Healthy Lunch Options To Take To Work – It’s 11:30 in the morning and your stomach is starting to rumble. Do you: A) drive down the street for your favorite combo meal? B) ignore your grumbling stomach and continue working through lunch? C) take a much-needed break to eat the healthy lunch you brought from home? If you answered C, then you are correct! But how exactly
Whether you work at home or commute to the office, lunch is an important part of the day. It often offers a lunch break where you can rest, catch up with friends and get a much-needed boost of energy. Choosing to pack and bring a healthy lunch to work can ensure productivity, efficiency and energy – all important traits of an effective boss, employee, colleague or business partner!
Healthy Lunch Options To Take To Work
Think you’re too busy for lunch? Think again! A healthy homemade lunch can actually save you a lot of time during the week; no more waiting in car lines, restaurant lines, or grocery store checkouts. Plus, a pre-made lunch will also save you energy, stress, and money — all big wins in our book!
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Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods at lunch can prevent that almost inevitable midday energy crash. There are two methods that can help you make a healthy lunch: the Key 3 method or the MyPlate method.
There are 3 key nutrients we want to include in a balanced lunch (and really all meals!) for optimal energy and nutrient levels: fiber, protein and healthy fats.
Fiber keeps you full, keeps blood sugar levels stable (and therefore prevents an inevitable energy crash), and provides other long-term benefits such as cancer prevention, reduced risk of heart disease, and improved bowel function. Whole grains, beans/legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are all foods rich in fiber.
Protein provides satiety and helps you feel full. Dietary protein options for lunch include beans/legumes, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, vegetarian dairy, chicken and turkey.
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Healthy fats are caloric, meaning they provide a lot of energy per volume. Fat helps keep you full for hours until your next meal. Examples of healthy fats include olive oil, nuts/nut butters, seeds, avocados, coconut, and fatty fish.
If you’re a visual person, this is a great method for planning simple, healthy lunches. MyPlate emphasizes turning half of your plate into fruits and vegetables, a quarter from grains, and a quarter from protein. They also recommend including dairy, but we prefer the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, which lumps dairy into the protein category. Don’t forget to include healthy fats and water too!
There are many great meals that contain all of the MyPlate components that are not divided into quadrants, but instead mixed, mashed, folded, wrapped, blended, or cooked together. Think soups, casseroles, sandwiches, wraps, salads, bowls, stir-fries, and even smoothies!
Now that you know the components of a healthy lunch, it’s time to make one! We’ve got tons of healthy packed lunch ideas for work, plus some tips and strategies to make this packing process easier!
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Making a few lunches for the week is a good start. Check out our article on meal planning for beginners or, if you’re interested in more plant-based or vegetarian lunch ideas, check out our article on plant-based meal prep. Once you’ve learned the basics of food preparation, you’ll be ready to throw together quick and healthy lunches, no problem!
Another of our favorite packed lunch tips is to use the “cook once, eat twice” method. When preparing food, increase the yield or put some leftovers for lunch the next day. This works well for recipes that have flavors that develop overnight, such as soups, curries and sauces.
As for meal prep the night before, get into the habit of packing your lunch the night before. This will save you time in the morning and prevent you from skipping lunch or going out for fast food.
You’ll likely be much more motivated to pack a healthy lunch if you have the right cookware, utensils, and accessories to make it convenient and accessible. Start by purchasing an insulated lunch box. Choose one with a fun or trendy design to inspire you to pack your lunch more often! Alternatively, use a reusable shopping bag. Don’t forget the ice pack! Try to avoid using plastic or paper bags as they create unnecessary waste.
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We recommend purchasing a variety of microwave-safe storage containers that allow you to safely transport, store and reheat your food. We also love these Bentgo boxes because they divide the container into different parts. It’s a great reminder to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains at every meal!
When packing food that needs to stay cold, don’t forget an ice pack! This is especially important if you don’t have access to a refrigerator. Bacteria grow rapidly above 41ºF and especially above 70ºF, so it’s important to keep your food below that temperature. Never leave perishable food in a hot car!
When reheating your lunch in the microwave, make sure you heat it to an internal temperature of 165ºF. You probably won’t have a food thermometer in your lunchbox (or maybe you will!), so just be sure to heat your food properly and stir it at least once while heating to ensure even heat distribution.
Keep a few healthy snacks on your desk or in the office fridge, so if you forget your lunch, aren’t hungry enough for a full meal, or don’t have time for a break, you can grab a nutritious snack that will keep you focused and energized. Pack small snacks in reusable containers for convenient portion control and easy portability.
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Now for the part you’ve probably been waiting for: easy, healthy office lunches! The possibilities are almost endless, but here are some of our favorite homemade lunch ideas:
There’s a whole world of sandwiches beyond your basic ham and cheese and PB&J! Think outside the bread and create an updated sandwich with a variety of whole grains, lean proteins, vegetables and healthy spreads. When making a healthy and delicious sandwich, we recommend following this basic formula: Base + Protein + Spread + Fillers. Once you have this formula, play around with adding different herbs and spices; the sky’s the limit for flavor combinations!
To hearty grain salads, flavorful green salads, a variety of bean-based salads! When creating a nutritious and filling salad, keep MyPlate and the “Key 3” in mind and work to include fiber, protein and healthy fats.
Mix together your favorite grains, beans/legumes, vegetables and a healthy dressing for a filling and nutritious salad or bowl. If you are bringing a green salad, set the dressing aside until ready to eat; this keeps the greens from getting wet.
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What’s better than a cozy, filling soup? Try some of our favorite soup and stew recipes and feel free to add your favorite toppings.
Check out some of our favorite dinner recipes! Cook extras in the evening or put a few portions together for lunch the next day.
If you’re not in the mood for one of the above options, a grown-up lunch, also known as a breakfast plate, may be the perfect solution. Create a satisfying lunch by including foods from each Healthy Plate category: fruits, vegetables, protein/dairy, whole grains, and healthy fats. We have listed some examples below:
Of course, these lists are not exhaustive; Use your creativity to find other hot or cold lunch ideas for work that you’ll love!
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We hope this article has opened your eyes to the endless possibilities for easy healthy lunches for work, as well as some strategies for making a nutritious lunch on a crunch! If you want some easy lunch ideas for kids, check out both our vegetarian lunch ideas for kids and healthy lunch ideas for kids!
Making your own lunch at home saves you time, money and health. What is ONE thing you can do this week to make a healthier lunch? Leave a comment below!
Chef Vahista is a Registered Nutritionist/Nutritionist/Chef. She is one of the founders of To Taste and is passionate about educating people and communities about nutrition principles and culinary skills.
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Learn how to cook and eat well throughout your life in our new book, To Your Taste. If you’re anything like me, life is always on the go. Running between classes, time with friends, a part-time job (or two!) and study groups. Making sure you have food on hand that is not only tasty but also healthy can sometimes be difficult. A pasta salad might taste good, but will it give you the nutrients you need? The same goes for avocado toast. You need to fuel your body properly.
That’s why we need lunches that are EASY and quick. The trick is to have a formula to follow. In this way