Taking a healthy lunch to work in plastic bags or containers does not mean you’re restricted to eating carrots while your coworkers devour hamburgers and tacos. Here are some tips to bring variety to your bagged lunch.*
If you don’t eat flour or carbohydrates:
• Chopped chicken salad with chili and diced celery
• Thinly sliced red cabbage salad with ten grapes. (You can run hot water through it to soften the cabbage before placing it in the fridge)
• Tuna with peppers and/or chopped olives
• Two rolls of deli turkey, chicken, roast beef, or ham filled with a chopped egg mixed with celery, olives, shredded carrots, a spoonful of sour cream, and a teaspoon of mayonnaise.
(All of these meals can be eaten without condiments and don’t contain onion or garlic so they don’t affect your breath at work or school. You can add a variety of condiments including a bit of light mayo, olive oil, sour cream, or mustard. Of these condiments, mustard is the lowest in calories and fat.)
If you count calories:
• A burrito size tortilla filled with:
1. Turkey or chopped chicken, half a chopped egg, coleslaw with light sour cream and condiments.
2. A chopped egg, with celery, chili, a teaspoon of light sour cream, mayo or mustard, mixed with anchovies.
3. Boiled asparagus tips, with two slices of ham, a spoonful of chopped roasted peppers with a bit of sour cream.
* If you prefer prepared snacks, read the ingredients carefully: if a cookie has more than five or six ingredients listed, you may want to choose something with fewer chemicals.