Scandinavian Lunch Prep | Eat Healthy Like a Swede

Healthy Scandinavian Lunch Meal Prep. An easy and tasty solution for a healthy new year. Salmon salad is served with nutritious crackers and veggie sides. Prepare lunches for the whole week without the guilt.

I don’t know about you but I am overdue for a nutritious re-boot.  The holiday snackage in the break rooms at our hospital is insane.  Holiday love from our hospital friends has been super sweet and super sweet.  I am ready for some meal planning as a defensive move and get back on track.  Are you with me?

What is meal prep?

Meal prep can be any method that makes eating meals easy.  The premise is that you work ahead of time to make eating or cooking meals later, much easier and faster.  This is super important if you are planning your weeknight dinners or work lunches.

One simple method I have used in the past includes boiling boneless, skinless chicken ahead of time and keeping it in the fridge.   Then during the week I would use it to make salads, sandwiches, soup, quesadillas, tacos etc.  This is really handy and you will eat healthier than stopping for fast food or take-out on the way home from a hectic work day.

Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite meal preps for lunch.  This meal prep is inspired by a recent binge watching of New Scandinavian Cooking on PBS.  Have you seen this show?  Who is your favorite chef?  So far Andreas Viestad is my favorite with Tina Nordstrom a close second.

Andreas was making me hungry with his many seafood dishes and then meal prep was on my mind, because you know, holiday binge eating snacking and such things of that nature were happening.  So this Scandinavian-healthy-meal-prep -for-lunch-thing was born.  I really need this in my life right now.

Scandinavian Meal Prep

This plan is for lunches all week.  What makes this plan unique is that the sides are changed up a bit with some easy, traditional alternatives that add variety to your weekday lunches.  Unlike most meal plans, you won’t be eating exactly the same items each day which will prevent Leftover Syndrome.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Symptoms include good intentions followed by shoving storing Thursday and Fridays lunch in the back of the fridge, where it will be ‘forgotten’ and a quick pizza delivery suddenly happens during a busy workday because you ‘deserve it’.  This is finished up by a round of guilt and a repeating of symptoms the following week.

The Plan

A simple and easy salmon salad is made with canned salmon and a few staples you may already have in your fridge.  This is quickly mixed up in a medium bowl.

Next, potatoes are chopped and boiled until fork tender, drained and mixed in a another bowl with just a few ingredients you probably already have.  This makes a tasty, traditional Scandinavian potato salad.

A robust cheese is sliced and quick pickles are made from cucumbers and beets.  For an even quicker prep, buy jarred pickles of different varieties.  I like a garden variety which usually include gherkins, carrots and bell peppers.  Cauliflower or beets are also AMAZING.

Assemble five different meal prep containers with a serving of salmon salad, crackers, cheese and your choice of pickles or potato salad.  Fresh fruit or canned mandarin oranges are a great touch too and if you switch these out, you have even more variety.

What to buy for this meal prep

• 15 oz canned salmon
• 2 large waxy potatoes or red potatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 can of cooked beets, either sliced or julienned.
• A wedge of your favorite cheese. I like Dunmore by Kerrygold.
• Wasa crackers, melba toasts go well too or Triscuits.
• 1 lemon
• red onion
• A jar of pickled vegetables, or you can make your own.
• 1 apple
• 2 cans of mandarin oranges slices

You will also need these staples:

• mustard, either plain, brown or dijon
• vinegar, preferably apple cider vinegar
• dill, dried is OK
• salt
• star anise or cloves
• mayo

Meal Prep Containers

Pro Tips for successful meal prep

Variety is key.  We eat with our eyes too so be sure to change out the sides so you don’t get meal prep fatigue.  Substitutions should be healthy also.  Change up your lunch plan every week.

Plan ahead. It’s easier to prep this on Sunday or the night before work instead of workday mornings.

Benefits of Scandinavian Meal Prep lunches

This plan is based on the Nordic diet which is full of lean, healthy foods such as veggies and fish.  Eating this type of food may result in weight loss and feeling more alert as compared to eating take-out, fast food or in the cafeteria everyday.

By using canned salmon, a few shelf items and some produce, you can save money with your lunches as well as a lot of time not cooking.

You can save time in the mornings by having your lunches ready to go the night before.

Good luck on all of your resolutions, may your future be healthy, happy and bright!

Bon Appetit!

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