6 Protein-Heavy Salads to Make Your Desk Lunch Less Sad

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To eat healthier, you don't have to force-feed yourself green juice and rabbit food. Instead, try keeping yourself full and happy with protein-packed salads that are equally satisfying  and healthy for desk lunches or dinners at home.

We've rounded up six of our favorite salad recipes — kicking off with the above  Composed Mediterranean Chicken Salad filled with chicken, halloumi cheese, cucumbers and red peppers — and there's plenty more where that came from with Cooking Channel's other  healthy lunch ideas.

Fight those sandwich cravings with Bobby Deen's seared flank steak salad. Flavorful bites of pungent blue cheese, crisp turkey bacon and juicy tomatoes give every bite a unique texture and flavor combination.

Take the leftovers from taco night or that batch of slow-cooker pulled pork and transform them into a Mexican-inspired cobb salad. It gets four doses of protein from shredded pork, beans, bacon and eggs.

This simple salad has only four main ingredients — cannellini beans, lemon, tuna and celery — and comes together in a flash. With an oil-based dressing instead of mayonnaise, you'll feel good about eating it, too — just watch out for co-workers who disapprove of fish for lunch.

Tangy Greek yogurt bulks up the dressing for curry-spiced chicken salad with grapes and almonds. Serve it on top of your favorite mixed greens.

Kelsey Nixon proves that you can have pasta and still eat healthy with her Mediterranean shrimp and orzo salad. Cucumbers, tomatoes, dill and red onions give it pops of color and flavor — and make it super Instagram-ready.

More salad ideas from our friends:
Dishin & Dishes:   Buddha Power Bowl
TasteBook:   The Ultimate Green Salad

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