Whether it’s in the form of a brown bag, a bento box, or a big burger, lunchtime should be a chance to pause our busy schedules and refresh for the afternoon ahead. In the working world, lunch is usually a pre-packed meal, and convenience is the order of the day. A quick bite at your desk or the ease of drive-through fast food seems to be the norm, but it’s no real substitute for a good old-fashioned lunch break. The question is, how do you combine healthy and nutritious with quick and convenient?
For the answer, maybe we should turn to the Japanese bento box, essentially a lunch box with carefully divided sections for sushi, rice, and vegetables all precisely prepared. Or perhaps the French have discovered the secret, where lunch is an art form which can extend across two hours and allows for the proper enjoyment of a tasty repast. Then again, maybe we should follow the example of the Spaniards who take pride in a lunchtime followed by a traditional ‘siesta’, encouraging most businesses to shut down for a couple of hours during the heat of the day.
Regardless of which cuisine you want to borrow from, there are a few simple ways to build a healthy lunch that you will look forward to eating and that will refuel your system.
• Load up on veggies; add carrot/celery/cucumber sticks to your lunch box as a quick snack.
• Can’t live without your bread-fix? Swap out white bread for whole-grain or a low-carb wrap.
• Try something different! A jar salad, or Mexican salad bowl is a delicious way to enjoy salad in the middle of the day.
• Embrace healthy fats! Add some fresh avocado to the line-up.
• Up your protein game by adding chicken or tuna to a salad.
• Finishing with something sweet tells your body that it’s the end of the meal, so pack some fresh fruit to satisfy that sweet tooth without hitting the dreaded 3 pm sugar slump.
The healthiest habit to encourage when it comes to improving lunch is pre-planning.
A lunch planned and packed ahead of time is far more likely to include healthy choices than something packaged you grab off the shelf at the last minute or a fast-food option. So, get organized, get creative and get healthy!
