As I talked about last week, I attended a fascinating education session at a conference talking about what’s most important to us as consumers in each of the meals we eat.

At breakfast we care about ROUTINE.

At lunch we’re looking for QUICK and EASY.

At dinner, it has to TASTE GOOD, be EASY TO PREPARE, and have EVERYONE LIKE IT.

As we’re making our way through the day’s meals, our stop today is at lunch.

Quick and easy – you can feel it, right?  When it comes to lunch, there are two main scenarios most of us deal with.

Scenario #1:  You’re in the midst of the madness of your day, juggling back-to-back meetings, trying to steal a minute to check in with daycare or schedule a checkup for one of your kids.  You have 25 unopened emails in your “in” box.  But you need to grab lunch.  By the way, you’d like it to be somewhat healthy.

Scenario #2:  You need to pack a lunch for your child.  You didn’t quite make it to the grocery store last night, so you’re scrounging to see what you have around as well as what you can put into a lunch that she will eat and that he won’t complain that he’s already had for lunch two days this week.  By the way, you’d like it to be somewhat healthy.

Whichever scenario hits you most often, there are some tips that might help you navigate this meal of the day and keep health as a focus.

• Always put a fruit and/or vegetable in a lunch.  I keep a lot of “grab and go” options at my house just for lunches:  apples, oranges, bananas, baby carrots, etc.  These are easy to put into a lunch without any prep.  With my son Jack, we have to pack lunches all summer.  I tend to put both a fruit and a vegetable in as when he’s hungry (which he is from spending the morning at a basketball camp or swimming for two hours), he’s more likely to eat whatever is in his lunch bag.
• Frozen entrees tend to be a mainstay for adult lunches.  I have many co-workers who just bring five of them to work on Monday, plunk them in the freezer and then know they’ll have a ready lunch for each day.  If you choose the brands positioned as “healthy” like Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers and Kashi, these are great for helping with calorie and portion control.  But, even within these brands, the overall nutrition quality can vary.  Using NuVal as the guide, a week’s worth of top options for overall nutrition are:
  • Amy’s Brown Rice and Vegetable Bowl with Tofu (NuVal Score: 50)
  • Amy’s Black Bean and Vegetable Enchilada (NuVal Score: 44)
  • Kashi Pesto Pasta Primavera (44)
  • Lean Cuisine Roasted Turkey and Vegetables (42)
  • Kashi Southwest Chicken (40)
• Build the perfect sandwich.  My friend Darcy’s mom was a master at making the best sandwiches ever when we were kids.  Ever since then, I have been a fan of a good sandwich.  Even this mainstay, which is quick and easy, can be made nutritious by thinking through each component of it.  What kind of bread?  What’s the best meat option?  Cheese or no cheese?  Sandwiches are a great opportunity to sneak in veggies – a slice of tomato, a few slices of cucumber – they all add up over time. More recently, I’ve experimented with using some different options as spreads to add great flavor to sandwiches.  Roasted red pepper hummus, for example, adds a great punch to a sandwich (it adds a bit of nutrition, too).  Guacamole is another option or try some pesto.
• Pending allergies in your in your household or allergy policies at schools, nuts are a great addition to any lunch.  The most nutritious choices are walnuts and almonds – unsalted, of course.  Just a handful is all you need to help fill you up.
• I know many parents like to add chips and/or cookies into the lunch bag, but as I mentioned in my blog, I recommend you re-evaluate whether there’s room in you or your child’s eating habits for these foods which have limited nutritional value.

How do you live and breathe “quick and easy” at lunch?

Visit www.nuval.com to consider your next best lunch option.