For a midday pick-me-up, skip the extra cup of coffee and try one of these energizing lunch recipes instead. Featuring energy-boosting foods like eggs, pears, chickpeas and beans, these meals can help keep you fueled and motivated to take on the rest of your day. Recipes like our Chickpea Tuna Salad and our Best Egg Salad Recipe for Sandwiches are ideal choices to pack for lunch any day of the week.
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The Best Egg Salad Recipe for Sandwiches
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This delicious egg salad recipe is the perfect choice for sandwiches, wraps and more. The filling spread can be made ahead of time, which makes this recipe great for meal prep. Creamy, crunchy and satisfying, this easy egg salad recipe has it all. Celery hearts, which are the inner ribs of celery, are more tender than stalks and add a mildly salty and briny flavor. Learn how to make hard-boiled eggs at home, or buy ready-to-eat ones from the store. Serve this egg salad on top of a bed of greens, sandwich it between slices of whole-wheat bread or pair it with carrot and celery sticks.
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Chickpea Tuna Salad
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This chickpea tuna salad with capers, feta and cucumber makes for the perfect lunch to pack for work or school. You can prep the salad the night before (just be sure to keep the spinach separate and dress the salad right before serving).
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Feta, Kale & Pear Salad
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The crunchy seed topping is the perfect textural juxtaposition to a creamy dressing, soft pears and tender massaged kale salad. Tossing it all with mint, feta and red onion gives it a Middle Eastern flair.
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Chickpea Salad Sandwich
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This vegan chickpea salad sandwich is lemony, bright and surprisingly delicious. It's got all the flavors of a classic tuna salad sandwich—dill, lemon and a bit of garlic—but with chickpeas instead to add a vegan source of protein and a healthy boost of fiber. Celery brings a nice crunch.
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No-Cook Black Bean Salad
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The dressing for this vegan black bean salad gets its creaminess from blended avocado. Any mix of salad greens will work well, but try arugula if you want to give this hearty salad a peppery kick.
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Egg Salad & Watercress Tea Sandwiches
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Peppery watercress adds zest to classic egg salad in these easy tea sandwiches. Enjoy as a quick appetizer or brunch option.
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Tuna & White Bean Salad
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The time-honored Italian pairing of canned tuna and cannellini beans makes a super-simple, satisfying lunch. Serve over salad greens, on grilled whole-wheat country bread or tucked in a whole-wheat pita pocket.
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Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Quinoa Salad
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This roasted vegetable and fruit salad gets infused with flavor from quinoa that's cooked with fresh ginger, garlic and a hit of turmeric. Serve it alongside a roast chicken, then mix the leftovers together for lunch. Your future self will thank you.
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Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
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These hearty kale salads hold up well for 4 days, making them perfect for meal-prep lunches. To keep the ingredients from getting soggy, dress this salad and top it with peanuts just before serving. For a delicious vegan option, swap in roasted tofu for the chicken breast (see Associated Recipes).
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White Bean & Avocado Sandwich
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White beans mash seamlessly into a creamy protein-packed spread for a satisfying healthy sandwich that makes for an easy lunch or dinner. Mix it up by trying it with canned chickpeas or black beans. This vegetarian sandwich recipe is also a fiber superstar: avocado, beans, greens and whole-wheat bread team up to give it 15 grams of fiber, more than half of what most women should aim for in a day.
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Cranberry-Walnut Chickpea Salad
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We swap chickpeas in for chicken to create a satisfying vegetarian main that's perfect for lunch. Cranberries add a sweet-tart flavor, while toasted walnuts and celery provide crunch. Serve over leafy greens or use as a sandwich filling.
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Pear, Gorgonzola & Walnut Salad
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This pear and gorgonzola salad celebrates fall with its beautiful colors. The light and refreshing vinaigrette offsets the tangy funk of Gorgonzola and the sweetness from the raisins and pears.
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Egg Salad English-Muffin Sandwich
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When you boil eggs ahead of time, it's easy to create a lickety-split and delightful lunchtime egg salad. And using the flavorful leafy carrot tops in it is like getting herbs for free.
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Hot Egg Salad Bagel
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This open-face egg salad bagel sandwich is ready in under 30 minutes!
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Peanut-Chicken Cabbage Wraps
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Cabbage is a tasty low-calorie stand-in for buns or bread in this healthy chicken lettuce wrap recipe. Don't limit yourself to cabbage for this Thai-inspired recipe--any fresh green that's sturdy enough to wrap around 1/2 cup of filling works.
