I don’t know about you, but I have been in a major lunch rut lately. When things get busy, I have a habit of falling into the ‘same lunch everyday’ trap and I eat the same thing until I am blue in the face and can’t take it any longer.
My rut as of late has consisted mainly of hummus and veggie wraps. For almost everyday for the past two months, I have had a wrap as part of my lunch because they are quick, mindless, and easy. They take 5 minutes to whip up and can be consumed in even less time!
But, it is time to change it up and spice up my lunches once again. A girl can only stay in a lunch rut for so long before she snaps. ;)
I seriously cannot fathom eating another wrap for a very long, long time.
Please tell me I am not the only one who wears out foods like this. :)
Today I have a delicious, healthy, and super quick black bean salad recipe that makes a wonderful lunch, either as the main course or as a side dish. If you are looking for a way to change up the everyday fare, this is it!
Easy Avocado-Lime Black Bean Salad
I fell in love with this black bean salad as soon as I tasted it. It is like no other black bean salad I have ever made before. The hint of lime and spicy kick from the cumin makes for an addicting and healthy salad full of protein, healthy fats, and flavour.
Adapted from The Kitchn.
Ingredients:
- Two 15-ounce can black beans
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 small shallots, diced
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4-1/2 tsp Kosher Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large avocado, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
Directions: Drain the beans thoroughly and rinse. In a large bowl add the beans and toss with lime juice, cilantro leaves, diced shallot, and ground cumin. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Peel and slice an avocado, and serve the beans at room temperature, with chopped avocado on top or mixed throughout the salad. Note that I did not have any cilantro on hand, but it still tasted delicious! Makes 3-4 servings.
Notes from original recipe: The beans will last for several days in the fridge. You can easily take this salad for lunch and bring along an avocado to chop up just before serving.
The beauty of this lunch is that it is not only healthy, packed with protein and healthy fats, but it is whipped up in a jiffy, leaving you lots of time for life’s other daily tasks.
Lunch rut, be gone.
I think I threw together this lunch in 5 minutes flat. It also makes enough for a few servings so the leftovers can be enjoyed throughout the week.
I wasn’t sure how I would like the cumin + lime flavours together, but it was actually wonderful. I could not get enough of this dish!
I had the salad with a couple slices of Ezekiel bread and some fruit for dessert. It was so filing, well-rounded, and super energizing. If you are looking to break out of a rut, I highly recommend this delicious lunch. It is going to be on my regular rotation for easy & quick lunches. :)
Are you currently in a lunch rut? Do you enjoy mixing it up for lunch or do you rely on the same foods most of the time?
I usually opt for wrap/sandwich options as well (damn time constraints!)
I promised myself to bring in some diversity and make lunches that include different grains and beans (like a seaweed balls filled with brown rice-quinua-beans mixture). And try to eat different types of food for breakfast too (otherwise I tend to fall into an oat-wheat vicious cycle).
Thank you for your blog, Angela! You’re a ray of light in my very stressful time right now. Your photography is beautiful.
I tend to stick to the same thing – a big, epic tuna salad, however it gets mixed up as I’m not always able to make it (due to being busy or out and about), so say 3 or 4 days a week I’ll have it. That allows me to not get sick of it :) Love this recipe!
Heidi xo
I don’t eat lunch often, I eat two breakfasts. It’s just how it works for me these days. I suppose that’s my rut.
The wrap sound good though! I have been in lunch ruts before and I just went with it and tried to make dinner more interesting. When you are busy food is just fuel sometimes.
I never got in lunch ruts over the summer, but now that I’m back at school, I pack a turkey, tomato, and avocado sandwich almost everyday to take to campus because it’s so easy/portable. I love being able to switch it up on weekends though!
I can’t wait to try this!
I have breakfast ruts, lunch ruts and dinner ruts ;). I’m just getting of a complete food rut caused by midterm exams :P.
I’ll definitely make this salad! Love healthy easy recipes like this one :).
I’ve been taking leftover dinner from the night before for dinner for a long time now…It’s a great way to use up leftovers, but I’m starting to miss the days where I’d make a big yummy salad for lunch every day! That black bean salad looks totally delicious :)
I’ve been in a lunch rut, too… well, kind of. I’ve been having hummus\veggie\feta sandwiches for lunch for a few weeks but I haven’t gotten sick of them yet! They’re easy and oh-so-good.
You’re black bean salad looks delicious, though. ;)
I’m not in too much of a lunch rut right now, only because I tend to bring leftovers for lunch. In the summer though when I’m home, total lunch rut.
I rely on the same foods most of the time – salad and sandwich bar for me! But I do get tired of eating the same thing over and over again… sometimes.
Cumin and Lime are the best combo…toss in some coriander and
you would have a wonderful flavor triangle!
I would say that I eat the same kinds of foods everyday for lunch, but i wouldn’t call it a rut b/c I enjoy the meals everytime :-)
I wear food out by repeating it ALL THE TIME. I totally sympathize!
Hey there!
This looks fantastic! I like the way you can follow your taste preferences and mix in wonderful healthy twists for everything!
This is a certain must-try!
That sounds wonderful! I love lime and cumin together. My favorite quickie salad dressing is Dijon mustard, lime juice and cumin. Love it! I tend to get in two-week ruts where I want for lunches one week whatever I had for dinners the week before.
Hi Angela,
What camera do you use?… u take amazing pics..
My wife and I make a version of this with Red Onion (instead of shallots) and a diced jalapeño. Our daughter absolutely loves picking out the avocado and eating them.
Oh you are so not alone on the lunch ruts. I tend to do a lot of leftovers for lunch but my breakfast is the biggest rut of all… I will often eat the same thing for months at a time… but I do like to mix it up on the weekends with fun breakfasts.
Also, yesterday’s cookies looked amazing!
Haha, I ALWAYS get in lunch ruts! But I do love them, until I get sick of them. Right now I’m in a Subway-for-lunch rut! It’s getting expensive.
That salad looks delicious, I love avocado and black beans!
Hey, I went to make this and realized that olive oil is in the ingredients list, but isn’t mentioned again and it’s not in the picture. Does it go well with this?