When a rugby game is scheduled on a school day afternoon, this no bread high protein packed lunch fuels your body without the sluggishness of a sandwich.

Lean protein and rice to provide energy, keep you full and digest well before you head out to the pitch.

Apparently plain rice is dry and boring in a packed lunch, so flavour your rice with either of these options. Mexican rice or Quinoa work well here too.

Chicken and/or Beef Fajita with Turmeric Rice

Ingredients for Fajita meal for 4 people

• 500-600g chicken breast or beef steak sliced into strips
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 brightly coloured peppers, sliced
• 1 packet Fajita seasoning mix
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1 teaspoon vegetable or chicken stock powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 bay leaves

Method

Cook the rice first.

Rince rice in cold water in a sieve, and drain. In a lidded saucepan, heat 2 cups of water, then add the rice, stock, salt, turmeric, bay and bring to the boil. Move the pot to your smallest / lowest heat setting on the hob and simmer with the lid on for 20min. During this time, every 5min or so give it a good stir so it doesn’t stick, put lid back on, and complete when rice is ready (which takes ~ 20min).

Slice the protein into strips, the onions and peppers, and set aside. Heat light olive oil in a griddle pan or large heavy based frying pan and when hot, add the meat.

For beef, just sear on all sides, and remove from the meat before it’s fully cooked to keep it juicy (it will cook more when it rests and is added back to the vegetables). For chicken, take a similar approach but ensure chicken is just cooked before you remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions to the meat pan, and cook for 3 min. Now add the peppers and cook another 3 min, then add the meat to the veggies.

Stir in the Fajita seasoning and ensure meat is cooked to your liking.

Portion up the packed lunch in your container before tucking into this meal. Add a little pot of sauce which is simply plain yoghurt mixed with some shop-bought mint sauce or tahini.

BBQ Chicken and Middle Eastern-inspired Rice

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size chunks
• Salt & pepper to season
• 1/2 cup Shop-bought BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon Ras El Hanout

Method

Mix the chicken, seasoning and BBQ sauce in a bowl and set aside while you put the rice on.

Rinse rice under cold water in a sieve and drain. Then add to a pan with 1 cup of hot water, the Ras El Hanout, and bring to the boil. Turn heat down to a simmer, stir the rice, then place the lid on top and let it cook on a very low heat for about 8 min. When “pancake-like” holes appear, stir the rice to loosen the grains, turn off the heat and let the rice steam with the lid on until ready to serve.

To cook the chicken use either oven or air fryer.

For oven, pre heat to 180 degrees celcius and once hot spread chicken pieces out on a baking tray or casserole dish and bake for ~12 minutes. Do not overcook the meat as it will become stringy and dry when eating the next day from the lunch box.

For air fryer, place the pieces into the basket and cook on 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes, depending on strength of your machine. My “sputnik” is so old the power is quite weak so I anticipate your chicken will cook faster than mine!