Get Lunch in the Bag - in a Hurry
Bringing a lunch to work is a great idea for lots of reasons: it saves calories, it saves money, and it even saves time, allowing you to relax at lunch instead of fighting the crowds at fast-food restaurants.
When you're packing a brown-bag lunch, you'll almost always do better, calorie- and fat-wise, say experts.
"The more home-cooked meals you have, the better," says WebMD Weight Loss Clinic "Recipe Doctor" Elaine Magee, MPH, RD. "Studies have shown that when people eat meals away from home, they eat more food, more calories, and more fat."
So why do so many adults resort to the drive-through at lunchtime? Maybe it's because the idea of bag lunches conjures up memories of the mushy peanut butter sandwiches and warm sodas we suffered through during our school years. But there are plenty of delicious, grown-up options you can prepare just as quickly.
Start With the Bread
Building a better brown-bag lunch starts, in many cases, with the bread. Not only are whole-grain breads such as wheat and rye more healthful than white bread, they'll hold up better until lunch. Pita breads or bagels - preferably whole-grain varieties - are sturdier for sandwiches as well, Magee says.
"A turkey sandwich on whole grain with a bean salad on the side" is an excellent choice, says Magee. Make it interesting by using peppered turkey breast, part-skim mozzarella, and arugula. Instead of smearing the bread with mayonnaise, try a little hummus. And to be sure the bread won't wilt, keep the hummus (along with some fresh sliced tomato) separate from the rest of the sandwich until lunchtime.
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic Dietitian Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, is a big fan of using spinach in place of lettuce for sandwiches and salads.
"I keep a package of fresh spinach on hand. It's more nutritious than most greens and has virtually no calories. Try to layer it with vegetables like bell peppers."
For vegetarians, stack up the veggies, says Zelman. Add slices of low fat cheese and tomato to the spinach and bell pepper, and stack them between two slices of pumpernickel bread. To come up with more combos, check out your local gourmet deli for inspiration.
"I'm always looking for the gourmet sandwich shop to see how they put things together," Zelman says.
Beyond The Sandwich
Sandwiches aren't your thing? No problem.
If you have access to a refrigerator, or can invest a few dollars in an insulated container, there's no end to your brown-bag options. Fruit or green salads, hard-boiled eggs, sliced lean meat, and chicken and tuna salad will all keep well if chilled.
If there's a microwave at your workplace, last night's dinner extras make a super-easy lunch.
When grilling chicken breasts or baking pork chops for dinner, Zelman always makes more than the family can eat. To save steps, prepare your lunch at the same time you're making dinner, she says.
You can finish your lean pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes the next day, stuff leftover broccoli in a pita with some low-fat cheese and heat it at lunchtime, or put the extra salmon filet or chicken breast over a bed of greens.
"Salad, to me, is just one of the best ways to eat up leftover food," Zelman says. And salad toppings aren't limited to meat; try leftover broccoli, green beans, or orzo pasta.
Speaking of pasta, "tortellini with pesto makes a good cold lunch the next day," says Magee.
Another staple for Magee is a bean and cheese burrito. You can use leftover beans or canned ones for a quick start, and add some grilled veggies to round out the meal. "You get protein from the beans and cheese, lots of fiber and some carbohydrates."
If you have a craving for tuna or chicken salad, says Magee, make it with balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil instead of mayonnaise, then have it with some whole-grain crackers or over greens. Throw in an apple or some grapes, and you've got a delicious and nutritious lunch.
When your fridge is empty and you're at a loss for creativity, Magee says, there's always frozen dinners. Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and Weight Watchers, among others, offer healthful entrees - some of which taste pretty good.
"Read the label to make sure they're not too high in sodium," Magee says. And because these entrees can be too low in calories to make a meal, Magee suggests supplementing them with a piece of fruit and some low-fat yogurt.
Be Prepared
As with all healthful eating, the key to packing good lunches is to shop wisely and plan ahead, say experts. Stock up on fruit and on vegetables that can be eaten raw, such as peppers, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, and celery. As soon as you get home from the store, clean and chop them so you can just grab and go in the morning. For a super-quick lunch, just eat the veggies with store-bought hummus or low-fat cottage cheese.
Magee says she doesn't believe in deprivation, so if you've got a sweet tooth, satisfy it. But don't eat an entire pint of ice cream or box of cookies. First, try eating a sweet piece of watermelon or a nectarine. If that doesn't do the trick, try low-fat frozen yogurt, a Fig Newton, or a ginger snap.
"Freeze a juice box" with 100% juice and eat it like a popsicle, suggests Zelman, or wait until it thaws and drink it with lunch instead of a soda.
To help keep you away from the sodas and coffee (which can dehydrate you and help make you hungrier) be sure you've always got water on hand. Freezing bottled water is a great way to keep cold water at your desk at all times (and a frozen bottle can help keep the rest of your lunch cold until noon).
The key to successful brown-bagging is to make your lunch interesting and delicious. "You need to have a variety of tastes and textures," says Zelman. "Yogurt or a smoothie by itself just doesn't cut it for lunch. It's too smooth. You need a crunch. You need to feel like you're eating."
She suggests packing some granola or other high-fiber cereal to add to the yogurt, or having some raw vegetables to balance out a smoothie.
"Baby carrots are everywhere, that's obvious," she says. "But be creative; try jicama. It's a great vegetable and it has a lot of texture."
That spirit of adventure will go a long way to keep your brown bags from becoming boring (and driving you back to the drive-through). Go beyond sandwiches, or experiment to create some new ones. Make it a challenge to include color (veggies and fruit), protein (lean meat or fish), and dairy (yogurt or low-fat cheese) in every lunch to keep balance in your diet.
"Lunch is supposed to provide one-third of your nutrient requirements," says Zelman. "It's not only important that it be interesting and delicious, but also nutritious."
By Barbara Russi Sarnataro
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/brown-bag-lunches-that-make-grade