21 Paleo Lunch Ideas
I've had a few emails in the last couple of weeks asking for Paleo lunch ideas, so I thought I’d make some suggestions in this blog post. I've also written the “Paleo Lunch Recipe Book“, so take a look if you'd like lots of lunch recipes to brighten up your lunchtimes!
Here are 21 suggestions that you can mix and match to come up with an unlimited variety of Paleo lunches:
1. Make kebabs with your choice of meat and vegetables on sticks. Easy finger food and delicious cold.
2. Take in cold meat and veggies – and pour over a hot bone broth from a thermos just before serving.
3. A big salad with your favourite meat, avocado, eggs, leaves, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Keep the dressing and “crunchy” ingredients separate and mix them together just before you eat. Try extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or mashed up avocado for the dressing.
4. Olives
5. Lettuce wraps – instead of bread, use lettuce to wrap your sandwich filling
6. Invest in a good thermos/ flask and bring in a hot, ready to eat soup, chilli or stew
7. Bag up last nights leftovers
8. Make up a crustless quiche or fritella
9. Blanch some veggies
10. Make up nori wraps with your favourite meats and vegetables
11. Raw veggies with a almond butter or guacamole dip
12. Breadless sandwiches using cold meat or flat capsicum (bell pepper) for the “bread”
13. Hard boiled eggs
14. An avocado and a spoon
15. Beef – or even kangaroo jerky (make your own to make sure it’s Paleo)
16. Cold cuts of roast meat
17. Mashed sweet potato, pumpkin or parsnip
18. Make a batch of egg muffins with your favourite ingredients
19. Make a trail mix with nuts, shredded coconut and jerky
20. Take in frozen prawns/ shrimps, which should be nicely chilled by the time lunch comes round
21. Or you could take it as an opportunity to Intermittently Fast…
Try buying a bento box with lots of small compartments to encourage lots of variety in your lunch.
Reheat?
If you've got access to a fridge and microwave as a minimum, your options are numerous. You can make batches of stews, soups, Paleo chilli or casseroles, freeze them and simply reheat at lunchtimes. A microwave enables you to reheat last nights leftovers – or even cook a sweet potato.
Buying Lunch
Food courts, café's and restaurants all provide Paleo options, especially where you’re able to make a few substitutions. All day breakfasts are a good choice (think bacon, eggs, avocados or omelettes), roast dinners, salad bars; at a pinch I've even ordered a sandwich – without the bread (but with a few confused looks). The problem with buying lunch is the price – and you can’t always be entirely sure about all of the ingredients.
Emergency Paleo Food Stash
Despite your best intentions, there’s always that day you forget to bring in lunch – or worse still your money – so it makes sense to have an emergency Paleo stash at work. This way when there are no good options around, you can always put together a Paleo snack. Things like tinned mackerel, sardines, salmon and tuna, jars of olives, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and jerky will store for a long time and could be good options.
Brown-Bag Lunches
For a lot of people kitchen facilities aren't available and eating out isn't an option at lunchtime. Which leads to the question, what can you put in a Paleo Packed Lunch? Just because you can’t heat food, definitely doesn't meant you can’t keep it Paleo.
What’s your favourite Paleo lunch? I’d love to hear any tips and Paleo Lunch Ideas that you have – particularly for quick and easy Paleo lunches!
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I have a microwave & fridge at work so if I take in a few pieces of cooked meat ( I tend to cook quite a few joints of beef/slice up and freeze) & a few veggies like sweet potatoes which I just cook for a few mins in its skin/though I do add a bit of butter ( I tend to cook quite a few joints of beef/slice up and freeze. Then I put in the fridge as soon as I get into work. I find this so easy and tasty!
It definitely gives you a lot more options, having a fridge and microwave at work Janie!
Cor I’m glad you asked. As just last week I started taking in a few bits and pieces for lunch time. As I’m trying to save money,now I’m getting better & a bit more organised, not sure it will last though.
My partner’s a good cook and she made some egg muffins I had these with prawns that was a good feast.
I like some of your ideas.
Thanks Phil!
I cook all my food on the work sandwich press. I cook my eggs and baccon for breakfast on it as well as cooking my meat for lunch. I do have non stick baking paper to stop the food from sticking to the hot plate.
What a great idea! Will have to try that…
I know it’s a bit boring but I tend to kept an emergency supply of small packs of mixed nuts and some dried fruit just in case I forget to take anything in that day. I’m happy for new ideas.
That’s really helpful!
Emergency supplies are a great idea – you never know when you’ll need it!
Yummo! Great suggestions! Usually I take in veggies that are in season with some protein like kale, pumpkin cookedin coconut oil with chicken or pork with a spoon of nuts and olive oil on top. An omelette heated up is good too to cookup whatever leftover meat and veggies you have lying around at home. Homemade rissoles or Mexican tacos without the taco just spices meat avocado tomato lettuce yum! For snacks brazil nuts, whole fruit with nutbutters , organic quark or cheese for the primal girl in me with celery, I really want to start making my own jerky with the dehydrator I bought 😉
Some great ideas Elissa! I’d love to hear how you get on with the Jerky when you start making it…
I’ve got no excuse now from next week I’ll start taking my own homemade lunches, I’m in.
Good news Alex!
I am really interested in your feature on Intermittent Fasting, something I am seriously considering. As I have letting my paleo diet slide a bit lately. (with work lunches), so have put on some weight & this can’t continue!
That’s great Linda – interested in hearing how you get on! Good luck
I would like to encourage you to limit the use of your microwave as much as possible as they tend to kill everything put inside of them including good nutrients we need.
If only more workplaces had full kitchens Melissa
Here is a link that may have some people re-assessing whther they REALLY want to use a microwave ever. http://naturalsociety.com/microwaves
I have to agree with Melissa- there is nothing primal about a microwave! The more you look into them, the more you realize they are dangerous and deplete the nutrients in food. Good lunch suggestions though- I’m making my grocery list right now with some of these ideas..
They make a lunch crock pot! Plug in and heat your lunch. Just the right size to heat some soup or chili.
Cucumber sandwiches are great!
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and hollow out the seeds
Place Dijon mustard on one side and spread a wedge of laughing cow cheese on the other side and use turkey or other meat. So delicious!