I love flavor, I need my food to be moderately healthy, not too expensive, and easy to make. I do love cooking elaborate meals, but not in the middle of the day when I’m consumed with everything else I’m doing.

So over time, a few simple lunches have worked their way into my mental cookbook, simple lunches that I’m now going to share with you! Here are four options that are delicious, easy, and relatively cheap to make, as well as healthy for you…well, healthier than Wendy‘s…that’s for sure.

1. Toast whole wheat bread. Spread your favorite hummus across both pieces of the bread (I prefer using the really spicy stuff). Then add turkey or your favorite lunch meat.

2. Stuff a whole wheat wrap with avocado slices, tomato slices, and mozzarella cheese. This is AWESOME, trust me!

3. Toast whole wheat bread. Spread reduced fat Peanut Butter across the bread. Top this with sliced banana. This sandwich is not only pretty good for you, but it’s also SO filling.

4. For a better version of the grilled cheese, try this:

Use whole wheat bread and place it in a frying pan with olive oil. Top it with mozzarella cheese or fat free cheddar cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over this and then add the other piece of bread. Sooo good!

All in all, there’s no reason to catch yourself ordering in every day for lunch or swinging through a drive through. With some whole wheat bread/wraps and just a few other ingredients, you can make some pretty tasty lunches; so do it!

Got any other easy, quick lunch ideas? We’re starving for ‘em!

While it might seem appealing to grab a triple-shot mocha at Starbucks, that’s really not the best thing for our minds or our bodies to have (or, in many cases, our wallets). If you want a snack that scores high on both nutrition and taste, consider one of the following:

Pita with Hummus. You can buy your hummus at the store (roasted red pepper is my favorite kind), or make your own for cheap using a scaled-down version of a recipe like this one. Cut a slit in the side of your pita, shovel in a few spoonfuls of hummus, and you’re good to go.

Yogurt with Topping. It’s really easy to take a container of yogurt with you wherever you need to go, and yogurt has the added advantage of meshing well with almost any topping choice. Try tossing a few chocolate chips on top of caramel yogurt, fresh blueberries atop a carton of strawberry, or a spoonful of toasted nuts and honey on top of plain vanilla.

Trail Mix. Not just for campers, trail mix is a busy girl’s dream come true because it takes only seconds to put together and it’s easy to make a little or a lot. In a Ziploc bag or Tupperware container, try throwing together some combination of the following: nuts, craisins, chocolate chips, dried fruit, granola, oats, dry cereal, cinnamon, sunflower seeds, and pretzel pieces. Then toss it in your purse and gnaw on it throughout the afternoon. It sure makes those wasteland hours go by faster!

Got any other quick, healthy snacks the rest of the world needs to hear about?! Be our chef for the moment and let us know!

A few summers ago I shared an apartment with 5 other girls while we all worked on campus giving tours and orientating incoming freshmen.

I didn’t know any of them going into the summer, but by the time August rolled around we were good friends and there was a few things that had slipped into my sub-conscious:

1) Hummus and pita chips is a suitable replacement for any meal.

2) Cockroaches can find their way into your fridge if you don’t clean.

3) If you see a guy who’s totally hot, but old enough to be your dad you can slyly alert your friends to it by saying “Hog!”

What is a H.O.G.? A Hot Old Guy.

Check out the H.O.G. gallery after the jump!

If you can’t bring him home to mom and dad without feeling like you need to craft a well thought out speech regarding age difference then congrats, girl! You’ve snagged yourself a H.O.G.!

Don’t groan…you know you’ve seen a few guys walking down the street where even if you don’t want to get down, you can certainly appreciate the seemingly perfect way he’s aged and matured. Gray hair? No problem! Wrinkles? They add character! Experience? Of course! (and in more ways than one)

So, we’ve put together a list of 10 of the hottest H.O.G.’s and we want to know what you think too! Who did we leave out? Who’s the greatest H.O.G. of all time?

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The summer heat and lack of money melt my formerly creative inner cook, and even though I’m slightly decent at preparing a meal, all I can think to do is eat apples, fry eggs and drink beer.

Even worse than cooking in the summer heat is cooking for one. It’s depressing. There are always leftovers and really, who wants to make an elaborate meal if you’re the only one eating it?

Which is why I was so excited to see these 101 simple summer meals that can be prepared in 10 minutes or less.

I’m all for using fresh ingredients and keeping it healthy, but sometimes recipes that call for a dozen different fresh components just end up rotting in the fridge.

These meals, however, don’t require too much and really do spark a little creativity in the kitchen. I’m so pumped about having so many new ideas that I’m already planning how I can use my leftovers (see #89).

Here are some of my favorites:

1 Make six-minute eggs: simmer gently, run under cold water until cool, then peel. Serve over steamed asparagus.

4 Open a can of white beans and combine with olive oil, salt, small or chopped shrimp, minced garlic and thyme leaves in a pan. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are done; garnish with more olive oil.

9 Pan-grill a skirt steak for three or four minutes a side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, slice and serve over romaine or any other green salad, drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

13 Gazpacho: Combine one pound tomatoes cut into chunks, a cucumber peeled and cut into chunks, two or three slices stale bread torn into pieces, a quarter-cup olive oil, two tablespoons sherry vinegar and a clove of garlic in a blender with one cup water and a couple of ice cubes. Process until smooth, adding water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, then serve or refrigerate, garnished with anchovies if you like, and a little more olive oil.

20 Cut eggplant into half-inch slices. Broil with lots of olive oil, turning once, until tender and browned. Top with crumbled goat or feta cheese and broil another 20 seconds

29 Chop prosciutto and crisp it in a skillet with olive oil; add chopped not-too-ripe figs. Serve over greens dressed with oil and vinegar; top all with crumbled blue cheese.

45 Sauté shredded zucchini in olive oil, adding garlic and chopped herbs. Serve over pasta.

52 Grill or sauté Italian sausage and serve over store-bought hummus, with lemon wedges.

54 Brown small pork (or hot dog) chunks in a skillet. Add white beans, garlic, thyme and olive oil. Or add white beans and ketchup.

59 Brown bratwursts with cut-up apples. Serve with coleslaw.

72 World’s leading sandwich: prosciutto, tomato, butter or olive oil and a baguett

77 Sear corn kernels in olive oil with minced jalapeños and chopped onions; toss with cilantro, black beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped bell pepper and lime.

87 Grated carrots topped with six-minute eggs (run under cold water until cool before peeling), olive oil and lemon juice.

88 Cut the top off four big tomatoes; scoop out the interiors and mix them with toasted stale baguette or pita, olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs (basil, tarragon, and/or parsley). Stuff into tomatoes and serve with salad.

89 Pasta frittata: Turn cooked pasta and a little garlic into an oiled or buttered skillet. Brown, pressing to create a cake. Flip, then top with three or four beaten eggs and loads of Parmesan. Brown other side and serve.

99 Cook a couple of pounds of shrimp, shell on or off, in oil, with lots of chopped garlic. When they turn pink, remove; deglaze the pan with a half-cup or so of beer, along with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, rosemary and a lump of butter. Serve with bread

Click here to see all 101!