Eating Well At Work – Tips For Making Healthy Lunches

It can be very challenging to eat well at work because there seems to be an endless supply of birthday cakes and sugary treats floating around the workplace.

Many workers also resort to unhealthy foods to obtain a short term boost of energy that gets them through the afternoon slump.

Maintaining a healthy diet in this environment can be quite difficult.

The best solution to unhealthy eating in the workplace is to pack healthy lunches that are nutritious, delicious, and very satisfying.

This will prevent you from over-indulging on unhealthy snacks that can eventually damage your health.

To help you to eat well at work, this post will share several tips for making healthy work lunches.

#1 – Meal Prep

The meal prepping movement has really taken off in the past few years.

It involves preparing large batches of complete meals ahead of schedule.

You can then pull out a meal whenever you are hungry, heat it in the microwave, and enjoy.

Meal prepping is a great way to save time and money, and it is an easy way to ensure you eat well at work.

Most people who meal prep will spend several hours preparing between two to five complete meals that can be consumed during the next couple of weeks.

These meals will usually consist of foods that freeze well, like meat, rice, pasta, and vegetables.

Casseroles and soups are particularly popular amongst meal preppers as they can be frozen for a long time.

You can also prep salads as long as they will be eaten in the next four to five days.

Another useful technique is to prep large amounts of whole grains, vegetables, and proteins separately.

You can then combine these elements with different sauces, making everything from curried beef strips and beef stroganoff to sweet-and-sour stir fry.

This approach ensures you will never get bored with meal prepping.

Here are a few healthy work lunch recipes that can be meal prepped very easily:

• Turkey Taco Lunch Bowls
• Mason Jar Chicken Salad
• Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs
• Honey Sesame Chicken
• Broccoli Chicken Rice Bowls

#2 – Keep It Simple

If you are time-constrained (like most working people), don’t spend hours making elaborate lunches with ingredients that you are unfamiliar with.

You don’t need to use Quinoa in everything!

Go for simple meals that you enjoy which provide great value in terms of nutrition and flavour.

Focus on:

• Dinner bowls (several healthy ingredients thrown into a bowl with a light sauce)
• Burritos (delicious, easy to make, and can be very healthy)
• Salad wraps (versatile and yummy, more on this in a moment)
• Salads with protein (beans, turkey, chicken, tofu and eggs are all great choices)
• Mini egg or tofu quiches
• Vegetable casseroles and soups
• Pasta dishes
• Mason jar salads (easy to transport and delicious)
• One pan lunches (everything cooked in a single tray)

#3 – Rely On Wraps

Wraps are healthy, convenient, and easy to make.

You can pack a wrap with everything from kidney beans and salsa to kale and turkey.

They are also transport well (no soggy bread) and can be prepared the night before, which makes them perfect for a work lunch.

Here are a few great wrap recipes to check out:

• Chicken and Kale Salad Wraps
• Veggie Olive Wraps with Vinaigrette
• Healthy Tuna Lettuce Wraps
• Lebanese Chicken Wraps

#4 – Focus On Soups in Winter

Soups are a wonderful food because they make it easy to add more vegetables to your diet, they are delicious, and they feel satisfying to eat.

It’s a great idea to focus on nutritious soups during the colder months when you might be tempted by unhealthy comfort foods.

Make your soups substantial, so they keep you satiated during the latter half of the workday.

Adding a chunky piece of toasted sourdough bread is useful for making a soup more satisfying.

Here are a few exciting soup recipes to try:

• Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup
• Spicy Bean Soup
• Hearty Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup
• Pumpkin and Ginger Soup
• Miso Soup With Tofu and Cabbage

#5 – Use a weekly meal plan

One of the reasons why people resort to eating unhealthy food or takeaway food during the workday is that they are bored with the meals they prepare at home.

The solution is obvious – great a weekly meal plan that has plenty of variety in it.

A meal plan works in conjunction with meal prepping, makes shopping easier, and can save you a lot of money as you will waste less food.

#6 – Include proteins and healthy fats

Aside from their numerous health benefits, proteins and healthy fats are an important part of lunch because they will make you feel satiated.

This means you are less likely to eat snack food in the afternoon.

Use plenty of avocados, tofu, chicken, turkey, oily fish, and beans in your meals.

#7 – Become a sauce master

Becoming a skilled sauce-maker is one of the secrets to creating delicious home-made lunches.

Being capable of throwing a completely new flavour onto your lunch keeps everything fresh and reduces the risk that you will revert to bad eating habits.

Move beyond basic sauces and try out:

•   Tahini, garlic, lemon, and salt sauce
•   Homemade basil pesto
•   Hummus sauce
•   Traditional balsamic sauces
•   Cashew cream sauce
•   Coconut milk with curry powder and salt

#8 – Incorporate dark leafy greens

Dark leafy greens are an incredible source of nutrients and anti-oxidants.

Do your best to incorporate plenty of kale, broccoli, bok choy, spinach, endive, cabbage, arugula, Swiss chard, turnip greens, micro greens (sprouts of other vegetables) and so on.

After a few weeks of eating dark leafy greens you will begin to notice you have more energy and your work performance will have improved.

I hope you enjoyed reading Eating Well At Work – Tips For Making Healthy Lunches.

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