It’s Brown Bag Lunch Day, Why Not Make it a Healthy Lunch?
Packing your lunch everyday might seem like a chore but, if you plan ahead, it doesn’t need to take much time or effort. Packing your lunch instead of purchasing it 5 times a week, will save you money, and surprise, will be much healthier.
It is proven that people who pack healthy lunches are typically healthier than people who purchase their lunches daily. I challenge you to a brown bag healthy lunch day on May 25th! You may be surprised how easy it is and start packing your lunches every day.
Tips for a brown bag healthy lunch:
1. Variety: To avoid a boring lunch and the chance to fall victim to the nearest fast-food joint, ensure that there are many different items in your lunch bag. Choose foods from various ethnic cuisines, use healthy sauces and dips, and don’t pack the same thing everyday. You can spice up your sandwiches and salads by adding sprouts, vegetables, or fresh basil. Pack a healthy snack that contains protein and carbohydrates as well for that 3 pm craving.
2. Balanced: Your lunch should contain the right ratios of the three macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to nourish your body and leave you feeling satisfied. The ratio of carbohydrates to protein to fats should be in the range of 45-65%: 10-35%: 20-35%. Stick with complex carbohydrates such as quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, and millet. Also, your protein should come from whole food plant sources like nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, tofu, or tempeh.
3. Energy: Your lunch should give you the energy to take on the rest of your day. Your goal should be to feel that you have energy to wait two to three hours until your next meal. Good sources of protein and complex carbohydrates should be included in your lunch to give you energy. This magical combination results in a stable blood sugar level with no blood sugar spikes.
4: Eliminate waste: You can’t forget to recognize that packing your own lunch is good for the environment. Pack your lunch in a recyclable bag and use glass containers to reduce waste. Bring a reusable water bottle and you can have a completely waste free lunch!
5. Use what is in your kitchen: When you are cooking dinner, plan to have leftovers and store it in the fridge to take for lunch the next day. It will only take a few minutes in the morning to pack up your lunch and be ready to go. You don’t have to have the exact meal you had the night before. You can take what you made and put it in a sprouted whole-grain wrap or add different sauces to change it up.
6. Meal planning: Planning what you are going to bring for lunch each day at the beginning of the week will minimize the time that you spend during your busy week trying to figure out what you are going to bring with you. Choose recipes online or in cookbooks and try to plan out all your meals in as much detail as possible – you can use a printable meal planning chart or app.
7. Make large batches and store: Cook large batches of foods, such as stews, cooked grains, and soups and store them in your freezer in single-serving packaging to bring for lunch. You could also cut up vegetables and store them in your fridge or put together a trail mix to bring for a snack.
Easy Lunch Ideas:
Pair any of these ideas with sliced apple and peanut butter, trail mix, a homemade granola bar, healthy muffins or hummus and vegetables.
What are your ideas for bringing a brown bag lunch to work?
