How many calories you should be eating depends on your current weight and whether you're trying to maintain it or lose some. Even if you're not counting calories and are simply trying to choose the healthiest possible options, there are still things you should avoid. Certain choices are obviously healthier -- for example, choosing a piece of fruit over a serving of fries is an easy way to get you started and requires no complicated calorie counting or recipes.
Healthy Lunch Choices
When it comes to eating a healthy lunch, pay attention to the preparation as well as the ingredients. Bake, stew, grill or stir-fry your food to keep the calorie content of the dish low. Get used to flavoring your dishes with spices and herbs rather than adding oil or butter. You can also turn your favorite dishes healthier by making a few adjustments. Buy whole wheat pasta instead of regular white pasta and choose brown rice over white. Use less cheese on your pasta and casseroles and buy only low-fat. Wraps, soups and casseroles are all easy to prepare and can be made into healthy dishes if you choose the ingredients wisely. When choosing proteins, skip beef and pork as much as possible and eat more fish, chicken and turkey.
Healthy Snacks
The healthiest snacks are also the simplest ones you can find. A nonfat or low-fat yogurt, a handful of nuts or a medium banana with 1 tsp. of peanut butter are all healthy choices and require no preparation. Air-popped popcorn with no added butter is also a good option. Other healthy snacks include hummus with veggies, and fruit, both dried or fresh.
Healthy On-The-Go Eating
Healthy foods don't have to take long to prepare. You can put together a quick turkey roll-up using a whole wheat tortilla, some sliced turkey and vegetables of your choice, such as tomato slices, lettuce or chopped carrots. Or use whole wheat bread and tuna, but skip the mayo to avoid the added calories. Both of these options can be made in the morning in less than five minutes, so you can take them with you for lunch. If you're eating out, stick to grilled or baked foods and skip anything that's fried, breaded or battered. Ask the restaurant server if the chef will make substitutions, such as eliminating the cheese from your bean burrito or serving the salad dressing on the side.
Healthier Vending Machine Snacks
Ideally, bring your own snacks with you whenever possible, such as nuts, veggies or fruit. This will prevent last-minute, impulsive vending machine buys that are likely to be high in calories, fat or sugars. If you have no choice but to buy something from a machine, choose wisely. According to Forbes.com, baked chips are a good choice, as they contain less than 50 calories and about 5 g of fat per 1-oz. bag. Other good choices include dried fruits such as apricots or raisins, nuts, pretzels, sunflower seeds or granola bars.
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