Have a Hot Lunch Quickie

I like it hot.

I feel that I have more energy during the day after a hot breakfast and a hot lunch. My energy level remains more constant as well. Sure, I’ll have a salad every once in a while but I much prefer a bowl of hot soup.

Leftover soups are ideal for lunch. Don’t have any? Please refrain from picking up the can opener. Transform the fresh vegetables in your fridge into a hearty lunch in a snap!

At the office, you may only have a microwave available. If you are lucky enough to have a stove, coworkers become impatient when line-ups start to build so it’s important to keep it short.

Here’s how to throw together a fresh and flavourful microwaveable or quick stove-top soup. It only takes a few minutes to pack the night before and it cooks up in the same amount of time as it takes to heat up a can of chemical laden slurry.

• Choose vegetables that cook quickly and cut them to size. Your options are limitless but a few ideas are zucchini, spinach, kale, seaweed, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, bell pepper, peas, and tomatoes.
• Choose your energy booster. Avoid refined carbohydrates like white pasta and white rice. Not only does it contain very little nutrition, it will become mushy in the soup. Some healthy choices are leftover brown rice, lentils, beans, barley, tofu, and root vegetables. I have an addiction to kabocha pumpkin so I simply toss some pre-roasted cubes in.
• Choose your soup base. My infallible choice is 2 tablespoons of miso paste. Some other ideas are curry paste, chicken broth, vegetable stock, dashi broth, or even tomato juice

The night before, pack the ingredients and the soup base separately. At lunch time, simply combine (and add water if necessary) and heat it up. For fun, I sometimes some fishcakes, chopped ham, or bacon bits.

Simple, healthy, and hot. Who doesn’t love a lunch quickie?