Brown bag tips

Brown Baggin' It: Better Lunches

By Jaclyn Johnson
eDiets Contributor

When I think of a brown-bag lunch, potato chips, PB & Js and whole milk come to mind. But no longer do packed lunches have to be child-like. Now, it’s easy to pack a simple, healthy and, most importantly, delicious lunch. No longer do you have to resort to fast food or expensive restaurant lunches. Our eDiets experts will give you some tips on how to make lunches lovable again.

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When it comes to packing your own lunch, it is necessary to plan! Write out a list of what you would like for lunch that week before you go to the grocery store. This will decrease the chance you will impulsively grab food you don’t need. Also buy pre-chopped fruits and veggies and sliced deli meats, this will make it easier for you to pack your lunch and not make a mess. If you have 10 minutes of free time, you can pack a healthy lunch!

What do you need to include?
According to eDiets nutrition expert Pamela Ofstein, a well-rounded lunch should include “protein, fruits and vegetables (good fiber sources), some carbohydrates (whole grain sources), even a little healthy fat is good (nuts, avocado, etc).” Pamela’s idea of a healthy lunch is “some tuna salad or a piece of chicken (cold is just as yummy), a few crackers, small salad with vinaigrette dressing, and a piece of fruit for dessert.”

What to avoid
Try to avoid excessively fattening foods and too many snacks. For instance, when making a turkey sandwich, what would you typically put on it? Lettuce? Yes. Tomato? Yes. Mayo? No. Oil and vinegar? No.

Try to avoid those extra fatty calories by substituting mayo with a small layer of hummus or low-fat mayo.

Secondly, don’t overdo the carbohydrates. If you are a carb-craver, avoid that fettuccine Alfred and try some whole-wheat pasta salad. Use less pasta and more mixed chopped vegetables such as carrots, olives and tomatoes. Instead of mayonnaise, toss the pasta salad in some fat-free Italian dressing, throw it in some Tupperware, refrigerate and voila!

Try to avoid the infamous sandwich companion -- chips! But if you crave the crunch Pam suggests “Low fat chips are a good alternative if you want something crunchy -- baked is the key. Some other good suggestions are baked tortilla chips, pretzels, whole-grain/low-fat crackers and rice cakes. The important thing is portion control -- that is the key.”

Lastly, try to resist temptation for dessert. After a nice healthy lunch it’s hard to fight off that craving for something sweet. Try to add some fruit, such as grapes or strawberries, to curve the sweet craving. If you can’t control the craving, don’t make yourself suffer! Every now and then it’s OK to indulge your craving as long as you don’t overdo (i.e. have a cookie not 12 cookies).

Snack Attack
We all get it! Around 4 o’clock, lunch seems like it was ages ago and dinner seems even further away. Don’t worry, have a healthy snack to hold you over. Some great snack foods are nuts (almonds and walnuts), sliced apples, Nabisco 100-Calorie snack packs, rice cakes, nonfat cottage cheese or low-fat graham crackers. Snacking isn’t a bad habit if you do it correctly!

For those of you on the go, keep a variety of pre-sliced fruits such as cantaloupe, strawberries and mango. Add them to your lunch for a quick and nutritious snack.

And Remember
Boredom can break any healthful lunch plan. Pam says, “Variety is the best. Try different foods. Add vegetables into your tuna salad; a balanced lunch can include all types of foods. You don’t have to make a typical lunch like a sandwich. Plus, leftovers make great bagged lunches.”

To beat boredom, think outside the box! When making a salad for lunch, don’t just stick to same old lettuce, tomatoes and carrots. Why not add some walnuts, raisins, chick peas, even sliced apples to the mix.

Find yourself sick of sandwiches and salads? Try soup! There is a great variety of low-fat, low-sodium and organic soups available. Just stick it in the microwave, and you will soon have a healthy and hearty meal. Another healthy alternative to a sandwich is a baked sweet potato!

Pam reminds us that “the goal is to keep the portions within a healthy range -- 3-oz. piece of protein (meat, chicken, and tuna). And if you are on a calorie restricted plan, if you eat more at one meal than another it is fine as long as you keep within your calorie allotment for the day.”

eDiets has great ways for you to eat healthy, lose weight and take control of your health. We're just a click away whenever you need us for inspiration and support. To get started, visit eDiets and fill out a free diet profile.

Jaclyn Johnson is an eDiets editorial intern and a journalism/mass communications major at New York University.