Easy lunches!

            So I must admit now, I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver. I enjoyed his cooking shows, such as the naked chef, but even more, I enjoy his food revolution. Jamie constantly inspires me to find a healthier way to make everyday items. So today is especially inspired by him and to inspire others to eat better.

            I currently work in an office environment, and watch daily people eating horrible foods. They often eat fast food, frozen TV dinners, and sometimes-entire full dinners for lunch, it truly blows my mind. I don’t ever try to preach my ideas to others, but I do ask why people don’t pack their own lunches from home. Most of the answers I get are people don’t have the time or they don’t have the product at home. While I cannot control people’s shopping habits, I can help make products at home easier to make healthy lunches.

            First off, I love snacking, especially during the workday. My work enjoys putting out candy and other things that are horrible that people snack on all day. I think it is important to bring healthy snacks to enjoy avoiding the unhealthy temptations.

            Prep. It is really easy to put an hour away on Sunday to prep some things for the week. You can even turn prep time into family time, which can teach everyone how to chop and store items as well as hang out together.

            First off, veggies. Lets take out favorites and cut them up so when can just grab them in the morning. Cut up carrots; keep them in water so they don’t dry out. Also cut up and store some broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, and baby tomatoes in a container, so when you are off to work, you can grab a container or bag and throw some in. Fruit can be prepped just as easier, cut up oranges, apples & pears (store in lemon water), grapes, as well as mangoes, plums, etc. Other snacks to have on hand that are healthy to have are dried fruit (just make sure sugar is not added), applesauce (same issue, no sugar added), nuts, and yogurt/kefir (kefir is nice for those fast-paced people, because you can drink it).

            Boredom, this is something that I hear from people when it comes to lunches. Mix it up! For example, have a sandwich only one to two days a week. You can also have wraps, salads, pasta or rice, or soup. Think of filling varieties as well, you can do this in the prep time as well. Make some egg salad, chicken salad (waldorf, yum), or have slices of cucumbers for a fresh veggie salad. Make sure to bring a healthy portion, but rely on snacks to fill the void.

            Other items that is often handy to have around, granola or granola bars (look for natural items, not a lot of added sugars). I also like to keep drinkable items that may fill a hunger void, such as tea, and vitamin C packets that make water oh so tasty. Hopes it helps.

Enjoy and Keep it healthy!