*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bumble Bee® Seasoned Tuna Pouch with Spoon.
A healthy meal prep recipe in a pinch! These Cuban-Style Tuna Meal Prep Bowls are gluten-free, paleo, and perfect for a well-rounded lunch! With plantain chips, fresh veggies, jalapeno tuna, and a zesty dairy-free yogurt, you’ll be powering through that midday slump!
Organized, prepped, and ready to go! That is my motto and the key to success. One of the easiest things to do for a stress-free day is to plan ahead. So many people hit the snooze on the alarm, end up rushing out the door looking like a rumpled mess and without a breakfast, chugging coffee all day, nothing healthy to eat for lunch, and they end up sitting all day with stress and anxiety bubbling up to their ears and emails and phones ringing off the hook. All of that could have been avoided if they had just planned their day the night before!
My whole life, I have always been an organized and prepared “go-getter”. My mom was lucky, both my brother and I never gave her trouble waking up early for school, getting ready, and out the door. One caveat was that she always had our lunches ready to go for us, we never had to worry. As I got older, middle school and high school, of course I started making my own lunch. Since I still wanted my mornings sacred and as stress-free (rushed-free) as possible, of course this meant I would prep lunch and everything else the night before.
When I say prepping everything the night before, I mean EVERYTHING. From laying out my clothes, packing my lunch, water bottle already tucked into the side pocket of my backpack which was ready to grab at the door. I’d even have my breakfast porridge all measured out and ready to be microwaved in a bowl. I still prep everything the night before, those habits never die! Now that I’m out on campus all day, I need to pack even more things to keep me going all day. A celiac even more food allergies can’t just hop into the dining hall either! Convenient and delicious snacks that are already seasoned and ready to go like Bumble Bee® Seasoned Tuna Pouches with Spoons are a gem to have!
A bold and lean protein option to keep you going midday, that you can eat straight from the pouch (with the cute little red spoon!) or, if you’re like me, prepare a meal prep bowl the night before and have a complete lunch ready to go! Imagine a super easy Cuban-style power bowl with jalapeno tuna, quick tostones (aka fried green plantains), crisp Romaine, fresh tomatoes and chayote squash, with a simple zesty dairy-free yogurt to tie it all together! Prepare this gluten-free and paleo bowl for your weekday lunches and you’ll be setting yourself up for success!
Cuban-Style Tuna Meal Prep Bowls
- 1 Bumble Bee® Jalapeno Seasoned Tuna Pouch
- For Tostones:
- 1 Small Green Plantain
- 1 TB Coconut Oil
- ½ Tsp Smoked Paprika
- For the Vegetables:
- Romaine Lettuce (chopped)
- A Few Tomato Wedges
- ⅓ Cup Chayote Squash (chopped)
- ½ Tsp Dried Oregano
- ½ Tsp Cumin
- ¼ Tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ Tsp Black Pepper
- For the Yogurt:
- ¼ Cup Unsweetened Plain Almond Yogurt
- 1 Tsp Lime Juice (save some lime slices to garnish)
- ½ Tsp Oregano
- Peel and slice the plantain into ¼ inch thick rounds. Heat the oil in a skillet and lightly fry the plantains for about 3 minutes, press them down and then flip them and fry another 3 minutes. Quickly toss with the smoked paprika while still hot.
- Chop enough romaine to fill your meal prep bowl and set aside.
- Toss the tomato wedges and chopped chayote squash with the vegetable spices.
- Mix the almond yogurt with the lime juice and oregano.
- To assemble your bowl, fill it first with the romaine, then add the tostones, the pouch of tuna, the tossed seasoned veggies, and fill a corner of the bowl with the zesty yogurt.
You can leave the tuna in the pouch until right before you’re ready to eat too; just another convenient option you have! A perfectly nutritious meal, to keep your day stress-free, keep you fueled-up in a healthy way, and won’t leave you in a fog fumbling for change at the vending machine! Take-away lesson? Planning ahead leads to success, productivity, and delicious food 😉
So tell me:
+ Do you plan ahead or are you always rushing around?
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Stay connected: Facebook: Strength and Sunshine Twitter: @RebeccaGF666 Instagram: rebeccagf666 Pinterest: RebeccaGF666 Bloglovin’: Strength and Sunshine Google+: Rebecca Pytell This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bumble Bee® Seasoned Tuna Pouch with Spoon.
Your Tuna Bowl looks delicious!
Thank you!
Love this! It always gives me peace of mind to know I’m totally prepared for the next day.
Yes! You can breath a sigh of relief!
Wow, you sound super organised! This looks delicious.
Enjoy!
Omg, my husband is going to love this for lunch! He’s on a journey to change his eating habits, so more subs and sandwiches for him. This is right up his alley! Pinning this.
This will satisfy and fill him right up!
This looks so delicious. Pinning! Why have I never thought of this?
It makes for such a great lunch! Thanks!
What a simple and wholesome lunch, love the Cuban flavors!
Thank you!
What a great lunch option!
Thank you!
I love tuna! This is a great healthy lunch option. Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you!
Love this healthy meal prep lunch idea! Just what I need!
Thanks, Taylor!
Love the addition of the plantain chips here Rebecca. I wish I could get plantain here in Scotland, but I still haven’t found it yet. I loved it when I tried if for the first time when I was in Uganda!
I always prep everything the night before too. Its a good habit to get into in our busy lives!
I would be a mess over in Scotland! I need all my weird exotic produce to live! Haha!
Such a creative bowl!
Thanks!
I’ve never seen anything like this. going to give it a go
I’m glad to hear it!
I love tuna and I love Cuban food, especially plantains. They are so tasty
This will be a winning meal then 😉
That looks delicious and healthy! I’m not so good at planning ahead, but I try.
Planning some lunches will be easy now!
Looks delicious – and your presentation is beautiful. I want you to come to my house and make my lunches! 😋
Haha, I would totally do that 😉
Love this! I’m gluten free AND I flip over Cuban anything. Plantains are one of my favoritest things. Great recipe!
Cuban cuisine brings all the flavor! Thank you!
LOVE the use of plantain in this – so filling.
Yes, nice and satisfying!
Yum!! I just tried that brands canned tuna today. I’d love to try this lunch 🙂
You still have the whole week to plan lunches for 😉
Great idea! I didn’t know about flavored/seasoned tuna! I always had plain.
Always have to spice it up!
Love those plantains!
Thanks!
Im at home, so I sorta plan out but I dont make ahead. Not a big tuna fan, so I shared this on twitter. I did have some awsome tostones this weekend ( at a cuban restaurant). I didnt realize how easy they were to make!
Tostones are so easy!
Growing up I hated sandwiches (who knew that it was the bread that didn’t like me!). There were no microwaves in those days so my Mom would pack soup or stew or whatever she had in a thermos and always had veggies prepped and ready to go. As I got older I would grab fruit and veggies or make a salad the night before and add chicken or tuna to it just before I left. I had a lunch bag that I could put a small ice pack in so I was good to go.
I basically work from home now so I grab anything I want when I am hungry. I need to eat 6 small meals a day so grasing is a great option. I make my hubby’s sandwiches in the mornings (he is on evening shift. Sandwiches are the easiest as he is a bus driver but we have found the most awesome GF bread that doesn’t need to be toasted and can survive being a sandwich even over night.
But the idea of prepped bowls really appeals to me. The flavoured tuna does too!
I used to love when my mom packed a thermos for something hot! Forgot about those!
You could even do these bowls for dinner!
I love random bowls! they’re so easy to whip together and so yummy!
Any meal with a bunch of ingredients thrown in a bowl is always satisfying 😉
Mmmmm! That sounds so good! Now I want tuna! haha
Haha, always that go-to protein!
Love these flavors! Wish I had this waiting for me for lunch!
Haha, it would perk up the day!
I’ve never seen the jalapeno tuna! I will have to find it, this looks delicious!
Just the right amount of spice!
What an excellent combo of flavors! Love the addition of the plantains!
Plantains are the best!
Yum, this sounds great! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
This has SO SO much flavor–I absolutely LOVE it.
It does! It will wake you up mid-day! Thanks!
I love these flavors! Perfect for a healthy, yummy lunch!
Yes! Nothing bland and boring here!