{Healthy Lunch Tips}

Hello Cupcakes,

It's been a while since I posted last, but I promise I am still here. I am still studying to become a certified personal trainer. My boyfriend and I also adopted a puppy & I am working part time. California is treating me pretty well. I am still working on trying to find a full time job. 

Anyways, I wanted to share some tips for packing food for the work day. Many of my friends have mentioned they have food allergies and they want meal ideas. I am lactose intolerant, so I know the challenge of finding and making food that tastes good without dairy! One thing I am loving right now is homemade Chipotle bowls (Boyfriend approved!). Once I have all the bowls prepped, I freeze them. This makes such an easy lunch or dinner. After getting off work, I am usually super hungry. All I do is take one of these bowls out of the freezer and microwave it for 2-3 minutes and I have a super tasty and healthy meal.

So here's how I do it:

1) Gather all of your ingredients. To make 5 bowls, I used 1 lb. of lean ground beef, 1 1/3 c dried brown jasmine rice, 1 can of no sodium black beans, salsa, green onion, cilantro. You can also add frozen vegetables of your choice. 

2) Gather spices. I like to use these five seasonings to season my taco meat. Sometimes it can be hard to find a pre-made taco seasoning that is allergen free. These five taste so good together as a taco seasoning. 

3) Start browning the meat in a pan & boiling the rice according to package directions. While those are cooking, cut up the cilantro and green onion. 

4) Drain the black beans. Once the meat & rice are done you can start assembling the bowls. I love these tupperware containers from Isolator Fitness because they are freezable, microwaveable, & dishwasher safe. They also stack really well in the fridge or freezer. 

Here is the final product

Another healthy snack tip is to pre-portion snacks so they are easy to grab & go. Below is my protein puppy chow that I made with only 4 ingredients. The recipe can be found on my Instagram page: @toriswholelife (p.s. the protein puppy chow is gluten and lactose free)

I also packaged some trail mix for my boyfriend to take to work. Trail mix can be an easy gluten and dairy free option, just make sure you don't over do it with trail mixes. They can be high in calories. This is another reason why I like to pre-portion snacks (make sure you read the labels). 

Once I have all my pre-packaged snacks ready to go, I place them in a bowl on the counter. 

More tips for a healthy lunch or snack:

1) Pre wash and cut up fruit or veggies. Place these containers or baggies so you can grab them to stick in your lunch box

2) Pinterest is amazing for healthy allergy friendly recipes and ideas

3) Paleo recipes are a good search term if you are trying to eat gluten and dairy free

4) Look through some of my previous recipes for ideas to make. For example, I have a recipe for Otto's Cassava Flour Tortillas or Healthy Brownies. 

5) I have recently been introduced to Skinny Pop which is a gluten free popcorn. Make sure you read the labels if you are lactose intolerant as some flavors may contain dairy. Has anyone tried SkinnyPop? What are your thoughts? Comment below.

Later Taters!

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."