Chicken and sugar bean lunch box

Name: Chicken and sugar bean lunch box
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 portions

A cold lunch box of cooked chicken, sugar beans, tomato and cucumber with a lemon dressing. Nothing needs reheating, which suits a long clinic day or a shift at work.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 30 min
Portions: 2

Easy
Trying to conceive
Preparing for fertility treatment
High-protein
Fibre-rich
Quick and easy
Budget-friendly

Make this recipe

Portions

Ingredient quantities update automatically. Cooking times may need a little adjustment when you change the batch size.

Ingredients

For 2 portions. Tick items as you go — nothing is changed for anyone else.

This recipe contains foods that can contribute to a varied and balanced diet during pregnancy.

Method

Step 1. Poach or grill the chicken until cooked right through with no pink meat and the juices run clear, about 12–15 minutes. Cool it quickly.
Step 2. Mix the beans, tomato, cucumber and onion in a bowl.
Step 3. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper and stir through the salad.
Step 4. Slice the cooled chicken and pack it on top in a clean sealed container.
Step 5. Refrigerate until you leave and carry it in a cool bag.

Allergens for your selection

No declarable allergens in the ingredients as currently selected.

Ingredient brands and substitutions can change allergen content. Always check the labels on the products you buy.

Food safety

Wash fruit, vegetables and leafy greens such as morogo in clean water before cooking or eating them raw.
Cook eggs, chicken, meat and fish thoroughly, and keep raw and cooked foods on separate boards and plates.
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate them and reheat once until piping hot throughout. If the power is off, prepare only what you will eat that day.
Anyone planning a pregnancy is generally advised to take a daily folic acid supplement before conception — ask your doctor, pharmacist or fertility clinic what is right for you.
For work, a long clinic day or a treatment trip, pack the food in a clean sealed container. Anything that needs chilling should travel in a cool bag with a wrapped cool pack and be eaten the same day. If it has stood warm for several hours, throw it away.
Iron from plant foods such as beans, lentils, samp and leafy greens is absorbed less easily than iron from meat or fish. Eating them together with vitamin C-containing foods — tomato, pepper, orange or a squeeze of lemon — is a practical way to help absorption.
Combining protein, fibre and minimally processed starch makes a meal more filling and releases energy more gradually. No single food or recipe improves fertility or guarantees conception. Individual dietary advice should come from a registered dietitian or your doctor.

Allergens

No common declarable allergens are listed in this recipe's ingredients.

Ingredient brands and substitutions can change allergen content. Always check the labels on the products you buy.

Supplements and drinks

A daily folic acid supplement is widely recommended before conception and through early pregnancy to help prevent neural tube defects. Folate-rich foods do not replace the supplement. Ask your doctor which dose applies to you and follow your national health authority's guidance.
Vitamin D and iron requirements vary with diet, sunlight exposure and health conditions. Ask your doctor whether you need a supplement and follow your national health authority's guidance.
There is no known safe level of alcohol in pregnancy, and most guidance suggests keeping caffeine to around 200 mg a day. Recipes here contain no alcohol.

Sources

South African food-based dietary guidelines — National Department of Health, South Africa, reviewed 7 September 2026
Nutrition information for the public — Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA), reviewed 7 September 2026
Five keys to safer food — World Health Organization, reviewed 7 September 2026