Ask a Dietitian

Making your own lunch to take to work saves money and is the healthier choice. If you are short on time, here are some quick and easy ideas that are convenient and good for you. If you buy your lunch because it gives you a chance to take a break, consider bringing the components of your lunch and make it at work as part of your break. You can cut and peel vegetables and fruit at the office to save time in the mornings.

The main components of your lunch include a vegetable and a fruit or two, a source of protein (dairy and/or meat/alt), a whole grain and a bottle of water. Plan food for both a morning and afternoon snack in addition to your lunch. Snacks help top up blood sugars, maintaining focus and concentration during the workday but also help curb your appetite so you aren’t starved at the next meal.

Easy Lunch Ideas:

Turkey sandwich on whole grain with lettuce and cucumbers, Happy Planet Tuscan tomato soup, apple, small Greek yogurt

Carrots and cucumber slices, hummus, Happy Planet Grab and Go Portuguese kale and white bean soup, apple sauce, box of raisins, pear

Leftover Greek salad from dinner, edamame, cottage cheese, banana, 2 small oranges

Crackers and cheese, Grab and Go Squash and cashew soup, lettuce wraps filled with shredded cabbage or broccoli slaw and mini tuna tin.

Pita, tzatziki, cucumbers, red peppers, hard boiled eggs, grapes, almonds and dried apricots.

Yogurt, fruit cup, granola, tomato soup, whole grain crackers, Boursin cheese, sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes

My favorite Grab and Go items:

Happy Planet Fresh Grab and Go Soups: Tuscan tomato, Portuguese kale and white bean, Korean Hot and Sour or West African Squash and Cashew

Yogurt

Cottage cheese

Canned fruit

Apple sauce

Hummus

Nuts

Cheese slices

Edamame

Tinned tuna

Naked energy bars (date and cashew)

Pete’s tofu

Fruit: apples, pears, oranges, bananas, kiwi, nectarines, cherry tomatoes, shredded cabbage, washed lettuce