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Mediterranean Quinoa Lunch Bowl

Built on a Sunday, eaten Monday to Thursday. The recipe that solves the packed-lunch problem without another sad plain-rice container.

Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Total
30 min
Serves
4

Published · Updated

A packed lunch bowl of fluffy quinoa with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, feta and fresh parsley

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings. Each ingredient is labelled with its FODMAP status at this quantity.

  • 200 g quinoa, rinsed

    FODMAP-free at generous portions. Rinsing removes the bitter saponin coating.

    Low FODMAP

  • 1 large cucumber, diced

    Low FODMAP

  • 300 g cherry tomatoes, halved

    Cherry tomatoes are low FODMAP at 75 g per serve.

    Low FODMAP

  • 160 g feta, crumbled

    Low FODMAP at 40 g per serve. Brining removes most of the lactose.

    Portion-dependent

  • 80 g pitted green olives, halved

    Low FODMAP

  • 3 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil

    Low FODMAP

  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

    Low FODMAP

  • 1 large handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

    Low FODMAP

  • 1 tsp dried oregano, plus salt and pepper

    Low FODMAP

What the labels mean

  • Low FODMAPSafe at the serving size listed.
  • Portion-dependentLow FODMAP only up to the serving size listed — larger servings stack.

Method

  1. Step 1: Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under cold running water for a good 30 seconds. Skipping this leaves a soapy bitterness that no amount of dressing will hide.

  2. Step 2: Simmer it in 400 ml of water with a pinch of salt for 15 minutes, covered, until the grains have uncurled and the water is absorbed. Take it off the heat and let it steam, lid on, for 5 more minutes.

  3. Step 3: Spread the quinoa on a tray to cool quickly. Warm quinoa turns cucumber limp and melts the feta into paste, so this step matters more than it looks.

  4. Step 4: Whisk the garlic-infused oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper together until it thickens slightly.

  5. Step 5: Combine the cooled quinoa, cucumber, tomatoes, olives and parsley, pour over the dressing and fold gently. Divide between four containers and top each with 40 g of feta.

Notes and swaps

  • Keep the feta and dressing separate until the morning you eat it if you are packing all four days at once — everything stays crisper.
  • Add 100 g of grilled chicken, tinned tuna or firm tofu per bowl for a more substantial lunch. All three are FODMAP-free.
  • Roasted red pepper is a good addition at up to 43 g per serve. Sun-dried tomatoes are not — they concentrate fructose considerably.

Lunch is the meal that most often gets solved badly. Dinner gets attention because it is cooked, breakfast gets solved once and repeated, and lunch becomes whatever was left over — or, more often during elimination, a container of plain rice and chicken eaten without enthusiasm at a desk.

A bowl like this takes half an hour on a Sunday and covers four days properly.

Quinoa earns its place here

Most grains during elimination come with a portion ceiling attached. Quinoa does not, in any practical sense, and that single property makes it disproportionately useful. When a lunch needs to actually fill you until evening, you can simply use more quinoa without recalculating anything — an option that oats, gluten-free pasta and most breads do not give you.

It is also a complete protein, which matters when the elimination phase has already narrowed your options and legumes are largely off the table.

The feta is the portion to watch

Forty grams per bowl is less than it sounds — roughly a matchbox. Feta’s lactose is mostly lost during brining, which is why it is permitted at all when soft cheeses generally are not, but the allowance is not unlimited. Weigh it the first two or three times and you will calibrate your eye quickly enough.

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