They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I believe that all meals are equaly important as only a balanced diet that includes healthy food proportionally consumed during each day is the right choice we make for ourselves. Today I wanted to remind you of importance of lunch every day ... especially lunch you eat during the week, at your office desk. Unfortunately most of us cannot manage to take an hour or even two hours one could use for a stress-free healthy lunch. And therefore it is important you plan ahead and prepare your meal in advance, preferably not in the midst of a busy and nervous morning at 7am before you leave for work.
This works for me:
/ dinner leftovers: when preparing dinner make sure you double the amount of ingredients and that you prepare a meal that is fine to eat cold the next day (or warm if you have the means to heat it up)
/ plan ahead: take some time each week (like Sunday evening) to plan your meals and to write down the ingredients you'll need
/ remember your lunch: if you manage to turn the above two steps into a habit, then you will not have problems with this one; sometimes I forget about lunch which means I remember to eat when I'm already very hungry and that usually leads to unhealthy options.
/ take your time: eat in a civilized manner even though you eat at your desk.
These are some of my choices each week:
/ healthy soup (zdrava juhica): I discovered this great project by a friend of a friend and I am impressed. She prepares fresh vegetable soup (bio, eco, organic, local, gluten free, without nightshades) each day and delivers it to your office (or home or wherever you are, for that matter). I especially like the kamut bread you get with it. Delicious!
/ salad: I love fresh salads, sometimes I mix in some chicken, tuna, chickpeas and/or lentils.
/ sweet corn with tuna: my go-to lunch. A small can of sweet corn and a small can of tuna, mixed together with yogurt, a tiny amount of mayo and some mustard.
/ dandelion leaves salad: my favourite spring dish, see 'my' recipe here.
/ crackers and raddishes: a yummy snack when you're in a hurry. Add or change with any other vegetables (like tomatos, peppers, cucumbers etc)
/ wholegrain sandwiches: wholegrain bread (rye, corn, kamut, buckwheat etc.) with cheese (swiss, cheddar, blue cheese, lettuce, tomatos, cucumbers, olives, avocado, roast beef, deli turkey, deli chicken, prosciutto, hummus, tahini, tuna salad, chicken salad, basil ... the list could go on and on.
/ quinoa or cous-cous with vegetable: a million of possible variations, I usually prepare chopped vegetables on some olive oil or coconut oil and mix in the quinoa or cous-cous I cooked separately.
/ leftovers: I have no problem with eating any leftovers, especially cold (as I have no option of heating them up in the office) - pasta, steaks, some simple veggetable sides ...
/ fruit: I usually eat fruit in the morning (our company is so kind that provides two pieces of fruit for each employee daily) and throughout the whole day (yes, I eat a lot :P).
If you have healthy options prepared in advance you will less likely reach for the easier and less healthy option (cookies and other sweets).
