Light lunch: ideas for a tasty and light meal.

Light Lunch: especially after the Christmas holidays, when you feel a bit heavy, one wonders if it's possible to prepare some simple, tasty, but above all light recipes. Well, there are many ideas in the kitchen for a delicious meal, but at the same time light and low in calories!

There are many reasons to prepare a light lunch every day, not just after the holidays: often after eating, you feel heavy, and it’s not easy to get back to work without having a quick nap! However, the lunch break is always limited, and it’s good to have a light yet nutritious meal that gives us energy without weighing us down.

Light Lunch Without Giving Up on Taste

Light lunch, without giving up on taste: it's possible, just a bit of imagination and simple, genuine ingredients are needed. You can create pasta, rice, meat, fish, and vegetable dishes with few calories.

The secret is in the seasoning: just don't overdo it with sauces, butter, and oil. The best seasoning is extra virgin olive oil, tasty and nutritious, which can be used both raw and for cooking. It is lighter than seed oils, and will give your dishes all the flavor of Italian excellence.

»CHECK OUT OUR SELECTION OF EVO OILS«

Diet Lunch: Light Menu

Diet lunch: when you need to pay attention to calorie counting, to stay fit or get back on track after the holidays, try some recipes for a light yet delicious menu.

Vegetables allow us to create many recipes for tasty and light first courses and side dishes. For example, quick soups and purees, unique dishes with mixed salads. Try them also with fruit, such as avocado or orange. They are excellent and super light!

Few people manage to go home during their lunch break; well, in this case, there’s a challenge to overcome, which is the temptation of sandwiches, junk food, and heavily seasoned dishes. To avoid this, prepare your lunch the night before and take it to the office. You don’t necessarily have to give up on taste!

Diet Lunch: First Courses

For a diet lunch that is also tasty, we recommend the recipe for linguine with pistachio pesto and salmon. In fact, no one said you have to give up pasta for a light lunch!

To prepare them, use whole grain pasta: it’s good, healthy, and tasty, and contains many more nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber compared to white pasta. The dish is quick and simple, it takes just 20 minutes and provides only 280 calories. You will need your choice of whole grain pasta, smoked salmon, pistachios, Parmesan cheese, spinach, and EVO oil.

Bring water to a boil for cooking the pasta. Sauté the pistachios in a non-stick pan, and when they start to color, remove them from the heat. Blend them with the Parmesan to make the pesto, being careful not to make it too thick. Optionally, add some cooking water.

Drain the pasta and toss it in the pan with the pesto and salmon cut into cubes. The salmon pairs wonderfully with the stronger flavor of the pistachio: you’ll be amazed that this recipe is light yet so flavorful!

Quick and Light Lunch: A Second Course

For a quick and light lunch, if you prefer, you can prepare a super light and tasty second course like marinated chicken breasts with vegetables. It only takes 5 minutes to prepare them, although remember to marinate the meat two hours beforehand.

Marinated chicken breasts with vegetables have only 210 calories per serving: you won't believe it when you taste them; they’re that flavorful! To prepare them, get carrots, zucchini, chicken breasts, lemon, EVO oil, onion, garlic, chili, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.

Prepare the vegetables for marinating. Slice the onion and crush the garlic. Squeeze the lemon juice. Lay the chicken breasts on a plate and sprinkle them with onion, garlic, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cover everything with the lemon juice and let it marinate for two hours. After the time, dry the chicken off from the seasoning and grill it in a pan. Cut the zucchini and sauté them with the carrots for a few minutes over high heat. Your quick and light lunch is ready for you to enjoy. Bon appétit!

Light Lunch Diet: Here’s What to Eat When You Are on a Diet

Light lunch diet: when you're on a low-calorie regimen, you need to have a few more considerations. We recommend a simple, tasty, and nutritious recipe that can be enjoyed as a unique dish: quinoa with snow peas and cherry tomatoes. It takes about 25 minutes to prepare and provides 235 calories per serving. The dish contains many nutrients and very few fats: it’s perfect for a dietary regime.

To prepare it, obtain quinoa, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, onion, EVO oil, lemon, parsley, mint, pepper, and sesame seeds. Cook the quinoa in boiling water, drain it, and let it rest. Chop the onion and put it in a pan with oil, add the halved cherry tomatoes. Blanch the snow peas cut into diamond shapes. Combine them with the quinoa along with the cherry tomatoes and onion, season with lemon juice, oil, mint leaves, and parsley. Season with a bit of pepper, and the dish is ready!

Light and Delicious Lunch: Gratin Mafaldini

For a light and delicious lunch, try the recipe for whole grain mafaldini gratin. Although it may not seem like it, this recommended recipe provides only 210 calories per serving! To prepare them, you will need mafaldini, diced ham, milk, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Cook the pasta and drain it. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. In a baking dish, layer some pasta, sprinkle with cheese, and add the ham. Layer another layer of pasta and seasoning. Salt and pepper, pour in the milk, and cook in the oven. Serve hot!

»CHECK OUT OUR SELECTION OF WHOLE GRAIN PASTA«

Light Lunch Ideas: Rice

Light lunch ideas: rice is a precious resource! It's versatile; you can create always different recipes with simple and tasty ingredients like vegetables, meat, or fish. Try the recipe we recommend: risotto with zucchini and shrimp. It’s a unique dish, providing 413 calories, but it’s very nutritious like all risottos, and it's perfect for a light and delicious lunch.

To prepare it, get Carnaroli rice, zucchini, shrimp, broth, onion, EVO oil, and parsley. Chop the onion and parsley, wash the shrimp tails, and dry with absorbent paper. Cut them into two or three pieces and sauté them in a pan for a couple of minutes. Wash the zucchini and cut them into cubes. Put them in the pan with oil and sauté them with the onion. Add the rice, fry for a few minutes, and start adding a ladle of broth at a time. Halfway through cooking, add the shrimp tails with all their sauce, completing the cooking with the necessary broth. At the end of cooking, plate and add some parsley to each plate.

Light lunch? It’s easy to create healthy and tasty recipes with our tips. Bon appetit!

Antonella Iannò

S&M