Healthy Lunch Ideas

There seems to be a lot of undue confusion and frustration involved with eating healthy lunches these days. There really is no rocket science involved. It just takes organization and pre-planning. Follow some of the steps below and you will be in charge of your health and weight in no time flat.

Significance

• If you are trying to better yourself through diet modification, then developing healthy lunch options is definitely a way to go. This is oftentimes difficult given daily obstacles such as being pressed for time, peer pressure from co-workers and not having access to healthy choices. The mastery to these problems lies in the planning. Plan ahead of time where you can eat, what you can eat and when you can eat. If you know you are going out with co-workers tomorrow, then make those plans so you can sail into any establishment confident that you can get a healthy selection.

Benefits

• Eating healthy lunches have a myriad of benefits attached to them. If you go the route of fast food all the time, then you are apt to develop high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and coronary artery disease to name a few things. If you choose to take the healthy route, then you will avoid all of these pitfalls. This alone makes it more than worth what little struggle it might take.

Features

• If you are a homemaker or a brown bagger, then you will love these great lunch ideas. The following meals can actually be eaten any time of the day in the event you follow a multiple-meal daily plan. The caloric content is even included for easy reference.

Types

• This option is designed for the fruit lovers out there. The berries can either be frozen or fresh.

  Banana Berry Blastoff

  Place 1 banana, ½ cup of blueberries, ½ cup of raspberries, 1 tbsp. of sunflower seeds and ½ scoop of protein powder into a bowl. Mash everything to a pulp and enjoy every palate-pleasing bite. Eat 5 almonds on the side. This meal comes out to about 310 calories.

  Power Yogurt

  Place 1 cup of lowfat yogurt (any flavor) in a bowl. Add a half scoop of protein powder, a pinch of cinnamon and 1 tbsp. of sunflower seeds. Eat 5 raw almonds on the side for a little extra essential fatty acids. This meal equals approximately 260 calories.

  This is one of my favorite inventions. Why the name "Dynasty"? Because this meal is so super-packed with enzymatically active nutrients that you will be creating a dynasty with your newly chiseled body. Eggs are also a great source of protein and have an amino acid profile second to none.

  Dynasty

  The meal consists of 2 hard-boiled eggs, a handful of chopped veggies (baby carrots, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber and celery) and a quarter-inch chunk of almond cheese. Throw in 1 apple and you walk away with about 320 guilt-free calories.

  The next three items will all be lumped together, being that they are related. They revolve around the sandwich family.

  Wrap or sandwich

  You can get pre-made wraps and sandwiches at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or a plethora of delis, coffee houses and sandwich shops. Try to load them up with veggies and stay away from heavy amounts of oil and mayonnaise. Lean chicken breast, turkey and hummus are good options. Or you can always make your own. They run in the 350 to 500 calorie range. See links below.

  Tuna Sandwich

  Mix 1 can of chunk white tuna, 1 tbsp. of fat free mayonnaise and 1 tbsp. of pickle relish in a bowl. Put on a sprouted bun or 2 slices of sprouted bread with lettuce and tomato. Throw a handful of raw veggies on your plate and away you go. You can also use whole-wheat bread or rolls. Just make sure it's 100 percent whole wheat. This meal weighs in at about 395 calories. See below for more information on sprouted bread.

  Turkey Sandwich

  Replace tuna with turkey. Slap 1 tbsp. of fat free mayonnaise or mustard across the top and a slice of low-fat cheese and call it a meal. This is also about 395 calories.

Expert Insight

• When wheat is harvested, it is bleached and utilized to make bread, rolls, bagels and a ton of other products whose main constituent is flour. This bleaching process robs the valuable nutrients and vitamins away from the bread, rendering it useless. The sprouted process is altogether different. The wheat is harvested as it is sprouting. It is then made into bread through a nondestructive process, allowing it to stay enzymatically active. This means it is more recognizable and digestible by the body; it has all of its nutrients; it is higher in fiber, higher in protein and lower on the glycemic index. The body actually recognizes it as a vegetable. So, if you feel adventurous, try some sprouted bread.