You’re not the only one who will ever struggle to figure out how to eat healthy lunches. Lunchtime is when we’re meant to take a break; walk away from the desk and get a change of scenery. Sadly, for many people that just doesn’t happen.
Are you guilty of eating lunch at your desk and grabbing the first thing that will fill you? Take a look at these tips for eating healthy lunches.
1. Take Charge of your food especially by cutting back on sugar
When you’re sat at your desk sending emails and making phone calls during lunch, you’re not entirely focused on what you’re eating. It’s easy to opt for the fatty, sugary options that keep you temporarily fuelled, but these can cause a risk of diabetes. Adding too much sugar to your diet is linked to diabetes. In case you are already a diabetic, try using these diabetic socks and also you can opt for some healthy options to include in your meal to keep you healthy and safe.
However, when you take charge and make your lunch, you can have a variety of different lunches that will fuel you for the rest of the day. Try a salad with chicken, beans, and melon.
2. Cook in Batches
If you’re strapped for time, it doesn’t mean you can’t make your lunches. Many people end up buying their lunches because they haven’t got time to make their own. However, if you batch cook, you only need to do it once.
Do you ever go to a restaurant and order the same thing over and over again because it’s your favorite dish? You can do the same with your lunches. If you know you have a go-to recipe for your lunch and you’ll enjoy it every time, you make it in one big batch and divide it into five portions for your lunch.
3. Forget Ingredients You Don’t Enjoy
People often try and force themselves to eat ingredients they know they won’t enjoy in an effort to be healthy. This usually results in them going back to old habits just to eat food they’ll enjoy. You don’t have to force yourself into liking different foods.
Stick to the healthy foods you enjoy and try and be creative with them. For example, green beans can be used as a side vegetable with steak, thrown in a stir fry, or even chopped and added to bolognese.
4. Remember Your Lunch
It’s one thing to make your lunch ready for work and it’s another to remember to take it with you. You won’t be the first to have good intentions and then end up eating the cheeseburgers at Beck’s Prime Restaurant instead.
Do everything you can to remember to take your lunch. Try writing yourself a note on the bathroom mirror or leaving your car keys in the fridge. It’s easy to get distracted as you’re getting out the door in the morning, so remembering your lunch needs to become part of your ‘auto-pilot’ routine.
5. Have Back-ups Ready
Life is full of distractions so there may be plenty of times where you don’t have time to make your lunch in the evenings. If that’s the case, you may want to stock your fridge with easy backup plans.
Some shredded chicken, boiled eggs, and salad are easy to throw in a plastic container and store in a cooler to keep crisp and fresh. During the colder months, it comes in handy to make a big batch of soup. Soup can last for three days in your fridge.
6. What Do Your Kids Enjoy?
If you can find some healthy options for your kids to enjoy at lunch, you can use those options in everyone’s lunches. For instance, if your children are currently enjoying watermelon slices, it would be easy to take some in your lunch.
If you can incorporate what your kids enjoy into your meals, it will save you more time and hassle trying to figure out what to eat.
7. Take Time Over Your Shopping List
If you’re running around the grocery store trying to pick up anything and everything that will feed you and your family, you probably won’t make the best choices. You’re more likely to opt for easy meals rather than healthy meals.
However, if you plan your shopping list in advance, it will be a less stressful experience and you’ll know exactly what you need. Take a look at a few simple lunch recipes that are great for eating at your desk if you don’t get much time in the day. Add the ingredients to your shopping list and then bulk it up with some of your favorite snacks and evening meals.
8. Invest in Lunchboxes
You’ll need something to take your lunch to work but there’s no point in getting just one lunch box. If you bring a dirty lunch box home and don’t find the time to wash it, you won’t take lunch with you the next day.
So, you need a few backups. Have some spare lunch boxes to hand and a cooler bag in case there’s no room in the office fridge.
Eating Healthy Lunches: Get in the Habit
Eating healthy lunches for a week will be easy but getting into the habit so you continue in the long run will be something completely different. It will be more difficult to get into a routine but if you keep at it, the benefits include better focus at work and more energy.
Take a look at more of our articles for health advice.
