No bake Apricot Nut Fifteens

March 11, 2011 By Leanne Vogel September 13, 2017

For all you new readers out there, fifteens are my way of combating a hectic lifestyle. Each fifteens recipe can be made in under 5 minutes, frozen in under 5 minutes, and enjoyed in under 5 minutes. Hence the name fifteens. [I know, I’m so clever! :P] Fifteens give us the opportunity to take 15 minutes out of our day to marvel at our food, relax, enjoy, and reflect. … before you take a moment to enjoy our food, check out the brownie and vanilla flavors too! Since we’re on the topic of time, I’ve been asked by a bunch of you:

What are your tricks for preparing quick and healthy lunches?

In addition to yesterday’s post on freezable meals, here are some of my strategies for the 10 minute lunch prep:

• Salads are your best friend. They are quick to whip up. Try making your own salad dressing and using it for the remainder of the week.
• Precooked chicken breast. I cook up 4 chicken breasts on Sunday and slice them into strips before I place a couple of strips in a ziploc bag and freeze for quick lunch packing.
• Veggie dip Mondays. On Monday I’ll make a big batch of veggie dip after work – something like hummus, or avocado cream sauce.
• Throw your grains in the crock pot and forget about it. When you get home, spend 1 minute preparing rice, quinoa, or millet in the crock pot. It will be ready before you go to bed. Divide it into containers and add frozen veg.
• Veggie sticks. When you buy your veggies, wash, cut, and bag them up! You can grab them by the handful in 10 seconds flat.
• Canned beans are the great go-to pal. Open, rinse, add to lemon, chopped veg and oil, throw the rest in the fridge.
• Staples. I change my staple weekly. A staple is usually the snack in between breakfast and lunch for me. It’s one recipe made in under 30 minutes on the weekend. It could be these, or something like this, or maybe this, or these!

Homemade lunches have really helped me stay committed to my health. Every small bit counts. If you don’t have time to pack a full lunch, why not get into the habit of taking a homemade snack with you [like the ones below]? You’d be amazed at the difference it will make to your day. I promise!     View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down) Nutrition stats [1 ball]: calories 182; fat 9g; carbohydrates 26g; dietary fiber 9g; sugars 11g; protein 5g Do you give yourself time to relax and enjoy your foods?

This entry was tagged: fifteens