Jennifer Garner's Favorite Lunch Is Packed with Protein and Fiber

There’s always someone at the office who brings the best lunches. Either they bought it at the trendy lunch spot nearby or they casually claim, “Oh this? I just threw it together.” Regardless of how it came to be, it looks awesome and you wish you had it too. That’s how I felt when I saw Jennifer Garner whip up her favorite lunch in her latest episode of #PretendCookingShow on Instagram.

Her ahi tuna and brown rice bowl is not only a stunner, visually speaking, but it’s also a nutrition powerhouse! It checks all of the boxes for a drool-worthy lunch—it’s colorful, flavorful and bountiful, thanks to nourishing ingredients like brown rice, ahi tuna, avocado and kale. It also looks like all of the bowls I dream about enjoying at work—no sad desk lunch vibes here.

Garner’s approach to cooking is casual and fun and makes creating a leveled-up lunch look like an attainable goal. This recipe, for example, starts with a base of brown rice. While she uses a KitchenAid Grain and Rice Cooker (which, by the way, looks like something I need in my life) to prepare the rice, this step can easily be accomplished ahead of time using the stove or another rice cooker. Or, if cooking rice isn’t your thing and you want to save time, you can always buy pouches of prepared rice. 

The highlight of the dish, though, is the ahi tuna. Garner mixes olive oil with lemon zest, thyme, garlic and red pepper flakes to make a marinade, reserving some of it to use as a dressing. Once it has marinated for an hour, she sears each side of the fish before adding it to a bowl filled with rice, sliced kale and avocado. Finally, she finishes it with a bit of salt and pepper and the reserved dressing. 

This beautiful rice bowl comes together quickly and is packed with nutrition. In the reel, Garner says that her workdays are busy, so she always tries to make herself a “delicious lunch.” And her favorite lunches start with brown rice. Brown rice is a nourishing base, loaded with B vitamins, complex carbohydrates and fiber. Ahi tuna, the main source of protein in this recipe, boasts a whopping 24 grams of protein per 3-ounce serving and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, an important nutrient that benefits eye and heart health. And the kale and avocado provide additional fiber, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals. 

I can’t wait to make Garner’s favorite lunch, and I plan on doubling or tripling the marinade like she suggests. I plan to use it for dressing and also for marinating tofu and other proteins to enjoy throughout the week. Now you’ll have to excuse me, I’m off to pack my lunchbox!