Packing a Healthy Lunch

Healthy Lunch on the go

When it comes to a packed lunch, it is easy enough to grab some readily prepared food from a local supermarket or fast food outlet. However, these quick and convenient meals are often high in saturated fat and sugar, so if you want to ensure that you are getting the right nutrients in your midday meal, then listen up and change your eating habits for good.

The essential parts of a healthy lunch are:

• protein
• starch
• fruit
• vegetables
• dairy

Protein foods can include fish, meat, eggs or beans and can make up the filling of a sandwich. The starch comes from pasta, rice, potatoes or bread and is a great energy source – make sure that if you do have bread try and stick to wholemeal.

A salad (either in a separate pot or as an additional sandwich filler) is another essential part of a healthy lunch and can play a great part in making you feel fuller for longer as well. Fruit or dried fruit is a much healthier alternative to chocolate or sweets and the natural sugar in these foods can also give you the energy to keep going through the afternoon.

Don’t let yourself get bored of healthy lunches – there is enough variety of healthy foods out there to help you keep your meal times as healthy and as interesting as possible. At the start of each week, plan your lunches so that you can get the right kind of variety in your lunchbox for every day you aren’t at home. A treat (i.e. a small piece of cake or a little chocolate is fine as an occasional treat, but make sure that portions are small and that these treats don’t become a regular occurrence!)

Variety of lunch options to fuel your afternoon

Small portions of different cuisines are a great way for mixing up your healthy lunch times. Couscous for example is a beautiful traditional Moroccan dish which is a staple food in many countries as it is a healthy grain. It is low in fat and high in protein, making it a great addition to any packed lunch.

Check out Recipebridge’s variety of healthy lunch recipes such as protein based salads including chicken salad, or the tuna caper green salad. The meat and fish in each dish provide a great protein content and with plenty of seasoning, these are some of the tastiest salads you will ever try!

For even more variety, you could even try a healthy lunch made with quinoa. All you will need is quinoa, stock, a mixture of vegetables and a little olive oil and you will end up with a beautifully filling and truly tasty, healthy lunch.

Ultimately, planning ahead to create your healthy lunch can not only make you healthier, it can also stop you going to the nearest fast food outlet too and therefore can save you money! Find a plethora of healthy lunch recipes on Recipebridge.