Lunch is always a tricky one, sandwiches can get boring and come with an inbuilt afternoon carb crash, eating out gets very expensive and all that packaging is just unsustainable. Below are a few examples of easy recipes that I find tasty and satisfying - just mix up whichever ingeredients you have handy or particularly like, you don’t need to add them all, sometimes I just pick 3 or 4 for elegance and simplicity.

Basic Vinaigrette
1 fork full of wholegrain or dijon mustard
2 big glugs balsamic
3 big glugs extra virgin olive oil
S&P

This is my essential vinaigrette, it was taught to me by my French mum, and her by her grandmother, passed down through the generations from rural France to Paris and now London, it is a simple recipe that never fails to bring ot the best in any salad - and actually I have poshed it up, you can even make it with malt vinegar and english mustard if you are desperate!

Mix ingredients in an empty mustard (or similar) jar in the order above, close jar and shake to mix, mixture should be unctuous (add more oil if too thin).

Lentil salad
Basic salad
Puy lentils, sundried toms, basil, handful red onion, fresh goats cheese (no rind), vinagrette

Variations - parsley/basil, real toms/sundried, feta/goat’s cheese, pepper/red onion
Also add - brown rice, chilli flakes, salami/chorizo, rocket

1 Cook lentils for 30 mins
2 Once cooled a little, add chopped up cold ingredients
3 Fridge until morning when you can add a good glug of vinaigrette, mix well and take to work to enjoy in the park at lunchtime (or at your desk if it is one of those days…)

Pasta Salad
Basic salad
Bow/fusili/penne pasta, basil, toms, black/green olives, sweetcorn/chopped peppers

Also add - tuna/feta/ham, capers, parsley, small tablespoon of mayonnaise

1 Cook pasta for 10-11 mins
2 Once cooled a little, add chopped up cold ingredients
3 Fridge until morning when you can add a good glug of vinaigrette, mix well

Other tasty lunches:

Hummus and crudites, cottage cheese and cucumber in wholmeal pittas (add some chopped olives, basil and sundried toms for extra taste - assemble as you eat) or LEFTOVERS, never underestimate how too much dinner can turn into next day lunch, tom dishes in particular taste fabulous left overnight, add a hunk of bread or a side of salad to complete the feast.