Tag: Lunch Box Ideas

Coming up with healthy, tasty, and interesting lunch box ideas can be hard. OneWholesomeMeal makes this task a breeze with recipes specific to the lunch box.

Mutton Keema
Mutton Keema Cutlets
Categories
Lunch | 1pm Meal

Cheesy Rice With Vegetables

Cheese Rice with vegetables
Cheesy Rice with Vegetables

This cheesy rice with vegetables is a simple, easy to prepare, perfect lunch box recipe with leftover rice.

The refrigerator – one of the best life-saving inventions of mankind. It is hard to imagine how people survived during pre-refrigerator days. And refrigerated leftover rice is always a life saviour. There are so many ways one can use it from fried rice, pancakes, to cutlets.

Fried rice has to be one of the most versatile of recipes. While I make the basic no-spice variations to mildly spiced, Thai and Indonesian kinds, this fuss-free cheesy rice with vegetables has to be one of my favourites. Flavoured only with onions and curry leaves, the hero is a Mexican Four Cheese Mix which gives this dish a gooey almost risotto-like taste and flavour. It is a mixture of shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Natural cheeses and it features regularly in a lot of my recipes. My absolute favourite – in a mildly spiced curry, on a toast or even fried eggs.

This cheesy fried rice tastes great hot or even cold making it a perfect lunchbox recipe. Works wonderfully well with a side of protein or even as is. The possibilities are limitless with what veggies or proteins go into it. I usually add carrots, corn, spinach, and green peas. One could also add pre-cooked shredded meat, tofu, or paneer to make this a more wholesome meal.

Cheesy Rice with Vegetables by OneWholesomeMeal

YOUTUBE LINK for the video recipe

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Cheesy Veggie Rice

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 100

Serving Size: 4

Calories per serving: 200 per serving

Ingredients

  • Pre-cooked refrigerated rice- 2 cups
  • Chopped Spinach-1 cup
  • Garlic, finely chopped-1 tsp
  • Parboiled Cauliflower- 1 cup
  • Grated Carrot- 1 cup
  • Green Peas-3/4 cup
  • Boiled Sweet-Corn- 3/4 cup
  • Mexican Four Cheese Mix- 1 cup
  • Finely chopped Onion- 1/2 cup
  • Curry Leaves- 2 tbsp
  • Black Mustard-1 teaspoon
  • Oil or Butter- 1 tbsp
  • Salt- 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp or as per taste

Instructions

  1. Boil water, turn off heat and add cauliflower florets with 1 tsp salt. Let it sit for 15 minutes, drain and keep aside
  2. Heat oil in a pan then add black mustard seeds, chopped garlic and curry leaves; add chopped onions once the seeds start to crackle
  3. Add par-boiled cauliflower and cook covered on a medium flame with intermittent stirring ; add 1/2 tsp salt while the cauliflower is cooking
  4. When cauliflower is 80% done then add spinach and carrot and sauté for two minutes then add peas and corn followed by rice
  5. Sauté for another minute then add cheese and mix
  6. Once the cheese starts to melt, taste for salt, give it one final stir and serve
https://onewholesomemeal.com/cheesy-rice-with-vegetables/

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

Healthy Energy Balls With Apricot and Pistachio

Healthy Energy Balls with Apricots and Pistachios by OneWholesomeMeal
Healthy Energy Balls with Apricots and Pistachios

Healthy energy balls are the best, aren’t they? Not only are they raw and full of health goodness but extremely easy to put together too. And their petite size makes them perfect for lunch boxes too.

We love to eat all kinds of fruits and dry fruits. Come winters, the dry fruits start to make a more regular appearance in our daily menus. And energy balls are the best way to combine more than one kind of dry fruit in a single serving. The inspiration for these healthy energy balls came from the 5-year-old who loves apricots and pistachios. Dried apricots have a somewhat sour taste which is complimented superbly by the nutty smoothness of pistachios. And since freshly desiccated coconut is always a great option in desserts and I happened to have some on hand, I added that too. You could also use packaged dried desiccated coconut.

I originally thought of flavouring the laddoos with rose, since pistachios and rose go so well together. But the citrusy flavours of apricots and freshness of orange zest seemed like a better idea. This is just a personal preference and you can go with your desired flavours – rose, lemon rind, coconut, or just plain vanilla would all work perfectly well. Add a tablespoon or two of honey or maple syrup for extra sweetness. I skipped this as the apricots were quite sweet. Store in a cool place in an airtight container and consume within a week.

For my other energy balls’ recipes do have a look at click here. Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite.

Healthy Energy Balls with Apricots and Pistachios by OneWholesomeMeal Blog

My Maiden YouTube Video Tutorial

This recipe is also super special as it is my maiden attempt to create a quick video tutorial. Nothing to be super proud of but you know how special maiden attempts are! I am so glad I finally overcame my inhibitions and created this video. Making it single-handedly with no assistance and just one camera and changing lenses intermittently to capture different angles took my patience to another level. It made me respect bloggers who churn out absolutely professional tutorials on a regular basis like a pro. Loads of lessons learned and all well worth the effort.


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Apricot-Pistachio Energy Bites

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 100

Serving Size: Makes approximately 10-12 medium sized laddoos

Calories per serving: 75 per medium sized laddoo

Ingredients

  • Apricots, softened-2 cups (Soften the apricots by soaking in warm water for 30 mts and then draining them on a kitchen towel so as to absorb all the moisture)
  • Unsalted pistachios-3/4 cup
  • Shredded Coconut- 1 cup
  • Orange Zest (or lemon zest)-1 tbsp
  • Pure Vanilla extract-1/2 tsp
  • Honey or Maple Syrup-1 tbsp or as per taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a high speed blender (I used my nutribullet blend all ingredients till smooth. It is okay if the pistachios do not get completely powdered as it only adds texture and crunch to the balls
  2. Transfer to a plate and form into desired sized balls by rolling between your palms
  3. Store in an air tight container in a cool place and consume within a week
  4. If using dried shredded coconut , they will last slightly longer
https://onewholesomemeal.com/apricot-pistachio-healthy-energy-balls/

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal

Roasted Bell Pepper and Chickpea Hummus

Roasted Bell Pepper Chickpea Hummus by OneWholesomeMeal
Roasted Bell Pepper Chickpea Hummus by OneWholesomeMeal

What is the best way to enjoy all the goodness of chickpeas? I think I hear you scream – Hummus!

Who doesn’t like this middle eastern dip? It is one of the best ways for vegetarians to enjoy protein and for moms to camouflage some veggies into these deliciously healthy treats.

Hummus_OneWholesomeMeal

There are no hard and fast rules to make hummus. Fruits, veggies, or herbs, whatever your family favourites are, toss them in with some boiled or roasted chickpeas, add a garnish of your choice and you are sorted. One ingredient however I feel is indispensable and that is garlic. While I usually add chopped garlic to my hummus, this time I decided to swap it with some roasted garlic and boy did it make a difference to the flavours. Roasted garlic is a definite ingredient in my hummus from now on. It keeps very well in the refrigerator for a week to ten days.

Celery_Hummus_OneWholesomeMeal

 

You can get creative with the garnish. While I have recommended pomegranate arils in my recipe below, you may also use zaatar or paprika or flavor or spice. Healthy garnish options are flaxseed, chia seed, and even sesame. Whatever you decide, the most crucial garnish is olive oil. Let me know what you did in the comments below.

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Roasted Bell Pepper & Chickepea Hummus

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 98%

Serving Size: 4

Calories per serving: 166

Ingredients

  • Roasted Red bell pepper - 3/4 cup
  • Roasted Chickpeas- 1 cup
  • Lime juice- 4 teaspoons
  • Roasted Garlic- 1.5 teaspoons
  • Spice Mix- 1.5 teaspoons (Make the spice mix by blending 1 teaspoon caraway and 1.5 teaspoons coriander seeds)
  • Rice Wine Vinegar or Regular Vinegar- 1/2 teaspoon
  • Rock salt- 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
  • Red Chili (minced)-1
  • Pomegranate Arils -1 tablespoon (optional)
  • Extra Virgin Olive oil-1 tablespoon
  • Water- As required

Instructions

  1. Bring all roasted ingredients to room temperature
  2. Blend all ingredients except oil in a high power blender till a grainy consistency.You might need to add some water to the mixture and scrape down the sides.If you like your hummus smooth then you could blend it longer to a smooth paste. The texture would not make any difference to taste
  3. Add half a teaspoon oil to the blended mixture and pulse for 2 secs
  4. Drizzle the remaining oil on the hummus and serve with a side of crackers or veggies like celery or carrots

Notes

The pomegranate arils impart slight sharp flavour to the hummus which some may not like so feel free to omit it from the recipe

https://onewholesomemeal.com/roasted-bell-pepper-chickpea-hummus/

 

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Dinner | 8pm Meal

Greek Salad With Pickled Cucumber, Figs and Halloumi

Pickled Cucumber Haloumi Salald - Greek Salad
Greek Salad With Pickled Cucumber, Figs and Halloumi

Like the Greeks, this Greek Salad recipe comes with a story as well.

Finally, it is Friday and what a week it has been! At the end of weeks like these, I look back in surprise. If one plans ahead, so much can be accomplished in 24 hours. And then I also look further back in equal surprise. At the start of the week, was it the same me who on days just mopes and complains about the littlest of things and just doesn’t get anything done!

Forgive Yourself.

I have slowly begun to realize the days of not getting anything done are the ones that are responsible for extremely productive days. Just remember it is:

  • Okay to completely feel useless and totally unproductive on certain days.
  • All right to forgive ourselves for not getting even the basic stuff done.
  • Good to sleep a few hours extra or indulge in the luxury of doing absolutely nothing.
  • Fine to fail and fail all over again and still not be able to figure where you went wrong.
  • Okay to be human. It most definitely is.

And I will tell you why I am going on and on about it.

As always I had set expectations from self a bit too high. I was to try a completely different Greek salad recipe for my Friday post. And as always I had also packed 50 other things in my day today. And as expected I was left with very little time to try the new recipe, photograph it and post it on the blog today. 50 deep breaths and a lot of self pep talk later I decided to give this simple and yet amazingly flavourful recipe a shot. And I am so happy that I did.

 

At The End of A Busy Week, This Greek Salad Will Cheer You Up.

So, here I am sharing it with you. I adapted it from the August issue of BBC Good Food Magazine with minor adjustments. Like I replaced sugar with honey and added fresh figs because I had them at hand. Happy to report that I am very very happy with the way it turned out. It is a great light summer meal in itself if you add some greens or even good as a side dish.

I am hoping to bring you some more amazing Greek recipes this month and also have a giveaway coming up so do stay tuned. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook and turn on notifications for new posts. This salad will not disappoint you.

Greek Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pickled Cucumber, Figs & Halloumi Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 100%

Serving Size: 2

Calories per serving: 526kcals

Ingredients

  • Cucumber-1
  • White Wine Vinegar or Mirin-1.5 tablespoon
  • Honey-1 tablespoon
  • Chilli Flakes- 1/2 teaspoon
  • Salt-1/2 teaspoon
  • Blanched Hazelnuts-50gms
  • Mint-2 tablespoons
  • Halloumi Cheese-200gms
  • Figs-3

Instructions

  1. Cut cucumber into chunky half-moons, scrape out the core and set aside
  2. In a medium sized bowl add vinegar, honey, chilli flakes and salt, mix well and add cucumber to it and set aside to pickle for 10-15minutes
  3. Chop the figs into chunky cubes
  4. Blanch the hazelnuts and then toast them in a dry pan and set aside
  5. Once the hazelnuts have cooled off, chop them coarsely along with mint leaves and set aside
  6. Slice the cheese into approximately 1cm this slices and shallow fry in a non stick pan until both sides are crisp
  7. Mix all ingredients except figs and halloumi together and drizzle the remainder of the vinegary dressing on top
  8. Then add the halloumi and figs and enjoy
https://onewholesomemeal.com/greek-salad-pickled-cucumber-figs-halloumi/

 

[kkstarratings]

 

Categories
Dinner | 8pm Meal Lunch | 1pm Meal

Chicken Bharta Wrap | Curry In A Wrap

Tasty chicken bharta wrap - lunchbox idea by OneWholesomeMeal
Chicken Bharta Wrap

We have been away from home on a vacation. And most times, I need a vacation after one. So I put together a simple curry in a wrap – chicken bharta wrap.

Traveling is great but coming back to the comfort of your home and routine? Nothing compares. Or maybe I am an old soul trapped in a 35-year-old’s body 🤪 . Anyway, this is the longest I have been away from home and home food. And surprisingly enough I kind of de-stressed putting this simple meal of chicken bharta wrap together.

As I jokingly mentioned to my mother on the phone, while the kids kept themselves busy in their room, that this felt like a vacation after the past two weeks of being on the road! I am sure the chores will soon start weighing me down and the need to run away from it all would become pressing again but until then I am going to savor this comforting feeling of familiarity and routine. Coming back to the wrap, I adapted the recipe for Chicken Bharta from Sukanya’s blog and modified it a bit to suit the wrap style.

I used corn tortillas for the wrap. For the filling, along with the chicken bartha, I added chopped lettuce, shredded pepper jack cheese, chili flakes and coriander for garnish. And that’s it! It was a very satisfying quick meal.

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Chicken Bharta Wrap

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 100%

Serving Size: 4

Calories per serving: 215

Ingredients

  • Boneless chicken breast - 500 gm
  • Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
  • Onions (big, sliced) - 2
  • Turmeric powder-½ tsp
  • Cumin powder - 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder - 1 tsp
  • Deghi mirch (red chilli) powder - 1 tsp
  • Garam masala - ¼ tsp
  • Egg yolk - 2 mashed
  • Cashew paste - 2 -3 tbsp
  • Yogurt - 3-4 tbsp
  • Tomato puree - 1-2 tbsp
  • Salt- To taste
  • Oil - 3 tbsp
  • Butter- one knob
  • Cilantro chopped - 3 tbsp
  • Kasuri methi - 2-3 tsp
  • Boiled egg whites to garnish
  • Lettuce-1 cup chopped coarsely or larger if desired
  • Mexican Pepper Jack Cheese, freshly grated-1.5 cups
  • Chilli flakes-1 tsp or as per taste
  • Store bought corn tortillas-4-6

Instructions

  1. Wash and clean the chicken breast thoroughly. Heat enough salted water in a pan and add the chicken breast to it. Poach it or cook till done. Check for the rawness and continue cooking till the chicken is poached thoroughly
  2. While the chicken is still hot, pull out into long thin shreds using two forks
  3. In a separate pan, heat the oil and fry the sliced onions till golden in color. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté
  4. Add the spices like turmeric powder, cumin, coriander, red chilli powder and fry thr spices till the rawness disappears
  5. Now add the shredded chicken and mix it well on medium heat till the chicken is well coated with the spices
  6. In a separate bowl mix yogurt, cashew paste and garam masala.
  7. Lower the heat and add the above mixture to the chicken. Cook on low heat till the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan
  8. Add the tomato puree and continue cooking on low heat
  9. Check for the seasonings, by this time shredded chicken pieces should be well incorporated with the spice mixture
  10. Cover the pan and cook for five more minutes
  11. When it is done, add the mashed egg yolk, butter, finely chopped cilantro and kasuri methi. The bharta should be of a relatively drier consistency
  12. Garnish with sliced hard boiled egg whites
  13. Place 1-2 spoonfuls of the bharta in the centre of the flat corn tortilla, top it with lettuce, grated cheese, chopped coriander and chilli flakes, wrap it and enjoy
https://onewholesomemeal.com/chicken-bharta-wrap/

Chicken Bharta Wrap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Dinner | 8pm Meal Lunch | 1pm Meal

Veggie Burger | Zucchini and Broccoli Patty

Veggie Burger
Veggie Burger

Move over meat burgers for the ultimate veggie burger is here! The Zuccoli Burger is all you want in your burger and more.

It is very rare that a vegetarian dish is so well appreciated by my boys (do not even get me started on their carnivorous preferences) but this burger was such a welcome change. Loaded with zucchini and broccoli and flavored with delicious herbs, the patty can also be your vegan meal as a healthy side with daal and rice. You can make these zucchini and broccoli patties in advance and freeze them. They are perfect for the lunchbox too. Yes, the possibilities are limitless!

How To Get The Perfect Veggie Burger Patty

  1. The critical step in this recipe is steaming the broccoli. Over steaming makes it too soft and mushy and the final blended mix almost semi-solid. So, be careful not to over steam. Follow these steps to get it right.
  2. Bring water to boil and turn off the heat.
  3. Add a teaspoon of salt to the heated water.
  4. Now add your washed and cleaned broccoli florets to it.
  5. Let it sit in the water for 5-7 minutes before you drain it under cold running water. This latter part is important to halt the cooking process.
  6. Then pat dry the florets on a kitchen towel and blitz in a blender for just a few seconds to a coarse dry consistency.

Scroll down for the full recipe.

Veggie Burger Photography by OneWholesomeMeal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Zucchini-Broccoli Burgers

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 10-12 medium sized patties

Calories per serving: 50

Ingredients

  • Broccoli steamed and blended-1 cup
  • Zucchini , grated and water squeezed out well- 1.5 cups
  • Lime juice-1.5 teaspoons
  • Mexican 4 cheese mix-1/2 cup
  • Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tablespoon
  • Bread crumbs-a little more than half cup to bind the patty well
  • Raisins- 8-10 (optional)
  • Chives or spring onions chopped fine- 2 tablespoons
  • Rosemary sprigs or any herb of choice like coriander or Basil (chopped fine)-1 teaspoon (optional); if using latter two, use 2 teaspoons
  • Green chilies chopped fine (optional)-2
  • Salt-1.5 teaspoon or to taste
  • Oil-2 tablespoon to shallow fry

Instructions

  1. In a deep and wide bowl mix all ingredients well, form into palm sized patties and refrigerate for at least an hour
  2. Then in a wide thick bottomed pan, heat oil and shallow fry till nice and brown
  3. Enjoy hot as a side with rice and daal or in a burger!
https://onewholesomemeal.com/veggie-burger-zucchini-broccoli-patty/

 

[kkstarratings]