Whether you are able to plan your lunch before you run out the house or have the time to pre-plan, here are some quick and easy (and healthy!) lunch ideas.
First of all, it is great that you actually eat lunch! Many people work straight through their lunch, only getting two (or sometimes one) meal a day. When it comes to weekday lunches, I find that most people either dutifully prepare in advance or grab the first thing they see on their way out the door. If you are able to plan your lunch before you run out the house, here are some quick and easy (and healthy!) lunch ideas:
- Sandwiches can provide a balanced meal in itself. Take some whole grain bread, add a lean protein (like turkey, roast beef or ham), and load up on your favorite veggies, like leafy greens, tomato, avocado, roasted red peppers, or cucumbers.
- Salads are another very healthy choice, but they can take more time to prepare because they often require a lot of slicing and dicing. To save you some time, you could prepare a few days of salad in advance by layering your ingredients in a container with the dressing on the bottom, followed by less porous vegetables like onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers, then mushrooms and finally lettuce or spinach on top. Layering ingredients like this will help keep your lettuce crisp and will keep in your fridge for about four days.
- On the first day of the work week, chop all of your veggies and pre-bag them so they are ready to grab. Celery, carrots, mini-bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and chopped broccoli are some good choices.
- You can also get some high protein snacks that are already individually packaged that are easy to grab and include in your lunch, like Greek yogurt, string cheese, or nuts.
- Have an emergency stash of healthy microwavable meals that you can grab on your way out the door.
If you are on the road or forgot your lunch, many restaurants have lunch specials or smaller portions at lunch. Some great Healthy Dining choices for a lunch on the run would include the Broccoli Beef (150 calories, 6 g fat) paired with a side of Mixed Veggies (70 calories, 0 g fat) from Panda Express or Vegetable Panini (440 calories, 19 g fat) from Fresh to Order.