Work lunches are a struggle for me. I think about them on the weekend, “I’ll make this awesome looking salad or this delicious quinoa bowl.” but ultimately the time it takes always ends up derailing my plans. Half of the time I end up scrounging bread and making a PB&J or a different sandwich. Those options are not necessarily bad, but they are not the healthy salad or nutrient rich quinoa bowl I had originally intended. So this meal has been a breath of fresh air. It is clean, simple, fast, and delicious.

broccoli:

Can we please talk about broccoli? I know this is one of those veggies people love and hate (maybe not to the level of Brussels sprouts… I’m in love category, btw) . But broccoli is incredible for you. A quick google search will provide you with a wealth of evidence showing the beneficial vitamins and nutrients within them. And these internet results can be verified and proven to be true, unlike half the other stuff… anyway, I won’t go down that rabbit hole. Full of fiber and protein, broccoli helps me feel satisfied and full when I eat it. So you should too!

Because of my love for broccoli, my wife is currently in a broccoli detox, because I made it too much. Thankfully, I have yet to get sick of it.

the meal:

This meal is really a Trader Joe’s ad (hit me up TJs 😜). I have made this two ways: first, obviously with broccoli and their frozen teriyaki chicken meal. This meal comes with two sauce packs and if you were to eat the entire thing, it would be 525 calories (3.5 servings). I find that I use one sauce pack to mix and will eat about half. This cuts the calories with less sugar and salt from the sauce. I usually just sauté some broccoli with a touch of salt and pepper. I will also make this by just using regular chicken, and some of Trader Joe’s soyaki sauce.

Boom. Done. 5-10 minutes to make, at most. Its clean with broccoli and lean chicken and it just taste’s great. Depending on my portion size, it’s also a filling and hearty lunch that comes in under 500 calories. For a guy with a target calorie consumption of 2350 per day, that is awesome.

thoughts:

As easy as the bagged meal is, I try to make this more from scratch. The reason is because frozen foods just have tons of stuff in them. Preservatives, salt, sugar, you name it. Frozen foods can still be fine to consume, but it is almost always healthier when we make things from scratch. That allows us to control what we put in. How much salt? How much sugar? No sugar?

Having the frozen option is awesome for a pinch and having a backup. Not every day allows us the time or the convenience to do things as we would like. Either way, This lunch is something I could eat a lot.

eat up y’all.

-Ben