Hi
Eating lunch on the move or at your desk (both of which are not recommended!) can leave you feeling like there are no healthy
options.
Keeping in mind your basic principles, choosing from the supermarket, sandwich bar or local deli CAN result in a healthy lunch.
If you know that choice is limited, be organised and bring in your own food to be prepared, or leftovers from the night before – it may seem like a chore at the time but your mind and body will thank you for it in the long run.
Have water with your meal and not sweet juices or fizzy drinks (even with artificial sweetener). Always have some protein at lunch – e.g. skinless chicken, turkey, fish, lean ham, low fat cottage
cheese, eggs, lentils or beans.
Buying your lunch:
Choose from a good quality café or supermarket such as Pret-à-Manger, Crush, Eat, M&S, Waitrose, etc. or a local, good quality salad, sandwich or sushi bars: - Baked potato – hollow out some of the flesh and add some protein such as tuna,
chicken, beans, cottage cheese or hummus. Have with plenty of salad.
- Salads with some protein, e.g. chicken, fish, egg, lentils
- Omelette (if not too greasy) with large salad.
- ‘No Bread’ sandwich from Pret or a sandwich with one piece of bread.
- Fresh soup (not tinned or packet). Go for the chunky vegetables – the
thicker the better. Lentil and bean based soups are a good choice. Avoid creamed soups. Make sure they contain some protein (e.g. chicken, beans or lentils) or have some on the side, e.g. hummus with Ryevita/oatcakes or crudités. You could even add a tin of beans (eg cannellini, butter beans etc.) to a vegetable soup for extra protein. Covent Garden is a good brand of fresh soup, or you could make your own. Take a minute to check the sugar and salt content and wheat and dairy if you are avoiding
these.
NB If you have a sandwich, choose the ‘grittier’, more solid bread. Rye bread is best. Aim for open sandwiches or discard the top slice. Avoid mayonnaise – yogurt is a good alternative.
Making your own lunch:
Top tips: - Make extra helpings of your evening meal, so that you can take some into work for lunch the following day.
- Think about preparing a number of lunches at the weekend and then freezing them so that you have a lunch for every day of the week.
Salads are cheap and easy to make. Even if you only take a basic salad into work, remember you can always buy extra ingredients such as a tin of tuna or
some chicken and top up the nutrient content (see below for salad ideas).
Below are some ideas for home-made lunches during the week or at the weekend:
Bean Salads - Use a can of beans – kidney, haricot or chickpeas (rinse before use) and mix with:
- Parsley,
cucumber, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, etc.
- Dress with lemon juice or red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, pepper, chilli.
- Greek Salad
- Lettuce (the darker green the better), chopped cucumber, olives, sliced red onion, feta.
- Dress with dried oregano, lemon juice,
pepper.
- Chicken or Goat’s Cheese and Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa with mixed herbs (add coriander, chives, parsley), cherry tomatoes, rocket, and pieces of chicken breast or goat’s cheese.
- Dress with olive oil, lime juice, chilli powder and a small amount of honey.
- Mackerel with Salad
- Peppered mackerel with salad such as carrot, asparagus, green leafy lettuce, a hardboiled egg.
- Dress with olive oil, lemon, small amount of hummus (black pepper to taste).
- Tuna Salad
- Tuna in olive oil chunks with salad such as carrot, avocado, tomato, green leafy lettuce and a hardboiled
egg.
- Dress with olive oil and lemon.
- Rice Salad
- Cooked brown rice mixed with peas, sliced red onion, grated carrot, chopped celery, sunflower seeds and some protein such as chicken or feta cheese.
- Dress with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Falafel and Pitta Bread
- Pack 1-2 brown pitta bread (or rye bread) and falafels in a Tupperware box
Remember, the more REAL the food is the more satiety your body will be. The more satiated you are the more energy you will have and the less the chance of wrong food choices.
Kim
'To inspire, educate and support our clients on their journey to better
health'
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