How to power up your lunch this January

This month is synonymous with a total reboot of your routine.

A new work wardrobe, a fresh diary, a cleaner diet — even if it is al desko. You’re bored of having that same salad every day and need a serious detox after all those Christmas sandwiches.

As luck would have it, menus have had a revamp, too. Lunch just got better — from warming hotpots to rainbow vegan salads, here’s what’s hot on the menu this season.

Warm up

A salad doesn’t always cut it when you’re battered by cold winds on your lunchtime stroll. Leon has introduced a chilli con carne (pictured, 2, £4.95) for steeling yourself against those blustery winter days, Crussh does a new turkey chilli Fit Bowl (£6.95), Chipotle has a double-meat chicken bowl (£9.25) and Pret has launched two toasted tortillas: pulled chicken with avocado and green salsa or Mexican egg and beans for vegetarians (£4.75).

​Pret also has a new range of Tip-Top Hot Pots, which each come with a separate “topper” so you can stir in the fresh, delicate flavours at the last minute. Try the mildly spicy coconut daal, sweet potato and turmeric cauliflower (1, £6.25) for vegans, or the rich and creamy chicken and butternut squash flavour (£6.50).

Itsu’s hearty rice-based pot soups (5, £3.99) will keep you going through the afternoon. They start at just 296 calories and range from satay chicken to Thai coconut vegetables.

Darken your greens

Dark, leafy greens such as kale are still having a moment. Try Leon’s squash, sage and kale salad (£4.95). Butternut squash fills you up and is studded with puy lentils for a deep savoury flavour. Or its rainbow mezze salad (£4.95) includes shredded kale with green lentils (£4.95). For your kale fix in a soup, Pret blends it with lentils and roasted spices (£3.45) and M&S serves chicken broth with quinoa and kale (£2). If you’re on a serious cleanse and after liquid leaves, M&S also sells a new wheatgrass and kale shot (£1.30).

Go V

Half the office is doing Veganuary and it’s easy when the options are so V-aried. Jackfruit is in this season and it tastes like pulled pork: Starbucks does a vegan wrap with barbecued jackfruit, slaw and spinach, and Crussh’s new fit bowls include a vegan jackfruit Mexican tinga (£6.95), which boasts all of your five-a-day in one go. Now that is a power lunch.

​Crussh’s 2018 menu also features a vegan cheese and red pepper spelt sourdough toastie (7, £4.25), mango chutney and turmeric energy balls and its first vegan super-smoothie, The Pre-Workout is made with almond milk, oats, banana, almond butter, espresso and plant protein booster (3, £4.80).

You can also get back on the beat with beetroot: Leon does a roasted beetroot and butternut squash wrap (£4.25) and M&S has launched a beetroot and apple slaw sandwich (£4) as part of its vegan range, which also includes a spiced tofu nourish bowl (6, £4) when you want something more substantial than a salad.

Mix up your snacks

New menus also mean new snacks, and there are lots that will stay within the limits of your strict #newyearnewme diet. Swap your crisps for M&S’s soy, ginger and chilli quinoa waves, just 91 calories a packet, or its mature cheddar and caramelised red onion baked potato crisps, which contain less than three per cent fat.

For a sweet treat to satisfy that 3pm craving, try Starbucks’ cocoa and hazelnut bar with a dark chocolate, nut and edamame bean topping (4, £1.69), or its apple and cinnamon bar with yoghurt (£1.69). Healthier still is Pret’s new vegan snack bowl, which contains green apple wedges with a dollop of almond butter (£1.99).