If we’ve met, worked together, bumped into each other and especially if you know me personally you know I almost always carry a big bag. Why? It’s because I, without a doubt will have some sort of snack and water with me at all times wherever I go. So when I know I’ll be having a super long work day coming up I pretty much ALWAYS will pre-pack my lunch…..just in case we’re short on time, lunch isn’t provided on set or if my tummy doesn’t agree with what they’re serving. So I’ll whip up something simple, healthy and wholesome either the night before or, if I have time, that morning. I try to do the same for my super busy hubs, who, in most cases, will grab whatever is convenient and easy (usually on the not-so-healthy side) or will forget to have lunch altogether.

I made this SUPER EASY prawn and veggie noodle dish the other day for the hubs to take for lunch and he gave it a two thumbs up and totally loved it. Sorry the picture isn’t the best – I just did a quick snap so I could share it with you guys. 😛 It was soooo easy to make and the best thing is, it tastes just as good eaten hot or cold. So it makes it that much more of a great dish to take along with you for lunch, especially if you aren’t able to heat it up later. Here it is…..

What you need:

• 10 prawns 
• 1/3 packet of brown rice pasta noodles
• 1/2 cup stock (I used garlic and herb but any stock will do)
• 1/2 bunch of spinach
• 5 mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 onion
• 1 red chilli
• 1 TB sesame oil
• salt/pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Prepare noodles following the instructions on the packet.
2. While noodles are boiling, chop up your veggies.
3. Heat half of the stock in a skillet and sauté onions until semi translucent.
4. Add in garlic, chilli, mushrooms and continue to sauté.
5. Gradually add more stock as needed while cooking (not too much to prevent from everything getting soggy).
6. Add prawns to the veggies and continue to sauté until prawns turn pink and curl.
7. Once the veggies and prawns are just cooked, add in chopped spinach at the end and turn off heat.   **spinach will cook immediately even with the littlest amount of heat. It’s important not to overcook them so you don’t kill away all of its nutrients 😉
8. The noodles should be done at this point. We want noodles thoroughly cooked through but not too soft and mushy. (We’re going for “al dente”)
9. Drain noodles and rinse slightly with filtered water. (I find rice pasta can become quite starchy so I like to rinse it a little before using it in a dish)
10. Mix noodles with the veggies and prawns with a drizzle of sesame oil and toss together.
11. Add salt/ pepper to taste if necessary

That’s about it! You can use any other vegetables or even chicken pieces if you’d like. It’s just a very simple dish that takes less than 30 mins to prepare – its a tasty, gluten and guilt free meal thats wholesome and hits the spot! 🙂