Healthy Lunch Ideas For Work

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Eating out, hitting up vending machines, and skipping lunch altogether are all too common when you work in a busy office. Stress, hunger, and the whims of your coworkers can all derail the best-laid plans to stay on track. Try these ideas for enjoying lunch at work while staying on top of your healthy eating goals.

1. Eat out wisely.

Just because you happen to be eating in a restaurant or ordering takeout is not an excuse to indulge in fatty or high-calorie foods that you will regret eating. Choose salads with the dressing on the side or sandwiches with lots of veggies – skip the side item, unless it’s fresh fruit or another healthy food.

2. Plan for leftovers.

Double the recipes for healthy dinners you cook at home so that you have extras to pack for lunch the next day (or couple of days). Most foods can be easily packed up and transported to work. If you have access to a refrigerator and microwave oven, this option is a no-brainer and can save your health and your wallet.

3. Plan for healthy lunches when you grocery shop.

Investing in some reusable containers of various sizes for packing lunches can save you money and make it easy and fun to pack up healthy sandwiches, salads, and fresh fruits and veggies. Several small containers allow you to pack salad items separately to keep everything fresher; at lunchtime, you can assemble your salad.

If you normally crave a pick-me-up in the afternoon, pack some almonds or other nuts. For days when only something sweet will do, look for healthy cookies or bars – or make your own, using applesauce instead of butter or making other healthy substitutions, and keep portions of these items small.

4. Make provisions if you don’t have access to a refrigerator.

Not everyone has a refrigerator at work. If you spend much of your day in your car, or your workplace doesn’t have a kitchen or small fridge, you can still pack healthy foods for lunch by using an insulated lunch bag and ice packs or frozen bottles of water. You can also choose items that don’t require refrigeration, such as individual pouches of tuna, some sandwiches, and fresh whole fruits. Another option is to use frozen fruit as an ice pack; it keeps your other food cool, and is thawed and ready to eat by lunchtime.

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