that dressing,
you will see how delicious it is.
You've got so many things going on with this salad,
which is what makes it so flavorful.
So if you're afraid salads for lunch is gonna be boring,
you are definitely gonna change your tune
when you taste this one.
So next up, I want to show you a really great salad
to make if you're vegetarian and you eat cheese.
My delicious roasted beet salad
with goat cheese and hazelnuts, a real winner.
You're gonna begin by putting in a bed of arugula
to your salad container.
Now, some parts of the world may know arugula as roquette,
so it's the same thing.
It has a really nice spicy bite to it,
and I think it makes for a really great green
to add with this salad.
Then on top of that we're gonna add some sliced beets
that have been roasted.
So I will leave you the instructions
in the description on how to roast them,
but you can do five or six of them at the same time,
and it'll last throughout the week.
And we're gonna placet them right on top of the arugula.
And the pair beautifully with goat cheese.
So we are gonna add a third of a cup
of crumbled goat cheese.
And then on top of that we're gonna add
three tablespoons of roasted hazelnuts.
I think hazelnuts pair really well
with the goat cheese and the beets.
If you couldn't find hazelnuts,
you could also use almonds
or pine nuts would be another great option.
And then the finishing touch is just
one tablespoon of roughly-chopped mint
that I like to put on top of the salad.
And it's a really great flavor combination
with the sweetness of the beets
and the creaminess of the goat cheese
and that bite of arugula.
Okay, so our salad is done,
and then let me show you how simple the dressing is.
We're basically just gonna take a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.
Two teaspoons of white balsamic vinegar.
So I really like the white balsamic,
because I find it's a little bit sweeter
than the darker variety,
but if you only had the dark variety,
you could use that, too.
And then you're slowly gonna drizzle in
four tablespoons of grapeseed oil.
Then you're just gonna season that
with a little salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk it up, and that's it, you're ready to go.
Second salad done.
Okay, so next up for all of you vegans out there
I want to show you another really easy salad idea
that is also so delicious.
So to begin, we're gonna take two cups of cauliflower.
To that you're going to add a tablespoon of olive oil
and a half a teaspoon of garam masala spice.
If you haven't used this spice before,
it is a really delicious warming spice
that pairs beautifully with vegetables
that have been roasted.
You can just toss that all up,
and then we're gonna transfer this onto a sheet pan.
And you're going to roast them
for about 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
Now the last five minutes of roasting time,
you want to add two tablespoons of pine nuts,
because the pine nuts will also roast
and get toasty with the cauliflower,
and it's a great flavor combination
and a little bit of texture to have in the salad.
Then in the bottom of your salad container,
you're going to add a cup of chopped kale.
And then to soften that kale and flavor it,
we're gonna add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
and a teaspoon of olive oil.
And then we just go ahead and toss that up
and making sure that it's all well-coated.
And then on top of that for a little bit of protein,
we're going to add a cup of cooked quinoa.
So this is another thing that you could prep on Sunday
and have ready to go for the rest of the week
and get all your quinoa cooked.
And then on top of the quinoa,
we're gonna add our delicious cauliflower.
And then because that garam masala
has a really nice sort of spicy sweetness to it,
I think it pairs really well with two tablespoons
of either golden raisins,
or what I have recently discovered, these green raisins,
which you can get at the health food store
and are so delicious, because they're not that sweet.
And they look like a golden raisin,
but they're just a little bit greener.
And then for a little bit of freshness,
I love to also add two tablespoons of pomegranate seeds.
It's a really great unexpected flavor
that's also sweet but refreshing at the same time
and will give you a little bit of crunch.
So there you have it.
Three lunchbox ideas featuring salads.
I hope this makes you rethink salad for lunch.
It doesn't need to be boring.
You don't need to feel like you're losing out on something.
These are flavorful and delicious
and also nutritious (laughs).
I hope you guys give them a try
and let me know what you think.
And I also hope that you head on over to
The Girls With Glasses channel.
Subscribe and definitely check out their three soup ideas.
All right, you guys, I'll see you back here next week
for another easy and delicious recipe.
Until then, bye.
(gentle music)