Soups in a Jar

For quick and healthy lunches, stock up on 1-pint jars for portable and perfectly portioned salads and soups. This Italian soup packs 10g of protein in a meal that's less than 250 calories. Layer up and refrigerate as many jars as you need—just add hot water at the office. If sending this kid-friendly soup to school in a lunch box, pack in an insulated thermos and top off with hot water at home. Use a spiralizer to make fun zucchini noodles, or a vegetable peeler for ribbons. Or just finely chop for faster prep.

This Japanese breakfast mainstay often served alongside eggs, pickles, rice, and fish also makes a quick and healthy lunch. You can throw it together in just 10 minutes for a dish that's low in sugar and calories. Brown rice noodles, mushrooms, and a hard-cooked egg make this vegetarian soup—and staff favorite—hearty and satisfying. That said, you could easily add meat if you like; leftover roast pork would be ideal. White miso gives a slightly sweet flavor to this Japanese soup, and we have plenty of uses for this versatile soybean paste packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals.

In just five minutes, you can layer this quick meal for today's lunch. The combination of sun-dried tomato chicken sausage and 1/2 cup chickpeas packs a whopping 20g of protein into this soup. Prepared pesto creates a rich flavor base for this Mediterranean-inspired soup; we've found that refrigerated versions taste fresher and more vibrant. Our 5-ingredient homemade pesto adds a little extra time, but offers fresh flavor you can use for pizza, pasta, and a host of other dishes. If you have a spiralizer; you can make lovely carrot noodles in place of matchstick-cut carrots. You can also use this handy tool to create swirly vegetable noodles for dishes like our Zucchini Noodles Tossed in a Cilantro-Avocado Pesto.