Lunch at work is usually filled with all kinds of temptation. Vending machines, cookies and cake in the staff room, fast food nearby, the midday habits that you’ve designed to take the edge off of your stressful morning. It’s so easy to give in and indulge in these offers. While I might be a vegan most of the time, deli sandwiches with refined breads and animal products still beckon me when I’m confronted with them, and while it’s okay to have them once and a great while, or in nutritionally insignificant quantities, I need filling and nutritious foods in my possession so I don’t make unhealthy food a daily habit.
Bringing your lunch to work is a much better option for your health and it can be a lot less work than you imagine it might be. Plus, it’s much less expensive. I always pack a huge lunch from leftovers or fresh foods on hand and the cost of my lunch is a few dollars at most.
Once you have the goal to take your lunch to work, grocery shop with that goal in mind. Don’t look for convenient foods that you can make in the microwave, look for whole foods that can be eaten as they are and be immediately delicious.
When I was buying strawberries this week at $2.50 a pound, I bought two extra pounds and went ahead and brought a whole pound to work with me. Fruit doesn’t require refrigeration and I realized that strawberries are even more delicious warm, as I always eat them right out of the fridge at home. Bringing the whole container allowed me to eat a lot of fruit rather than just a little, and it was already packed for me in its plastic case.
I also like to make more food than I plan to eat for dinner so that bringing lunch the next day is convenient. I make two cups of brown rice for dinner instead of one, or the entire package of whole wheat pasta, because it’s inexpensive to replace and the leftovers last for a long time in the fridge. I can mix the brown rice or whole wheat pasta with hummus or spaghetti sauce and green vegetables the next day and have a hot nutritious meal from work’s microwave. If you don’t have access to a microwave, whole wheat noodles and rice can taste pretty good cold too with the right combination. Maybe a peanut sauce or with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar salad.
Beans are also a really easy way to fill up at lunch. Grab a can of no-sodium beans at Whole Foods from 365 (really inexpensive!) or soak and cook your own at home in the evening (even more inexpensive, of course). Make weird combinations from whatever’s on hand in your kitchen. The other day I found some cashews at work and some peanut butter in the fridge. I threw my beans in a bowl, sprinkled in some cashews, dolloped in some peanut butter, heated it up in the microwave and had a really awesome lunch!
The best part about not eating dairy and meat products is that going a few to several hours without refrigeration is not a big deal at all – so take advantage of it and take your whole foods with you wherever you go!
Related posts:
- Feeding a Resistant Young Child
- Bike to Work Week
- Healthy Eating for Kids
- Getting Kids to Eat Healthy
- Affordable Ways to Eat Organic
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