Make your lunch! 4 delicious recipes to help keep resolutions

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RECIPE: Curried chicken salad on naan (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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RECIPE: Bulgur salad with arugula, zucchini and pine nuts (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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RECIPE: Farro salad with mushrooms, dill and feta (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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RECIPE: Quinoa and kale salad (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

By Tenny Tatusian

Jan. 5, 2014 10:01 AM PT

Without that little bit of planning that’s required to eat well, the vending machine and drive-through win. Here we offer four great recipes that will make lunches in 2014 a delicious break you can feel good about.

This quinoa and kale salad comes to us from Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria in Capitola, Calif. The salad is wall-to-wall nutritious: kale, garbanzo beans, quinoa. It’s a sturdy salad that will last through the week.

Faro salad with mushrooms, dill and feta came from Food Editor Russ Parsons, who began exploring whole grains in 2011. “Honestly, these grain salads taste so good I am willing to overlook that they may, in fact, be good for me.” The salad also has walnuts and gets its zing from the feta and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar.

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If you want a lunch that’s focused on protein, this shrimp charmoula confit from Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter will delight and satisfy you. The shrimp are marinated in a North African spice blend of garlic, ginger, cilantro and lemon balanced with a little cayenne pepper and paprika. Once you make it, it can stay in the refrigerator for five days. Pair it with vegetable sticks, wrap it in lettuce leaves, or toss with a salad and suddenly lunch is your new superpower.

Or try this curried chicken salad from former Test Kitchen director Donna Deane. She uses low-fat plain yogurt to bind the flavors — poached chicken, curry, lime, cilantro, red peppers — and then wraps it in naan. You could use thin lavash or pita or skip the bread and drop a big dollop over a salad or pair with tart apples.

For more ideas, breeze through the new Healthy Eating category of The Times’ recipes database. We’ve added hundreds of great recipes recently throughout. Many will help you keep your resolutions.

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