Healthy Lunch Options For Work – It’s 11:30, and your stomach is starting to grumble: A) driving down the street to find your favorite combo meal? B) ignore your grumbling stomach and continue to work at lunch? C) take a necessary break to eat a healthy lunch that you brought from home If you answered C, then are you right? But why exactly?
Whether you work from home or go to the office, lunch is an important part of the day. It usually provides an afternoon break where you can rest your mind, catch up with friends and get a much needed energy boost. Choosing to make and bring a healthy lunch to work can ensure productivity, efficiency and energy – all important qualities for an executive, colleague, employee or business partner!
Healthy Lunch Options For Work
Think you’re too busy for lunch? Think again! A lunch at home can save a lot of time throughout the week; No more waiting in drive-thru lines, dining lines, or shopping aisles. Plus, a prepackaged meal will also save you energy, stress, and money — all big wins in our book!
No Heat Meal Prep Lunch Recipes
Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods at lunch can prevent the inevitable mid-afternoon energy crash. There are two methods that can help you build a healthy meal: the “Key 3” method or the MyPlate method.
There are three key nutrients that we need to include in a healthy meal (and every meal really!) for maximum energy and nutritional value: fiber, protein and healthy fats.
Fiber keeps you healthy, maintains blood sugar levels (and thus prevents the inevitable energy crash), and provides other long-term benefits, such as cancer prevention, reduced risk of heart disease heart, and improved intestinal function. Whole grains, beans/legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are all foods that contain fiber.
Protein provides satiety and helps you feel full. Nutritious proteins for lunch include beans/lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, full-fat dairy, chicken and turkey.
Bento Box Lunch Ideas
Healthy fats are dense in calories, which means they provide more energy per serving. Fat helps keep you full for several hours until your next meal. Examples of healthy fats include olive oil, peanuts/walnuts, seeds, avocados, coconut and fatty fish.
If you are a visual person, this is a great way to plan an easy and healthy party. MyPlate emphasizes making half of your fruits and vegetables, one-quarter whole grains and one-quarter protein. We also recommend including milk, but we prefer Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate, which puts milk in the protein category. Don’t forget to include healthy fats and water too!
There are many great foods that contain all the components of MyPlate that are not divided into quadrants, but mixed, mashed, folded, wrapped, mixed or cooked together. Think soups, casseroles, sandwiches, wraps, salads, bowls, stir-fry, and even smoothies!
Now that you know the components of a healthy lunch, it’s time to pack one! We’ve got tons of healthy lunch ideas for work, as well as some tips and tricks that will make packing a breeze!
How To Pack A Healthy Lunch Box
Preparing meals for the week is a good place to start. Check out our meal planning for beginners article, or if you’re interested in more plant-based or vegetarian meal ideas, check out our plant-based meal prep article. Once you know the basics of meal prep, you’ll be ready to whip up a quick, healthy meal with no problem!
One of our favorite meal ideas is to use the “cook once, eat twice” method. When making dinner, add produce or set aside some leftovers for lunch the next day. This is good for recipes with flavors that develop overnight, such as soups, curries and sauces.
As for preparing meals the night before, make a habit of packing 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 will be more motivated to make a healthy meal if you have the right dishes, utensils and accessories to make it easy and accessible. Start by buying an insulated lunch box. Choose a fun or trendy design to encourage you to pack your lunch more often! Alternatively, use a reusable shopping bag. Don’t forget the ice pack! Try to avoid using plastic bags or paper bags as these create unnecessary waste.
Easy Healthy Lunch Ideas To Take To Work!
We recommend purchasing a variety of microwave storage containers that allow you to transfer, store and heat your food safely. We also like these Bentgo boxes because they divide the device into several parts. This is a great reminder to include a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains at every meal!
When you bring 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 fastest above 41ºF and especially above 70ºF, so it is important to keep your food below this temperature. Never leave perishable food in a hot car!
If you microwave your meal, be sure to heat it to an internal temperature of 165ºF. You may not have a food thermometer in your lunch box (or maybe you do!), so be sure to heat your plate well and shake it once during heating to ensure even distribution of heat.
Keep a few healthy snacks on your desk or in the office fridge so that if you forget lunch, aren’t hungry enough for a healthy meal, or don’t have time to rest, you can eat nutritious food. that keeps you focused and energized. Pack small meals in reusable containers for portion control and ease of portability.
8 Adult Lunch Box Ideas
Now for the part you’ve been waiting for: easy and healthy office parties! There are almost endless options, but here are some favorite ideas for meals at home:
There is a world of sandwiches beyond your basic ham and cheese and PB&J! Think outside the box and build a sandwich enhanced with a variety of grains, lean proteins, veggies and healthy spreads. When building a healthy and delicious sandwich, we recommend following this basic formula: Base + Protein + Spread + Fillers. Once you have this formula, play with adding different flowers and spices; The sky’s the limit for fun combinations!
To hearty corn salads, spicy green salads, versatile bean salads! When building a healthy and satisfying salad, keep MyPlate and the “Key 3” in mind and work to include fiber, protein and healthy fats.
Combine your favorite grains, beans/legumes, vegetables and healthy dressings for a rich and nutritious salad or bowl. If you bring a green salad, keep the dressing separate until you are ready to eat; this prevents the greens from getting wet.
Healthy Lunch Salad Ideas For Work
What’s better than a fresh, full bowl of soup? Try some of our favorite soup and stew recipes, and feel free to add your favorite toppings.
Check out some of our favorite dinners! Make extra in the evening or put some away for lunch the next day.
If you are not in the mood for some of the options above, a meal for adults, perhaps known as a dinner plate, can be the perfect solution. Create a satisfying meal by combining foods from each section of the Healthy Plate: fruits, vegetables, protein/milk, whole grains, and healthy fats. We have listed some examples below:
Of course, these names are not enough; Use your creativity to find hot or cold work day ideas that fit your place!
5 Gluten Free Lunch Ideas For Work Or School
We hope this article has opened your eyes to the endless possibilities of healthy lunches for work, as well as some ideas for making healthy lunches in a crunch! If you want more easy meal ideas for kids, check out our meal ideas for kids and healthy meal ideas for kids articles!
Making your own lunch at home saves time, money and health. What is one thing you can do this week to make a healthy meal? Leave a comment below!
Chef Vahista is a Dietitian Nutritionist/Chef. He is one of the founders of To Ravira and is passionate about educating people and communities about food culture and cooking skills.
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Simple And Healthy Lunch Options For Work Or School
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Did you ever have lunch as a child? I don’t know about you, but there’s something fun about having a variety of options for lunch. Just because we’re adults, doesn’t mean we have to give up! Bring back the desire for lunch with my healthy meal for adults – but high, balanced and full of nutrition.