One of the worst feelings is waking up in the morning before school and not having anything to pack for lunch. Usually I end up throwing something together that I don’t really like and that isn’t very healthy either. This week I am sharing a great recipe that you can make ahead of time and pack for lunch all week: a lunch bowl! A lunch bowl is basically just a giant salad, but this one is filled with sweet potatoes, chickpeas, cucumbers, and tomatoes; and it tastes delicious!

One of my all time favorite ingredients to cook with are sweet potatoes. They are high in vitamin B6 which decreases the risk of heart disease; vitamin D, which strengthens your immune system; and are a great source of iron, magnesium, and potassium. Not only are sweet potatoes healthy, but they also very versatile and can be used in almost any recipe.

You can roast, grill, bake, or even steam sweet potatoes. You can add them to salads, wraps, or even eat them plain as sweet potato fries! In addition to the sweet potatoes, chickpeas are filled with health benefits and are super delicious! Chickpeas can reduce cholesterol, aid in weight loss, and can reduce the risk of type 2 Diabetes. Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are low in calories, but high in dietary fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals.

The recipe yields one serving, but if you want enough food to last a couple of days, feel free to double or triple the recipe. Although the recipe does take some time to make, you only have to check the sweet potatoes once while baking, so you can multitask and do other things while baking the potatoes. Also, as a side note, make sure you pack the dressing in a separate container so as not to make the salad soggy while it’s sitting in your lunchbox. Enjoy!

The Best Lunch Bowl

Ingredients:

-1 small sweet potato

-A handful of arugula

-1/2 can of chickpeas

-1/3 of a large cucumber

-Half a dozen cherry tomatoes

-1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes

-1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

For the dressing:

-1/2 of a teaspoon of honey

-1/2 of a lemon

-3 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚. While the oven is preheating, cut the sweet potatoes into wedges, arrange on a baking tray, sprinkle with cinnamon, salt, and olive oil. Place sweet potatoes in the oven and bake for an hour.
2. After thirty minutes of the sweet potatoes baking, add the chickpeas to the tray. Drain and rinse them from the can and then sprinkle them over the sweet potatoes with chili flakes. Let these bake together for another thirty minutes.
3. A couple of minutes before the sweet potatoes and chickpeas are finished baking, chop the cucumber and tomatoes into small pieces and mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl.
4. Let the sweet potatoes and chickpeas cool, then add the cucumber, tomatoes, arugula, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas to an air tight container. Add the dressing to another small container and use for lunch the next day!