• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Carmy - Easy Healthy-ish Recipes
  • Home
  • All Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Airfryer
    • Breakfast
    • Freezer Friendly
    • Instant Pot
    • Main Dishes
    • Meal Prep
    • Meatless
    • Sides
    • Under 60 Minute Meals
  • Meal Prep
  • Instant Pot Recipes
  • How To Tutorials
    • Meal Prep
      • Meal Prep 101: Why You Should Meal Prep, How To Meal Prep, and Other Meal Prep Tips
      • Tips To Help You Meal Prep For the Week Successfully
      • Tips for Meal Prepping on a Budget + 28 Recipes
      • Whole Chicken Meal Prep (3 Freezer Friendly Meals)
    • Meal Prep: Learning the Basics E-Book
    • How To Tutorials
      • How To Cook a Whole Chicken in an Instant Pot
      • How To Cook Chicken Breasts Perfectly
      • How to Make the Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
      • How to Press Tofu Without a Tofu Press
  • About Me
    • Collaborate With Me
    • Privacy Policy
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Instant Pot
  • Meal Prep
  • Airfryer
  • How To Tutorials
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Recipes / Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas #GlobalPulseDay

    Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas #GlobalPulseDay

    Posted: Jan 18, 2017 Last Modified: Jul 6, 2019 by Carmy · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe
    Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas

    Have you bean looking for some protein packed lunch ideas? To celebrate Global Pulse Day, here are two pulse based recipes that are great for getting your protein and fibre in!

    Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas. A tuscan bean salad and tuscan bean soup.

    The post is sponsored by #GlobalPulseDay! Thanks for supporting the brands who help make this blog possible!

    Did you know today is Global Pulse Day? To help celebrate, I’ve two recipes below that features one of my favourite type of pulse: the navy bean.

    Tuscan Bean Salad

    So what are pulses? According to Pulse Canada: Pulses are part of the legume family, but the term “pulse” refers only to the dried seed. Dried peas, edible beans, lentils and chickpeas are the most common varieties of pulses. Pulses are very high in protein and fibre, and are low in fat. Like their cousins in the legume family, pulses are nitrogen-fixing crops that improve the environmental sustainability of annual cropping systems.

    Tuscan Bean Soup

    One of my goals for 2017 was to introduce more protein and fibre into my diet while trying to reduce my carbon footprint. Adding more pulses to my diet fits the bill for both! If you want to get into the nitty gritty of how my carbon footprint is being reduced (I’m having ENV200 flashbacks learning about environmental impacts and nitrogen fixation!), you can read more here. I find that with pulses, due to their low glycemic index value, it makes me feel fuller for longer, preventing me from overeating. An alternative to meats are pulses too! When a recipe calls for meat and I don’t have any on hand, I throw in some beans.

    Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas

    For this recipe, you’ll need at least 2 bowls and a pot.

    Tuscan Bean Salad

    Have you bean looking for some protein packed lunch ideas? Here are two pulse based recipes that are great for getting your protein and fibre in!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Rate
    Prep Time: 10 mins
    Cook Time: 30 mins
    Total Time: 40 mins
    Servings: 6 servings

    Ingredients

    • 15 oz dry white navy bean
    • 1 green pepper, sliced
    • 1 red pepper, sliced
    • 1 yellow pepper, sliced
    • 1/2 red onion, sliced
    • 2 garlic cloves, diced very finely
    • 1 lemon, juice
    • 6 oz prosciutto
    • 6 oz asiago cheese, or cheese of your choice
    • Splash of olive oil
    • For the baggy: 2 pieces of parsley, bay leaf, cloves, black peppercorn

    Instructions

    • Start off by soaking your beans overnight. (Alternative: use a quick soak method or use canned beans).
    • Place beans in a pot of water with at least 1 inch of water above the beans.
    • In a cheese cloth, make a little baggy with 2 pieces of flat parsley sprigs, bay leaf, clove, and crushed black peppercorn and place in the pot of beans to simmer.
    • While the beans are simmering on medium heat, slice up the peppers, onions, and garlic.
    • Once the beans are ready, throw out the baggy of herbs and peppercorn, drain, and let the beans cool.
    • While the beans are cooling, shred your cheese into the bowl containing the vegetables.
    • Once the beans have cooled, add the beans into the bowl, pour in a splash of olive oil.
    • Add some of the juice from the lemon onto the beans and season with salt and pepper.
    • For the prosciutto, slice it up and add it when you are ready to serve.

    Notes

    The prep time does not include the bean soaking. It is up to you as to what method you'd like to use.
    Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I'm always so happy to hear about it! I'd love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I'd really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

    Nutrition Per Serving

    Serving: 6servings | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 648mg | Potassium: 1079mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 965IU | Vitamin C: 88.2mg | Calcium: 453mg | Iron: 4.6mg
    Author: Carmy
    Course: Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine: Healthy

     

    beans-8s

    For this recipe, you’ll need at least 2 bowls, a pot, and a skillet. I’ve made this Tuscan Bean Soup a million times and it is definitely on my favourite ways to get protein and fibre in!

    Tuscan Bean Soup

    Have you bean looking for some protein packed lunch ideas? Here are two pulse based recipes that are great for getting your protein and fibre in!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Rate
    Prep Time: 10 mins
    Cook Time: 40 mins
    Total Time: 50 mins
    Servings: 7 servings

    Ingredients

    • 500 g navy beans
    • 8 cups chicken stock
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 small white onion, diced
    • 5 cloves garlic, minced
    • 6 pieces bacon, finely diced
    • salt and freshly-ground black pepper , to taste

    Instructions

    • Start off by soaking your beans overnight. (Alternative: use a quick soak method or use canned beans).
    • Place beans in a pot of water with the chicken stock.
    • While the beans are simmerimg, dice the onions and mince the garlic.
    • On a skillet, cook your bacon. After the bacon has been cooked, place the bacon aside and while the bacon grease is still in the skillet, pour in the garlic and onion to cook. This gives the soup a bit of extra flavour ;)
    • Pour in the onion, garlic, bay leaf, the cooked pancetta or bacon. Add in salt/pepper to taste if necessary. Stir to combine. Continue cooking the soup until it reaches a simmer. Let the soup simmer for 10-20 minutes or until the beans are cooked throughly.
    Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I'm always so happy to hear about it! I'd love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I'd really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

    Nutrition Per Serving

    Serving: 6servings | Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 518mg | Potassium: 635mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 2.4mg
    Author: Carmy
    Course: Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine: Healthy

    So come celebrate #GlobalPulseDay with us and pick up some pulses to make for dinner tonight!

    [Tweet “Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas #GlobalPulseDay #LovePulses”]

    QOTD: What is your favourite pulse? How do you incorporate pulses into your diet?

    Other places to connect with me
    Instagram: @runcarmyrun @curiouslychasing @carmyshungry
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/runcarmyrun
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carmyycom
    Email: [email protected]
    Vlogs/Recipe Videos: Youtube
    Follow on Bloglovin

    pin it for later

    Two Protein Packed Lunch Ideas

    Click here to sign up to stay up to date with new recipes sent straight to your inbox PLUS a free ebook with 10 easy chicken recipes!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. ACKTIVE LIFE

      January 18, 2017 at 1:36 pm

      These recipes look AWESOME! I love all beans and cannot wait to try both of these sometime soon…Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    2. Connie Wong

      January 18, 2017 at 3:46 pm

      The salad is amazing !!!!!!!!!!

      Reply
      • Carmy

        January 18, 2017 at 4:28 pm

        Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Did you put the prosciutto in it??

        Reply
    3. Ange // Cowgirl Runs

      January 18, 2017 at 4:31 pm

      I LOVE me some beans! Black beans are my #1 choice, but I also enjoy navy beans.

      Reply
    4. Liz @ I Heart Vegetables

      January 18, 2017 at 5:01 pm

      Both of those sound amazing!!! I love white beans. They flavor + texture is so perfect!

      Reply
    5. Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner

      January 18, 2017 at 5:55 pm

      I love eating lots of different types of beans and as you say, great sources of fiber. I love how versatile they are too

      Reply
    6. GiGi Eats

      January 18, 2017 at 6:37 pm

      I really did love soup when I could eat them! Sadly, I can no longer- but this looks delicious! :)

      Reply
    7. Sarah

      January 18, 2017 at 6:50 pm

      Such a great idea and I have so many Northern White Beans and other beans in the cupboard that were picked up on accident (I wanted garbanzo beans/chickpeas) that I need to use up.

      Reply
    8. Jodi @ Create Kids Club

      January 18, 2017 at 7:18 pm

      These look so delicious! I am a big fan of lentils and can’t wait to try these out!

      Reply
    9. dixya @food, pleasure, and health

      January 18, 2017 at 10:04 pm

      i dont know why i dont use navy beans that often..both the recipes look delicious!

      Reply
    10. Kristin

      January 18, 2017 at 10:27 pm

      Yummy meal ideas! I love how cheap and easy meals with beans are, and I don’t make them nearly enough. Thanks for the inspiration!

      Reply
    11. abbey sharp

      January 18, 2017 at 11:59 pm

      5 stars
      I Looove chickpeas! I always roast them with different flavours as my go to snack, or bake with them too! So versatile and nutritious

      Reply
    12. Chrissy

      January 19, 2017 at 12:12 am

      I’m a fan of beans but should probably find ways to prepare more dishes with them. I don’t use navy beans much but do really love chick peas.

      Reply
    13. Mikki

      January 19, 2017 at 12:19 pm

      I love beans. When people find out that I eat mostly plants they automatically say, but where do you get your protein.. and I say BEANS!! Lol. This looks delicious!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Carmy is a healthy-ish living blogger based in Ontario. Here, you can find healthy-ish meal prep recipes, Instant Pot recipes, and lightened up family favourites! Follow along as she shares what she learns along the way!

    More about me →


    Click here
    if you’d like to collaborate with Carmy

    Popular

    • Gochujang Chicken Thighs (Grilled or Stovetop)
    • Hibachi Chicken with Fried Rice
    • Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Chicken in a Dutch Oven
    • How To Make Instant Pot Poached Eggs

    Sign up to stay up to date with new recipes straight to your inbox PLUS a free ebook with 10 easy chicken recipes!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Work with Me

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates plus a downloadable shopping list and recipes for one week's meal prep (lunches and snacks).

    Recipes

    • All Recipes
    • Meal Preps Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes

    Copyright © 2021 Carmy — Easy Healthy-ish Recipes