Colorful packed lunch ideas

It's finally May, a month of flowers, sun, green leaves, and hopefully more sun than rain. It's the perfect time to spend weekends in the park, picnics, and playing frisbee with friends. But how to keep this positive energy through the week? How about meal-prepping some colorful lunches to work? It always makes me feel more positive on a Monday morning, when I know I have a beautiful and nutritious lunch packed with me for a busy day. Below I am sharing with you 3 delicious and healthy ideas for a packed lunch:

COCONUT & MANGO CHIA PUDDING

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup chia seeds
1 can of coconut milk (light)
1/2 cup mango pulp
150 g raspberries
150 g blueberries
20 almonds
fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS: Add chia seeds to coconut milk and mix well, leave to set for around 15 minutes. Prepare mango pulp: blend 1 large ripe mango in blender / or use ready made pulp. Put chia pudding into containers and decorate with the mango pulp, raspberries, blueberries, almonds and mint leaves. Ready to eat, or store in fridge until morning.

BENEFITS: Chia are an ancient seed that is rich in fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. They are a superfood definitely worth bringing into the diet, not only for vegetarians and vegans. They have many health benefits, such as: promoting healthy skin, supporting the digestive system, lowering blood pressure, helping build strong bones and muscle, and helping with weight loss.

RAINBOW FRUIT SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 small pineapple
1 ripe mango
1 pomegranate
1 kiwi
100 g seedless grapes
150 g strawberries
1 cat (super cute)

DIRECTIONS: Peel the kiwi, mango and pomegranate. Cut the skin off the pineapple, dice all fruits into medium sized pieces, mix together in container. Ready to serve or store in frige until morning.

BENEFITS: Bringing fruit into your everyday diet is highly recommended, it's best to eat them raw, fresh and ripe to experience the health benefits. Regular consumption of fruit acts as a cleanse for the body, providing a wide range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Eating a diet rich in fruit may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and developing type-2 diabetes, it may also protect against certain kinds of cancer. It's recommended to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, so fruit up!

super PINK SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS:

150g strawberries
150 g raspberries
150 g frozen cherries / or fresh cherries
1 beetroot
1 banana
1 cup oats
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 tablespoons goji berries
1 small piece of ginger
fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS: Peel, boil and chop the beetroot, wash the fruit, defrost the cherries. Place all ingredients into blender, blend together, adding water if necessary. Serve in bowl or store in fridge in a take-away smoothie container. Ready to eat.

BENEFITS: Smoothies are the perfect way to supply your body with needed vitamins and minerals from different fruits and veggies, but also power up with protein, filling fiber and healthy fatty acids. They are quick to make and perfect for a short lunch break during the day!

Today I added some goji berries to my smoothie, they are a high antioxidant food and have many amazing health benefits. They help keep a strong immune system, promote healthy skin and eyes, balance blood sugar, detoxify the liver, and may also boost fertility and keep your mood and energy high!