Today I am sharing tips for packing healthy lunches on a budget that I recently shared on Panama City’s News Channel 7 Today’s Summer Shape Up.
Children and adults who are away from home during the day will benefit from having nutritious lunches that don’t require a trip to a restaurant (or to the dreaded snack machine). It is critical to re-fuel your body during the daylight hours when you are most active. If you don’t have something on hand you might end up grabbing who-knows-what.
Planning ahead and supplying your own healthy choices for lunch saves time, money, and is likely better for your health. Obviously, you have more healthy options in a grocery store than you do in restaurants.
Here are some tips for packing healthy lunches on a budget:
1. Pack at night when you’re cleaning up the kitchen. Are there leftovers that you can pack for lunch? This is a convenient time because you’re already in the kitchen. Plus lunch will be ready to grab in the morning.
2. Think about the 5 food groups that provide the balance of nutrients that we need. Use that as a template.
After you have packed any leftovers, round the meal out with the other food groups.
Proteins include: meat, poultry tuna, peanut butter, beans and boiled eggs.
Grain choices may be: rice, pasta, bread, whole-grain crackers, graham crackers, or whole wheat tortillas.
Fruit can include whatever fruit is in season, but canned fruit, dried plums raisins, bananas, “cuties” (those small tangerines) and apples are all solid choices.
Vegetables that are handy to pack and fun to eat include: carrot sticks, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, hummus, broccoli and bell pepper strips.
Dairy options include: low-fat yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese.
Some extras that help jazz things up may include: light salad dressing, hummus, yogurt (for dipping), nuts and seeds.
Here’s a recent example of a Healthy Lunch I recently packed:
In packing Bob’s lunch for work, we had leftover Chicken, Spinach and Pasta. The chicken amount was skimpy for a grown man so I added a boiled egg. Then I rounded it out with watermelon (fruit), Greek non-fat yogurt (dairy), and small amount of peanuts and almonds (healthy fat).
Using the template above you have endless options for Packing a Healthy Lunch on a Budget:
You can choose a low sodium turkey sandwich (protein and grains), cottage cheese and blueberries (dairy and fruit), and baby carrots (vegetable) and light dressing (extra).
3. You’ll pay more for “ready-made” meals, but there are some healthy options of these in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. Look for meals that have under 500 calories, less than 600mg sodium, and at least 15g of protein (20 or more is better).
You don’t have to be perfect. Aim for at least four of the five groups. You can also decide if you want to add little extra sweet or salty treat. If you are packing lunch for someone else a little love note is a nice surprise.
Planning ahead to have what you need on hand can help your busy days go smoothly.
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