The work lunch options seem limited, but healthy options exist for both dining out and packing a brown bag lunch. A healthy lunch supplies you with the energy necessary to last through the rest of the work day. Keeping the fat and calories low also helps control your weight, especially if you are stuck at a desk with limited physical activity options during the work day.
Healthy Cafeteria Food
If your workplace offers employees an on-site cafeteria, do your homework to identify the healthiest options on the menu. Look for a salad bar or other opportunities to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. Limit high-fat salad dressing. Whole grains and lean proteins like fish and chicken are usually safe choices. Avoid any cream-based, fried, battered or au gratin dishes, which are typically high in fat and calories. If the cafeteria has limited healthy options, speak to the manager about expanding the offerings.
Leftovers
If the dinners you prepare at home are healthy, make extra and take the leftovers to the office for lunch. Most leftovers still taste right the next day either cold or reheated. If you don't want to use the microwave to reheat the food, heat it in a pan at home in the morning and keep it in a thermos to retain heat until lunchtime. Dress up the leftovers or combine two nights' worth of food to create a new dish. For example, add roasted vegetables from Monday night to the leftover chili from Tuesday night to create a roasted vegetable chili dish for lunch on Wednesday.
Finger Food
Instead of focusing on one large main dish, pack several smaller finger foods for a mini lunch buffet. The smaller portions give you variety without overeating. The food you don't eat at lunch time works well for an afternoon snack. Ideas for brown bag finger foods include cheese chunks, deli meat, pita chips with hummus, sugar snap peas, boiled eggs and turkey meatballs.
Salad
Salad gets the reputation as a boring lunch option, but a little creativity turns your greens into a healthy and tasty lunch. Use flavorful grilled or roasted chicken to add protein to your salad. Add in fruit like grapefruit sections or berries for a slight sweetness. Salads don't have to rely on greens as the base. Try a salad that uses assorted vegetables like broccoli, snow peas, squash and tomatoes in place of the lettuce. Stir in your choice of proteins and dressing to complete the salad. Pasta is another base option for lunch salads. To add crunch to any salad, try chow mein noodles or sunflower seeds in place of the traditional croutons.
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