Sixteen Recipes for Brown-Baggers

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In last week’s blog, I talked about how brining your own food to work can help you manage what you eat and also save you money. I gave four ideas on how to make it easier to take your own food for lunch. I tend to pack the same thing most days, but my husband likes lots of variety, so he prefers that we make foods ahead and he can pack them in his lunch. For those of you who like variety, here’s a list of recipes for brown bagging. Enjoy, and let us know your favorite fix-ahead brown-bag recipes.

Sandwiches

Fajita Turkey Burger – Ingredients: tomatillo salsa, avocado, cilantro, red & green bell pepper, fajita seasoning, tomato paste, egg white, salt.

Blue Cheese and Beef Roll-ups. I don’t mind these cold, but if you’d like, keep the ingredients separate and heat the beef at lunch and make the rollups. The recipe has you make your own  beef strips to eliminate the salt of deli-roast beef.  Ingredients: fat-free mayonnaise, blue cheese, horseradish, black pepper, round tip steak strips, salt, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, red onion, reduced fat tortillas.

Peanut Butter Plus Sandwiches. I’m happy with just natural peanut butter, but this recipe add adds honey, banana, raisins, sunflower seed kernels. It uses whole wheat bread, but I’ve switched to whole grain sandwich thins.

Pesto Chicken Salad – Ingredients: low-fat mayonnaise, fat-free yogurt, commercial pesto (or make it yourself!), lemon juice, salt, chicken breast, celery, walnuts, red bell peppers.

Sheryl Crow’s Tuna Salad – Ingredients:  tuna, green apple, diced celery, veganaise (or low-fat mayonnaise), parsley, lemon juice, black pepper.

Casseroles. These can be made ahead and frozen in one-portion sizes.

Sausage and Pepper Calzones –This recipe has you make your own dough, but read the comments for other suggestions. Ingredients: red bell pepper, onion, garlic, apple sausage (some people substituted turkey Italian sausage), mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, low-fat cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, pepper.

Mousakka – this is the light version. Ingredients: olive oil, garlic, ground lean lamb, tomato paste, red wine, bulgur or cracked wheat, oregano, salt, pepper, cinnamon, low-fat milk, cornstarch, nutmeg, egg substitute, Parmesan cheese.

Chicken-Ham Lasagna – Ingredients: low-sodium chicken broth, chicken breast, low-fat milk, flour, Parmesan cheese, parsley, lasagna noodles, ham, parsley.

Black Beans and Rice with Cheese – This is high in sodium, most likely from the black beans – so I use low-sodium black beans. Ingredients: Olive oil, red bell pepper, garlic, onions, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ground coriander, red pepper, black beans, reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese.

Chicken Tamale Casserole – Ingredients: Mexican blend cheese, skim milk, egg substitute, red pepper, cream-style corn, muffin mix, green chiles, red enchilada sauce, chicken breast, fat-free sour cream

Shredded Beef and Mushroom Ragu -  Ingredients: porcini mushrooms,  short ribs, salt, pepper, flour, olive oil, cremini mushrooms, onion, tomato paste, thyme, garlic, red wine, less-sodium beef broth

Snacks

Cheddar-Parmesan Biscotti – Ingredients: flour, reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomato pieces, corn meal, pine nuts, baking powder, salt,  dried basil, fat-free milk, olive oil, eggs,

Homemade Granola Bar – Much healthier than the store-bought kind. Ingredients: rolled oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, dark brown sugar, maple syrup, vegetable oil, raisins

Breakfast Fig and Nut Cookies – Ingredients: brown sugar, butter, eggs, dried figs, dried cranberries, vanilla extract, all-purpose and wheat flour, bran, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, almonds, sugar.

Roasted Rosemary Almonds – Ingredients: rosemary, olive oil, chili powder, salt, ground red pepper, almonds

Spicy Chickpea Nuts – Ingredients: chick peas, olive oil, cumin, marjoram, allspice, salt