Protein box lunches with meat and cheese wraps will save your life and satisfy your hunger on crazy busy days. These boxes are packed with variety too. Ham, cheese and Dijon wraps; Buffalo chicken and jalapeno wraps; hummus with raw veggies; mixed roasted nuts and a little sweet treat!
Protein Box Lunches with Meat and Cheese Wraps
Do you ever find yourself on a busy day just wishing you could reach into the fridge and grab a delicious, healthy, and satisfying lunch? One you could even take with you to work, or to school, or to the movies? (The movies are wishful thinking on my part.) If this describes you, then making these protein box lunches with meat and cheese wraps will make your lunch wishes come true.
I love protein boxes (as you can see here, here and here). They’re perfect for meal planning, easy to put together, give you lots of options and keep you from stopping at your favorite fast food place when hunger strikes. These protein boxes feature meat and cheese wraps for the main course. And not just one, but two kinds of delicious meat and cheese wraps! Because variety. Variety will keep you excited about your homemade lunches. How about a classic ham, havarti & Dijon wrap, and then a spicier Buffalo chicken, pepperjack cheese & jalapeno wrap?
Speaking of variety, how about adding hummus with sliced sweet peppers and baby carrots, some roasted mixed nuts and a piece of leftover Christmas chocolate? I say yes. If you didn’t buy bags of Christmas chocolates on clearance after the holiday like I did (how did you resist?!?), put in whatever little sweet treat you have on hand.
The Ingredients:
Of course you don’t have to make two different kinds of wraps. But, why not? I personally have trouble making decisions, so I decided not to and went with both. I went to the deli and picked out two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, and also picked up a tub of hummus. When I ordered the meats, I asked the deli guy to slice them “for sandwiches”. This usually gives you the right thickness, not too thin, not too thick, to roll your wraps. But use whatever terminology you and your deli guy or gal have worked out. For the cheese, I bought the prepackaged, sliced kind, but you could have the deli do that as well.
For the ham and cheese wraps I like black forest ham and havarti cheese. Havarti is flavorful and soft, perfect for rolling in a wrap. For the spicy wrap option I used sliced Buffalo chicken and pepperjack cheese.
After the deli I hit up the produce department for crunchy veggies to go with the hummus, and some jalapenos and lettuce for the wraps. When I got home from the store, I grabbed the Dijon mustard, mixed nuts and chocolates out of the cupboard and got to work!
The Preparation:
When I was experimenting with these wraps, I thought they might be hard to eat, or that I’d miss the “bread” part of the wrap – but no. For the ham and cheese wraps, you’ll start by laying four slices of ham on a cutting board. Next spread about a 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard on each piece. Because what goes better with ham and cheese than Dijon mustard? Nothing, so that’s what I used. (If you don’t agree, keep it to yourself and use some regular yellow mustard and/or mayo instead.) Next you’ll lay two slices of harvarti cheese on top. I used two slices so the entire piece of ham would be covered. You can make a game day call on how many pieces of cheese you use. Finally, you’ll sprinkle on a little chopped lettuce. Now roll each wrap up from the short end and cut them half.
*As a side note, the instructions and recipe are for making four of each kind of wrap. This is for no other reason than I only have four of my favorite Rubbermaid containers.
To make the Buffalo chicken wraps I used two pieces of chicken so they’d be more substantial. Just like with the ham and cheese wraps, you’ll start by laying the chicken on a cutting board. Next you’ll place a slice of pepperjack cheese on top. Use however much cheese it takes to cover most of the chicken. Now comes the spicy and crunchy part – place a couple thin slices of fresh jalapeno on the bottom of the chicken. This step is completely optional, but it’s delicious and not too hot, so do it. Finally, roll the wraps up from the jalapeno side, then cut them in half.
Aren’t they pretty?
Wrap the wraps tightly in plastic wrap (try saying that three times fast) and then you can start getting the rest of the ingredients together. Put about a 1/4 cup of your favorite hummus in small covered containers. I sliced up some sweet red, orange and yellow peppers to dip in the hummus, along with baby carrots.
Lastly you’ll place about a 1/4 cup of mixed nuts into four small baggies.
It’s time to start assembling the boxes! As I said, I love these Rubbermaid containers and I need to order more of them so I can make more than four protein boxes at a time. They’re a perfect size (I used the 3.2 cup size), they’re leak proof, and they’re super heavy duty.
Once you start assembling, it’s sort of a spacial relations exercise to figure out how to get everything in your lunch box. After experimenting a little I found that if you stack one of each kind of wrap on one side of the box, then a hummus container and bag of mixed nuts will fit on the other side. I know, I should have been an engineer like my Dad and my brother. Definitely missed my calling.
Next you’ll lay some carrots and sliced peppers on top of the baggie. For the final touch, tuck a piece of chocolate into each box before you seal them.
The Payoff:
Boom! Four delicious, nutritious protein box lunches with meat and cheese wraps are ready to go. Or five, or six, or more – it’s up to you and your containers!
Here they are all sealed up and ready to go in the fridge.
Here’s the link to the containers I like (this is an affiliate link, it doesn’t change the cost for you!).
Disclaimer: any links to products in this post may be affiliate links. This means I would get a small commission if the product was purchased. I only link to products I like and use myself, or are similar to what I use. Thanks for your support!
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Protein Box Lunches with Meat and Cheese Wraps
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Protein box lunches with meat and cheese wraps will save your life and satisfy your hunger on crazy busy days. These boxes are packed with variety too. Ham, cheese and Dijon wraps; Buffalo chicken and jalapeno wraps; hummus with raw veggies; mixed roasted nuts and a little sweet treat!
Ingredients
For the ham and cheese wraps:
- 4 slices of black forest ham
- 8 slices of harvarti cheese
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup chopped lettuce, I used butter lettuce
For the Buffalo Chicken wraps:
- 8 slices Buffalo chicken deli meat
- 4 slices pepperjack cheese
- 8 thin slices of jalapeno (sliced the long way)
Other Ingredients:
- 1 cup of hummus, divided evenly into four small, covered containers
- baby carrots or carrot sticks
- sliced sweet red, orange and/or yellow bell peppers
- 1 cup of mixed nuts, divided evenly into four snack sized baggies
- 4 pieces of dark chocolate
Instructions
- To make the ham and cheese wraps: Lay the slices of ham on a cutting board; spread with 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard (or mayo if you don’t like mustard); lay two slices of havarti on each piece of ham; sprinkle some lettuce on top; finally, roll the ham up from the short end, cut the wrap in two, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
- To make the Buffalo chicken wraps: lay the slices of chicken on a cutting board; place a slice of pepperjack cheese on top; lay two thin slices of jalapeno at the bottom of each slice of chicken; finally, roll the chicken up from the end with the jalapeno, slice in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
- Assemble the boxes: stack a ham and cheese wrap and a Buffalo chicken wrap on top of each other on one side of your box; place the container of hummus and the bag of mixed nuts on the other side; lay the carrots and peppers on top of the nuts; tuck your little piece of chocolate on top and seal the boxes.
- Store in your refrigerator until you are ready for a delicious protein packed lunch! Or breakfast, or dinner.
