{"id":665,"date":"2014-06-13T14:05:25","date_gmt":"2014-06-13T19:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bobbetterman.com\/blog\/?p=665"},"modified":"2014-06-13T14:05:25","modified_gmt":"2014-06-13T19:05:25","slug":"two-quick-easy-protein-bowl-lunches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bobbetterman.com\/blog\/two-quick-easy-protein-bowl-lunches\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Quick and Easy Protein Bowl Lunches"},"content":{"rendered":"

I work downtown and pick up my lunch quite a bit… Although I feel that I generally make good choices (the Protein Ba<\/a>r, Pret<\/a> and Panera<\/a> are my go to destinations for a quick lunch), there are some downsides to eating out at work. \u00a0Cost is one of those downsides. \u00a0I spent over $60 at Protein Bar alone last month. \u00a0The other pitfall has to do with the lack of planning involved in picking up lunch on the go. \u00a0If you aren’t planning your meals at all, you’ll be more likely to make poor food choices.<\/p>\n

In an effort to save a few bucks and undertake some short-term meal prep, I headed to the grocery store to pick up supplies for a couple of my favorite lunches. \u00a0Both of these are inspired by the Protein Bar<\/a> (let’s see how many times I can mention them on this post…). \u00a0Here’s my take on a do it yourself Spinach & Pesto Quinoa Bowl and the Healthy Parm.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"spinachpestobowl\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"chickenparmbowl2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m not in the business of recipes so the ingredient list is simple, measurements are approximate and your results may vary. \u00a0The instructions are basically cook it up, pack it up, heat it up<\/strong>. If I can do it, anyone can – probably better.<\/p>\n

You’ll cook all of the chicken at once and prepare and package both meals. Layer the pre-cooked ingredients and then the rest in the order shown below. If you are really ambitious you might prepare lunches for the entire week. Pack the ingredients into your portable container of choice and keep them in the fridge for up to 5\u00a0days max (2-3 days max will taste better). When you’re ready for lunch you can mix the ingredients and microwave for 3-4 minutes. HEAT, EAT, ENJOY!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the ingredients you will\u00a0use for both protein bowls – chicken, quinoa (I ran out of quinoa so I substituted whole grain pasta in the Parm bowl), and Parmesan cheese.<\/p>\n

\"grilledchicken\"<\/a>\"RinseQuinoa\"<\/a>\"freshparm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Spinach<\/b>\u00a0& Pesto Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Cup Quinoa<\/p>\n

1 Grilled Chicken Breast<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp Fresh Pesto<\/p>\n

Baby Spinach<\/p>\n

Parmesan Cheese<\/p>\n

\"cookedquinoa\"<\/a>\"chickenandquinoa\"<\/a>\"pesto\"<\/a>\"chickenquinoapesto\"<\/a>\"spinach\"<\/a>\"quinoaspinachpestoparm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chicken Parm Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Cup Whole Grain\u00a0Pasta<\/p>\n

Marinara (About a cup? – no need to heat)<\/p>\n

1 Grilled Chicken Breast<\/p>\n

Parmesan Cheese<\/p>\n

\"cookedpasta\"<\/a>\"sauce\"<\/a>\"pastasaucechicken\"<\/a>\"freshparm\"<\/a>\"chickenparmbowl\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And there you have it… two quick, easy, portable, healthy, protein-packed and just plain BETTER options for lunch. Happy eating!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I work downtown and pick up my lunch quite a bit… Although I feel that I generally make good choices (the Protein Bar, Pret and Panera are my go to destinations for a quick lunch), there are some downsides to…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-eating"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Quick and Easy Protein Bowl Lunches - Bob Betterman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"recipes for two quick and easy protein bowl lunches - 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