Healthy Recipes Nutrient-Focused Diets High-Fiber Recipes High-Fiber Lunch Recipes 19 Mediterranean Diet Lunches to Help Lower Cholesterol By Dillon Evans Dillon Evans Dillon Evans fell in love with cooking at a very young age. He remembers the novel experiences of microwaving a bowl of oatmeal without his parents' permission and asking to make his mother's morning pot of coffee. These moments became catalysts for his interest in cooking and baking. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 18, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Close Photo: Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey Take steps towards lower cholesterol levels with this collection of nutritious lunches. These delicious meals align with the Mediterranean diet, which is packed with foods like omega-3-rich fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and healthy oils. By increasing your intake of monounsaturated fats, you can help decrease LDL (also called “bad”) cholesterol and increase HDL (or “good) cholesterol. Plus, each serving is low in saturated fat and offers at least 6 grams of fiber, which also can help you maintain healthy cholesterol levels, regular digestion and a healthy heart. Pack a jar of our hearty and flavorful Eat-the-Rainbow Vegetable Soup in your lunchbag for later. Or, stack our very popular Veggie & Hummus Sandwich together during break time. 01 of 19 Salmon-Stuffed Avocados Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell Canned salmon is a valuable pantry staple and a practical way to include heart-healthy, omega-3-rich fish in your diet. Here, we combine it with avocados in an easy no-cook meal. View Recipe 02 of 19 Veggie & Hummus Sandwich Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables, depending on your mood. View Recipe 03 of 19 High-Protein Tuna & Chickpea Salad Sandwich Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle This zesty tuna sandwich gets an extra boost of protein from chickpeas. Smashing some of the chickpeas into the tuna enhances the texture and helps hold the filling together. The combo of garlic and Sriracha adds a delightful kick, but feel free to opt for an alternative hot sauce of your preference or skip it altogether for a milder flavor. View Recipe 04 of 19 Eat-the-Rainbow Vegetable Soup Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall , Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This vibrant and wholesome soup recipe helps support your well-being. It’s packed with a variety of colorful vegetables, like tomatoes, which contain lycopene, a phytochemical that may help reduce inflammation. The base of the soup is prepped ahead of time and stored in separate containers. Simply add the broth and heat it in the microwave when you’re ready to eat. If you don’t wish to travel with vegetable broth or don’t have access to a microwave, you can use reduced-sodium bouillon instead and just add hot water. View Recipe 05 of 19 Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one! View Recipe 06 of 19 Green Goddess Wrap Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf A soft and silky green goddess dressing blends with crunchy fresh cucumber and tender greens in this easy wrap. If you prefer, you can ditch the wrap and enjoy the filling as a salad instead. View Recipe 07 of 19 Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato & Cucumber Sandwich Photographer: Stacy k. Allen, Props: Christina Brockman, Food Stylist: Lauren Odum This protein-packed hummus sandwich features a topping of crisp veggies, feta cheese and sweet, tangy sun-dried tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes in oil have a soft texture perfect for sandwiches. You can use dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes in their place, but you may have to rehydrate them in water to soften them before using. View Recipe 08 of 19 Black Bean-Quinoa Bowl Photography: Carson Downing, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Gabe Greco This black bean and quinoa bowl has many of the usual hallmarks of a taco salad, minus the fried bowl. We've loaded it up with pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and avocado plus an easy hummus dressing to drizzle on top. View Recipe 09 of 19 Lemony Lentil Salad with Feta This delicious and healthy lentil salad comes together in just 30 minutes and makes a wonderful hot-weather meal. Serve with whole-wheat pitas, if desired. View Recipe 10 of 19 Vegan Superfood Grain Bowls Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey This nutrient-packed grain bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwavable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahead to keep on hand for easy meal-prep lunches or dinners on busy nights. View Recipe 11 of 19 Green Goddess Salad Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell This gorgeous green goddess salad combines fresh shrimp, cucumber, artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes with homemade dressing. View Recipe 12 of 19 Strawberry-Chocolate Smoothie This creamy, rich strawberry-chocolate smoothie will satisfy any chocolate cravings. It's so decadent you might want it as a dessert, too. View Recipe 13 of 19 Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu & Peanut Dressing Prep four days' worth of high-protein vegan lunches using just four easy ingredients from your local specialty grocery store, including a veggie-heavy salad mix as a base. Because this salad mix is hearty, you can dress these bowls up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors in this healthy chopped salad to marry. If you can't find a hearty mix, go with broccoli slaw or shredded Brussels sprouts. View Recipe 14 of 19 Chickpea, Artichoke & Avocado Salad with Apple-Cider Dressing This delicious 400-calorie salad is a helpful tool for weight loss because it provides a good balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats from loads of veggies and beans, all tossed in a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. To meal-prep these for lunch throughout the week, pack the dressing and the salad separately and make sure your veggies are thoroughly dried before packing them together. View Recipe 15 of 19 Caprese Pasta Salad Photographer / Jennifer Causey, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist / Christine Keely This light and fresh caprese pasta salad is brought together with a bright and tangy dressing, with fresh mozzarella pearls adding creaminess to every bite. View Recipe 16 of 19 Kale & Chickpea Grain Bowls Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This veggie-heavy bowl is loaded with crunch and color, thanks to crispy carrots and chickpeas, fresh kale and a vibrant avocado dressing. It also delivers more than 50% of your daily dose of fiber, key for weight loss, energy and healthy digestion. Bulgur, also called cracked wheat, is a quick-cooking whole grain. These bowls would be excellent make-ahead lunches. Pack the avocado mixture separately, adding a little water to thin it as needed. View Recipe 17 of 19 Get Your Greens Wrap Sara Haas This healthy, quick wrap is packed with plenty of green vegetables—cucumber, sprouts and lettuce add crunch, avocado lends creaminess and edamame provides some plant-based protein. View Recipe 18 of 19 Piled-High Vegetable Pitas Fresh, bright flavors come alive in these easy vegetarian pitas. Give yourself enough time to make the roasted vegetables called for in the recipe—or make them a day or two in advance for a healthy meal that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. These pitas would also work well with whatever leftover cooked veggies you have on hand. No need to warm the roasted veggies up; this recipe tastes great chilled or at room temperature. View Recipe 19 of 19 High-Fiber Matcha Green Smoothie Bowl EatingWell Matcha powder and spinach give this healthy smoothie bowl a beautiful green hue. If you don't have spinach on hand, try swapping in another dark leafy green like kale. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit