You want to avoid the workplace lunch blues when you’re on a cleanse. After all, lunch is one of the most-looked-forward-to times of the day. With that in mind, here are 5 ideas to try out. Modify any of them as you see fit and enjoy!

Portabella, sprout, and cheese sandwich.
A simple vegetarian sandwich. Whole grain bread, sliced baby Swiss cheese, a handful of bean sprouts, a little Dijon mustard. For a little extra calorie boost (if you burn more during the day for work for fun), consider a little guacamole in place of the mustard. You have a little bit of everything here – protein, fiber, trace minerals, and great taste!

Hummus, cream cheese pita, carrots, and more.
Great option if you can brown bag your lunch and have time for a sit-down meal halfway through your day. Just check out the hummus recipe, and then pack along some strips or wedges of your favorite pita bread, carrot sticks, broccoli, and any other veggie. To make it slightly more filling, bring along a little low-fat cream cheese. The mere process of “dipping” will slow down your pace slightly, making lunch a more thoughtful, peaceful oasis in the center of your work day.

Chicken, baby spinach salad with walnuts and grated gruyere cheese.
Pretty easy to pack along in a lunch container. Just pull apart up some leftover chicken breast meat, sprinkle over a romaine/baby spinach mix of greens, add some walnuts to double as croutons, and grate up some gruyere cheese over the whole thing. For a dressing, drizzle just a little (no more than a tablespoon) of extra-virgin olive oil on it, too. 

(Gruyere is just another form of Swiss cheese, from the Alps region of the French and Swiss border. Domestic varieties will work, but the best flavor tends to come from the source – consider “Comte” from France. It has a range of mellow, earthy flavors that won’t disappoint. It’s excellent grated and baked on French onion soup.)

Mushroom-heavy (but still light, yet filling) salad.
Mushrooms can be a healthy, filling meat substitute when you’re on a cleanse. Prepping a salad to take to work might require a little more work in the morning, but not a whole lot. Simply slice up the mushrooms of your choice (wonderful when they’re available in season at your local farmers market) and use as a topping over a spicier mix, including radicchio and arugula. (You can tone it down slightly with a little romaine.) Add shredded carrots, a few cherry tomatoes (wonderful if plucked from your own garden) and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Snack pack lunch of almond butter cracker sandwiches and more.
Generally, most crackers are extremely processed and lack fiber. How this is possible when they start off as grain is difficult to fathom, but there it is. Luckily, there are some national brands with high-fiber and whole grain versions out there. This is a simple, “snacky” lunch. Just try our almond butter recipe and make a few sandwich crackers. Pack along a banana, orange, or apple, and consider sneaking in a hard-boiled egg for an extra protein boost that will keep you going through the afternoon, too.

A general thought about the brown bag lunch during a cleanse…
Wraps are easy to make, but don’t fall into the “lunchmeat trap.” Processed lunch meat contains all kinds of things you’re trying to avoid when you’re on a cleanse. Instead, use the lean meats (or mushrooms, or veggie and rice combos) you’ve cooked up for dinners for the next day’s lunch. Just wrap it in a high-fiber tortilla or pita, and you have a quick and easy meal.