Triple Dog Dare: Healthier Workday Lunches

Today is my birthday!.. Hooray!  :)  I have some nice little plans laid out for the rest of the day, including a long swim at the gym, some fun shopping, and dinner out with some friends, but I thought I'd kick the day off with a post in here about a topic near and dear to me, and one that seems to foul a lot of people up in their weight loss and clean eating goals: eating healthy on the run.

I am mostly talking about lunchtime at work, under the umbrella of wanting to save money, eat healthy, and not having a whole lot of time to prepare food and eat it during your break.  I totally understand that it would be easier if we could just eat a frozen meal every day for lunch, or grab a Special K bar or the like, but the reality is that there are better choices with less sodium, less refined carbohydrates, more biologically-available protein, more fiber - basically better choices for lunchtime that will keep you full and coherent for the rest of your work day.

The number one excuse I have heard to shoulder the blame on an unhealthy lunch or snack at work is: I just don't have time to think of and pack up meals ahead of time.  What I have to say to that is sorry, but you do, and it's important enough to sack up and do it!  This is your body folks, you only get one of them.  Today I am here to try and drill some nice tidbits and tactics into you so you can try healthier lunchtimes.  (I want to mention healthier snacks too, but that's shpaing up to be a whole entity in itself - stay tuned.)

Before going any further, I think we need to talk about freezer bags.  Lunch bags have come a long way baby!  No more brown paper sacks - oh no, we are smarter these days and people have created mini freezer bags that keep our food relatively chilly for a relatively long amount of time - say.. til lunch?  This is great for people whose workplaces have a busy kitchen area with minimal fridge/freezer space, or no kitchen at all.  Every work day I pack up my lunch in a cute polka dot Saya bag by Thermos that I got at Target for $7.99.  The cute and chic and eco-friendly baggie options are all over the place - you can probably get an insulated lunch cooler from Kate Spade if you really wanna do it up.  So, the method of bringing prepared food to said workspace?  No longer an issue. 

Now.. what to bring?  As I've officially previously admitted, I use to work for Jenny Craig, so yes, I was too guilty of bringing frozen meals to work.  And I still do from time to time if things have been truly insane - but this is fewer and far betweener as I see the results of clean eating working their sweet sweet magic.  I have some standby favorites for lunchtime meals that I want to share with you.  They are, generally, around 250ish calories, nicely balanced, and usually taste just fine at room temperature, or easily heated (not to mention they fit into my cute tote bag).  I usually also pack a whole fruit such as a banana, and apple, a cut-up honey tangerine or something similar.  This helps with the occasional post-lunch sweet tooth that may arise.  Here's a quick list of clean-er on the go meals that I often use:

1.  Dr. McDougall's Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup, Light Sodium + 3 oz cubed grilled, skinless chicken breast, and one light Laughing Cow Cheese with carrot discs.  The soup is a nice quick base with only 140 calories and 360 mg of sodium, but not nearly enough protein to sustain me, so I add in some cut up chicken, which I bring in a separate tupperware container.  I cook the soup with hot water from the cooler and then add the soup to chicken.  I love carrot discs as dip or cheese vehicles.  (Yes I know I am starting the list with a processed food, but I am trying to show that I'm not a hater.  Or a hypocrite!)

2.  One can BumbleBee albacore tuna very low sodium, mixed with 2 Tbsp Smart Balance Mayo, and .5 oz walnuts, with 1 serving Kashi Heart to Heart Roasted Garlic crackers, and orange pepper strips.

3.  1 cup baby spinach, .5 cup clover sprouts with one Black Bean Burger patty, 2 Tbsp organic salsa, 1 Tbsp Smart Balance Reduced Fat sour cream.  My sister-in-law gave me the best Black Bean burger recipe from the Better Homes & Garden magazine April 2009 issue.  It is so cheap and easy and tasty!  Definitely worth a try people, AND you can freeze leftovers for nice on-the-go meals such as this. 

4.  1 Flatout multigrain with flax wrap with 1 Tbsp hummus, 4 sliced Kalamata olives, clover sprouts, shredded cabbage, and 3 oz sliced chicken.  These wraps are great - whatever filling you choose.  They pack 8 grams of fiber into 100 calories and they hold everything in place while you eat. 

5.  "Smelly shrimp salad" (You may want to forewarn your coworkers if you're testing this one.)  3-4 oz chopped cooked shrimp, mixed with 1 hard-boiled egg, .5-1 tsp curry powder, 1 Tbsp Smart Balance mayo, about 1.5 stalks chopped celery, and some onion if you are game, on 2 slices reduced-calorie whole grain bread.  I love the taste of this, but maybe I am weird.. and smelly.  Hopefully not. 

6.  2 slices Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread with 2 Tbsp Low-Sodium Better N' Peanut Butter and 1 Tbsp Crofter's Superfood No Sugar-Added Jelly, and one mini-container 1% cottage cheese.  I try to pair this carb-ier lunch with a higher protein breakfast, like a veggie & egg white omelet.

Ok, that's 6 different meals, enough new lunch meals to try for a whole work week.  Hopefully these ideas are enough to get your brain ticking toward other lunchtime-friendly options.  I dare you go to go one whole week without eating processed food for lunch.  Yes, it's a little bit tough if your coworkers like to go out to eat, but doesn't that get expensive - both wallet-wise and waist-wise?  Test out this way of eating lunch.  If you are awesome and tracking your food, you will see your numbers improve dramatically, all by switching up one meal per day.  I'm excited for you - new foods and possibilities await you.  Enjoy my birthday!