Soups, broths and chowder recipes for hot and healthy packed lunches

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/29/healthy-packed-lunch-soup-broth-chowder-recipes

Version 0 of 1.

For many of us, in spite of the moody, cold weather outside, January’s lunches were an odd assortment of sushi and salads in an attempt to offset December’s inevitable calorific excesses. Valiant though these efforts were, this crudité overload is a motivation killer. The weather is only bound to get worse. And the siren call of pie and mash is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore. What you really need to sustain those January ambitions and protect that painful diet investment is something hot but healthy, on the double. Soups, broths and chowder are where it’s at.

• Try a Vietnamese-inspired fish chowder: poach some skinless and boneless pollock or haddock in simmering low-fat coconut milk, fish stock with grated ginger, chilli, lemongrass, coriander stalks, and a small peeled, sliced potato. Reheat at work and finish with coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon.

• A simple chunky tomato and vegetable soup will fill you up and keep for a few days in the fridge, so make as big a batch as you need. Slowly cook lots of onions, celery and carrot on a low heat in a small amount of olive oil (lid on). Add a can of tomatoes, crushed garlic, and top up with vegetable stock. Serve with a spoonful of basil paste made with bashed garlic, basil leaves and salt (pack separately and add to your bowl when ready to eat).

• Cover a chicken breast with water (around 500ml) in a pot and poach along with a pinch of salt, a thumb-sized piece of ginger, a small clove of garlic and a sprinkling of pepper. When cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and shred. Add a splash of soy and fish sauce and a squeeze of lime and bring the broth to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the flavours have come together. Pack the chicken in a small container, along with some spinach leaves, half a sliced red chilli and a lime wedge. When you are ready to eat, pour the broth (either reheated or kept warm in a thermos) over the chicken and spinach. Top with the chilli and a squeeze of fresh lime.

• Enjoy any of the above soups with a slice of fresh bread – we always go for rye.

Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing are authors of The Little Book of Lunch (Square Peg)