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  6. 21 Diabetes-Friendly Lunches to Help Reduce Inflammation

21 Diabetes-Friendly Lunches to Help Reduce Inflammation

Leah Goggins headshot
Leah Goggins Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD May 19, 2022
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
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Chile-Garlic Salmon Bento Box with Avocado
Credit: Charlotte and Johnny Autry

Healthy ingredients that can help reduce chronic inflammation, like salmon, avocado, beans and kale, take centerstage in these delicious lunches. Each of these recipes focuses on complex carbs, like whole grains, and is low in saturated fat and sodium, so they're a perfect fit for your diabetes-friendly routine. Whether you're in the mood for a light weekend lunch from the grill or a packable grain bowl to take to work, recipes like our Chile-Garlic Salmon Bento Box with Avocado and Chickpea & Roasted Red Pepper Lettuce Wraps with Tahini Dressing are tasty choices you can feel good about.

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Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce

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In a vegan riff on green goddess dressing, cashews provide a creamy base with tons of flavor from herbs and apple-cider vinegar. Drizzle it all over this bowl of quinoa and roasted vegetables to make a satisfying vegan dinner or easy packable lunch that is ready in just 30 minutes.

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Chickpea & Roasted Red Pepper Lettuce Wraps with Tahini Dressing

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A tangy, nutty tahini dressing brings together no-cook ingredients like canned chickpeas and roasted red peppers for these easy meal-prep lettuce wraps. Make these wraps ahead of time for a grab-and-go lunch or dinner. A few wedges of warm pita finish off the meal perfectly.

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Vegetable Weight-Loss Soup

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A big bowl of this veggie-packed minestrone will leave you satisfied for hours without consuming a lot of calories, which is helpful when trying to lose weight. Plus, it's an easy way to boost your vegetable servings for the day—something all of us could benefit from. Top with a dollop of pesto before devouring this delicious vegetable soup and consider serving with a hunk of toasted whole-wheat bread to help round out the meal.

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Chile-Garlic Salmon Bento Box with Avocado

Chile-Garlic Salmon Bento Box with Avocado
Credit: Charlotte and Johnny Autry
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Keeping salmon in your freezer means you always have something on hand for dinner, and—bonus!—you can cook it from frozen as we do here.

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Winter Greens Bowl

Winter Greens Bowl
Credit: Ali Redmond
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This one-pan meal packs in lots of plant-based protein and flavor thanks to beans and quinoa, while a creamy lemon-garlic dressing completes the dish. 

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Salmon Rice Bowl

Salmon Rice Bowl
Credit: Ali Redmond
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Inspired by the viral TikTok trend, this tasty bowl makes for a satisfying lunch or dinner. With a handful of healthy ingredients, like instant brown rice, heart-healthy salmon and lots of crunchy veggies, you'll have a filling and flavorful meal in just 25 minutes. Looking to cut down on carbs? Try swapping in riced cauliflower in place of the brown rice.

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Farro Salad with Arugula, Artichokes & Pistachios

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Precooked farro makes this dish come together in no time. And you can make it in the same bowl you serve it in, minimizing cleanup!

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Goddess Veggie Bowls with Chicken

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Dark green dinosaur kale contrasts with the warm tones of bell peppers and tomatoes in these hearty chicken and veggie bowls.

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Spring Veggie Wraps

Spring Veggie Wraps
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A tangy tahini-ginger-soy mixture both marinates the tofu and serves as a sauce for this colorful veggie wrap recipe. Look for spinach tortillas for an additional pop of green.

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Greek Chicken & Cucumber Pita Sandwiches with Yogurt Sauce

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Cucumbers do double duty in this healthy Greek chicken pita recipe--they're grated to lend a refreshing flavor to the quick cucumber-yogurt sauce and sliced to provide cool crunch tucked into the pita. Serve these Mediterranean sandwiches for a healthy dinner or light lunch.

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Salmon Burgers with Quick Pickled Cucumbers

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These healthy salmon burgers call for canned salmon, which makes them an economical and easy dinner. The quick-pickled cucumbers in this recipe are a great introduction to the world of pickling. If you enjoy them, you can make additional batches by following Steps 1 and 2.

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Charred Vegetable & Bean Tostadas with Lime Crema

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Pile vegetables and black beans onto crisp tostadas and top them off with lime crema for a vegetarian dinner the whole family will love. Charring the vegetables under the broiler infuses them with smoky flavor while cooking them quickly.

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Green Goddess Quinoa Bowls with Arugula & Shrimp

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We're taking advantage of all the healthy items you can find at your local specialty grocery store to create these healthy meal-prep lunches. To add extra protein (while minimizing prep time), we're using fully cooked quinoa and cooked shrimp, both of which you can find in the freezer section. With a few more simple items, including bottled salad dressing, you'll have all the ingredients you need to make these high-protein lunch bowls in under 20 minutes.

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Chipotle-Orange Broccoli & Tofu

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Chipotle peppers add kick to this tofu and broccoli stir-fry recipe. If you're shy about spice, cut back on the amount or leave them out completely. Serve over brown basmati rice.

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Mixed Greens with Lentils & Sliced Apple

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This salad with lentils, feta and apple is a satisfying vegetarian entree to whip together for lunch. To save time, swap in drained canned lentils--just make sure to look for low-sodium and give them a rinse before adding them to the salad.

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Mason Jar Power Salad with Chickpeas & Tuna

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This power salad will keep you fueled for hours, thanks to 26 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. Tossing the dressing and kale, and then letting it stand in the jar, softens it enough so you don't need to massage or cook it to make it tender.

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Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing

a blue bowl full of chicken and vegetables and a smaller bowl with dressing
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For this healthy 30-minute dinner, treat your veggies like pasta and cook until al dente, or just done. If you have a little extra time, double or triple the lemon-tahini dressing and use it to quickly dress a salad or as a sauce for steak or shrimp.

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Meal-Prep Chili-Lime Chicken Bowls

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Skip takeout and whip up these equally delicious, and easy-to-make burrito bowls at home. They're great for a fast and easy dinner or as meal-prep lunches to pack for work throughout the week.

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Winter Kale & Quinoa Salad with Avocado

Winter Kale & Quinoa Salad with Avocado
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Precooked quinoa helps keep this healthy salad recipe quick and simple. Loaded with black beans, kale, and avocado, this recipe is as filling as it is nutritious. You can also make the sweet potatoes and dressing ahead.

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Southwest Black-Bean Pasta Salad Bowls

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Meal-prep a week's worth of delicious and satisfying high-fiber lunches with just 5 simple ingredients and 20 minutes. In this Southwestern-style pasta salad, we're using pasta made with black beans to bump up the fiber to an impressive 14 grams per serving. Paired with seasoned chicken strips and a flavorful corn salad--shortcut ingredients you can often find at your local specialty grocery store--this meal-prep lunch is one you'll get excited for.

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Spiced Grilled Chicken with Cauliflower "Rice" Tabbouleh

spice grilled chicken
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Chicken breasts on the grill have a smoky flavor that's enhanced with an easy spice rub. We chose flat-leaf parsley in this salad because it has a stronger herbal taste than its sometimes-bitter curly counterpart.

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    1 of 21 Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce
    2 of 21 Chickpea & Roasted Red Pepper Lettuce Wraps with Tahini Dressing
    3 of 21 Vegetable Weight-Loss Soup
    4 of 21 Chile-Garlic Salmon Bento Box with Avocado
    5 of 21 Winter Greens Bowl
    6 of 21 Salmon Rice Bowl
    7 of 21 Farro Salad with Arugula, Artichokes & Pistachios
    8 of 21 Goddess Veggie Bowls with Chicken
    9 of 21 Spring Veggie Wraps
    10 of 21 Greek Chicken & Cucumber Pita Sandwiches with Yogurt Sauce
    11 of 21 Salmon Burgers with Quick Pickled Cucumbers
    12 of 21 Charred Vegetable & Bean Tostadas with Lime Crema
    13 of 21 Green Goddess Quinoa Bowls with Arugula & Shrimp
    14 of 21 Chipotle-Orange Broccoli & Tofu
    15 of 21 Mixed Greens with Lentils & Sliced Apple
    16 of 21 Mason Jar Power Salad with Chickpeas & Tuna
    17 of 21 Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing
    18 of 21 Meal-Prep Chili-Lime Chicken Bowls
    19 of 21 Winter Kale & Quinoa Salad with Avocado
    20 of 21 Southwest Black-Bean Pasta Salad Bowls
    21 of 21 Spiced Grilled Chicken with Cauliflower "Rice" Tabbouleh

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    21 Diabetes-Friendly Lunches to Help Reduce Inflammation
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