The beauty of Sifted lunches is that they are build-your-own. We love to support healthy lifestyle choices and empower eaters to make those decisions every day by sending a spread of locally-sourced vegetables with every meal.
Why eat more vegetables at lunch?
Studies show that eating plant-based diets helps improve energy, stamina and decreases risks for diabetes. Also, when you don’t load yourself down at lunch, you are much more likely to skip the afternoon crash. Carbs, dairy and protein all have their place in a healthy lifestyle, but too much of any of them can leave you feeling sluggish the rest of the day.
Try something new
While we do try to build menus that are approachable for everyone, we also like to weave in creative ways to prepare vegetables and a wide array of produce so that you’ll never get bored. For example, we like to use frisee leaves in salads from time to time. It’s a less common lettuce, but we are fans of it’s crunchy texture and how it doesn’t get overwhelmed when paired with other flavors, like nuts, cheeses and vinegars. It’s something that sounds, fancy, but really is just a delicious salad.
On taco day (bless up!), eaters choose from a handful of toppings and one of our favorites is the mango peach salsa. It’s a prime example of our chefs building on top of something that’s familiar to everyone and making it our own, plus packing it with even more nutrients.
If you’ve had the Filipino pork noodles, we hope you’ve also ventured to try the spicy bok choy that often goes with them. It’s an Asian cabbage, and it’s great to cook with because you can use the whole vegetable. Bok choy is a powerhouse for Vitamins C, K and A. We love to season the bok choy with garlic and spice and believe they make a great substitute if you’re cutting down on protein at lunch.
Ugly is a good thing
At Sifted, we buy ugly produce, and we’re so proud of it! What most people don’t know is that perfectly good vegetables often get discarded because they don’t fit the mold of what a grocery store vegetable is supposed to look like - shiny and without blemishes. We like farm fresh best, so we work with farmers to source produce that may not be cosmetically beautiful, but packs the nutrients and taste we crave. It’s not something you’ll visually notice day-to-day in our meals, but it’s a story worth telling. “Ugly produce” are the building blocks of our lunches and of your energy-filled afternoons. Whether you are a vegetarian or a meat-lover, we hope you’re inspired to fill your plate with all the goodness each lunch has to offer. Step out of your comfort zone a bit and try to rely on vegetables for energy, over protein or carbs. We promise you’ll feel better, lighter and more creative.