The Food

Think about having transitional ingredients to reduce food waste, use less space in the refrigerator, and stretch your budget.

For example:

Shredded carrots and cabbage could go in a taco salad or an asian fusion bowl.

Frozen riced cauliflower can be a great addition in oatmeal with some apples and cinnamon for breakfast or mixed in with your mac n’ cheese at lunch.

Plain greek yogurt can be enjoyed at breakfast with some fresh fruit and nuts or as a dressing at lunch with a few additional seasonings like a dry ranch packet or harissa.

Have a plan!
Here are a couple of scenarios:

Is work providing you lunch?

Load up on the protein and non-starchy veggies to start and add in a complex carbohydrate to help fuel you through the afternoon.

Will you be out and about?

Think road trip friendly while hitting every part of the MyPlate model. Pack something car-friendly like a squeeze pouch of fruit (no rotten stinky core to remember or and no napkins needed), finger friendly veggies like sugar snap peas/carrots/cucumbers, whole grain crackers, jerky, and a shelf stable ultra-filtered milk like Fairlife.

Do you need to work through lunch?

Take at least 10 minutes to acknowledge you are eating the lunch you packed instead of shoveling it down or skipping right past it and overeating later in the day.

Running low on time?

Utilize the leftovers from last nights or the night before dinner.

The Storage

Whether you carry your lunch in your lunchbox, backpack, or purse having a handy way to transport it is key. Keeping items relatively close to temperature can be a tricky part to help prevent them going outside the recommended temperature range. Using things like insulated containers, ice packs, frozen sponges in plastic bags, foil, or any other Pinterest-like hack is key.

Getting in the daily recommended servings of fruits and veggies can be challenging. Well, not with this lunch time hack! You can fit two servings into the Snap-Lock container. There is a compartment for your main entree and a separate compartment divided in half for the produce goods. How convenient is that?!

There are also mini snap-lock container that are great for dressings, olives, nuts, or anything else you may want in a smaller portion size.

Another hack to keep things super cold or hot for up to 8 hours would be a swig cup!

The Science

In a 1,000 person survey, 60% of recently promoted millennials took a break at lunch, whether it was to rest and recharge, make connections, or enjoy a light physical activity after eating a promotion is a promotion

In a 1,000 person survey, people who bring their lunch are 54% more likely to eat fruit and vegetables at that time. Hey, more is more. The recommended servings of fruit and vegetables is 5-9 servings per day. 

In a 1,000 person survey, 45% of people don’t plan what they are going to eat for lunch at all. I’d rather us not leave this up to chance. However, I know there are always last minute things that pop up so have a few healthy snack options on hand or your favorite healthy restaurant picks ready-to-go!

Ready, Set, Lunch!

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