Packing a well-prepared lunch bag for yourself or kids can be a challenge. If you’re feeling rushed in the morning, you might’ve already skipped a protein-rich and fat-fuelled breakfast to kick start your day. Then you have to think ahead about what to cook for dinner. Lunch is often the last thing we care to prioritize, despite its importance during the midday to refuel our bodies, restore and balance our blood sugar levels back to normal, and replenish ourselves with the right nutrients. It doesn’t benefit to spend your hard-earned moolah on food court fast-food that makes you feel icky and sluggish, skipping lunch and feeling fatigued and low-energy the rest of the day, or receiving a lunch box returned full of uneaten food from your kids after school. Or maybe you already do pack your lunch bag with one container of food but soon after lunchtime, you’re either ready for a nap or starving an hour later.
Here are some strategies to keep lunch bag simple, exciting, and nutritious so that you can feel your best for the rest of the day!
1. Pack a lunch bag with multiple food items (and not just lunch).
Keep your lunch bag packed with a variety of items, including your lunch meal and other snack items. Our blood sugar levels decline after a few hours so it’s important to keep it steady and balanced. Keep the size of your lunch moderate (eat until you are 80% full and not stuffed to the brims), and pack 1 – 2 additional healthy snack items, so that you are eating every several hours.
Some healthy snack items to consider including are:
Crudités (raw vegetables) and hummus or guacamole
Fresh fruit and a handful of raw nuts
Trail mix (nuts, seeds, raw cacao pieces, unsulphured dried fruit)
Kale chips
Homemade granola bars
Chia pudding
Plain rice cake with nut/seed butter, hemp seeds, and fresh fruit
Homemade baked goods (muffins, breakfast cookies)
Green smoothies
Organic Greek yogurt with fresh fruit
2. Always include a variety of nutrients.
Nutrients play key roles in how we feel throughout the day. Each lunch should contain a source of healthy protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates for fibre.
Good sources of protein:
Beans and legumes
Eggs
Nuts/seeds
Fish
Meat
Good sources of fats:
Nuts/seeds
Coconut oil
Avocado
Olive oil
Salmon
Ghee
Hemp seeds
Chia seeds
Dark chocolate
Good sources of fibre:
Beans/legumes
Fruits and vegetables
Nuts/seeds
Gluten-free whole grains
3. Always pack green vegetables in your lunch bag.
Dark, leafy greens are rich in phytonutrients and chlorophyll. These foods are so powerful and beneficial to our health so pick some greens to include:
Kale
Spinach
Swiss chard
Cucumber
Zucchini
Broccoli
Peas
Parsley
Cilantro
Brussels sprouts
4. Avoid processed and packaged foods.
Homemade foods (like muffins, granola bars, meats, etc.) are likely more nutritious than store-bought items. Store-bought lunch meats and snack items are often filled with chemicals, preservatives, sugar, salt, and other fillers, that it reaps the benefit to make these items in large batches at home or do your research and buy in bulk from ethical and healthy companies that produce these items without the added crap.
5. Use fun containers.
For adults and kids alike, lunch is always more exciting with trendy and fashionable glass containers and utensils than in boring, plastic sandwich bags or brown paper bags that get trashed every day. It’s the psychological appeal. Would you like if I wrapped your Christmas present in yellowed newspaper or in a pretty box with a bow?
For young children, buy compartmentalized containers so that small items can be kept separate for picky eaters, and it’s more hands on to eat. Worried about yourself and glass breakage? Buy tempered glass containers, as they’re more durable and resistant for food storage.
6. Prepare lunch in advance.
If you know that the mornings are always rushed, then prepare lunch at the beginning of the week or the night before. This is where meal prep comes in handy. Make your children involved in the process, so that they get to pick an option of a green vegetable and snack items to pack in their lunch bag.
This 1-week meal prep plan is strategically designed for you beautiful, busy ladies that like variety, new recipes, a pre-planned weekly food schedule, and grocery list with an exact quantity of ingredients required. If you over-indulged this summer and are ready to get back on track this month, then download this free plan because you’re in for a treat!
What’s Included:
A meal prep plan for two people (if you’re cooking for you and your plus one).
Nutritious, quick and simple recipes with pictures and instructions (so that you’re not eating the same dish for more than 2 days).
1-week meal schedule (so you’re not spending the entire Sunday cooking for the week.) The meals are pre-determined on the schedule and allows you to have fresh food throughout the week.
Two downloads available, for non-vegetarians and vegetarians.
Ingredient list (so that you know exactly how much you need and avoid food waste).