Healthy Lunch Ideas: STOP the weekly Google search

POV: It’s 11:29 am

Your stomach’s starting to grumble.

You remember that you didn’t pack lunch this morning because, well, you didn’t have anything at home that was appetizing enough to bring with you to work.

You know what that means… You’re going out for lunch! Maybe you’re just picking something up to bring back to your cubicle. Maybe you’re going out with a few coworkers and spending a little more time than your “lunch break” allows. Whichever you choose, you’ve got an important decision ahead of you. Similar to the dreaded question for couples sitting on the couch with a quickly approaching dinner time, “what do you want to eat?”

‍Now, lunch serves an important purpose for workplace wellness. One “meh” choice and you could be asleep at your desk come 1:02 pm. Lunch can either boost your energy and help you knock out your afternoon assignments, OR it could lull you into a peaceful, yet unproductive slumber leaving you with a mountain of work the following day. To make the best choices at lunch time for productivity, you’re going to want to choose something balanced. Yeah, yeah, we hear that word all of the time, “balanced eating”, but let’s talk about what it means and the WHY behind it.

What is considered a balanced meal?

A balanced meal is one that has a protein source, a carbohydrate source, and a vegetable source at minimum. This could look like a stir fry bowl with chicken, rice, bell peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli from Tokyo Joes or a chicken Caesar salad with a bread roll from Panera Bread. In these situations, the chicken is your protein, the peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and salad greens are your vegetables, and the rice and bread roll, and maybe a few croutons, are your carbohydrate.

Now, the WHY

Carbohydrates, like a bread roll, are quickly digested and used by the body as a fast and easy energy source. This will help boost your energy levels, SUCCESS! The caveat - if you don’t include some sort of protein (or fat, but we’ll get to that later) your energy boost won’t be maintained for long, and you’ll find yourself experiencing that 1:02 pm sleepy slump, and quite possibly reaching for a bag of chips or a two-pack of Reeses to bring your energy back up again.

The protein serves multiple purposes, one mentioned above, and also to provide your body with amino acids to aid your muscles and other tissues in your body with recovery from normal wear and tear. You probably have that coworker who makes their daily (or twice daily) protein shake break known to their peers, and also probably shares how they PR’ed their deadlift that morning before popping the top of the shaker bottle open and chugging its contents. Protein helps to rebuild muscles up bigger and stronger once they’ve been broken down through movement, such as lifting weights, deep cleaning your home, pilates, and even power walking from the parking lot to your desk when you’re running 15 minutes late to work for the second time this week.

Lastly, let’s talk about why vegetables are an important part of a balanced diet for workplace wellness. Technically, the recommendation is to fill 1/2 of your plate with vegetables. That’s easy peasy when eating a salad, but for something like a stir fry, having multiple vegetable options can help get you there. Vegetables are an excellent source of fiber (check out the Fiber Basics post to learn more about its benefit!), and because of that, they could take a bit longer to digest than less fibrous carbohydrates, such as white rice. The benefit of this is you feeling full for longer. Sure, snacking through the workday is fun, but your stomach growling in the middle of your 1:00 pm meeting with no options but to sit there and listen to it? Not great for keeping your focus on the meeting itself.

There’s one last thing for you to know about the makings of a balanced meal (at least from a simple standpoint)

Thank goodness we’re not stuck in the 90s (FAD diet wise, the baggy clothes trend is something I’ll happily adopt), because dietary fat is also important for keeping you full and focused throughout your afternoon. That sesame oil in your stir fry bowl or the Caesar dressing in your salad complete your balanced meal. Even more than fiber, dietary fat takes the longest to digest, and therefore a meal that contains a fat source will keep you fuller than if it was low-fat or fat-free. Think about eating cereal for breakfast. Delicious, I LOVE cereal, but you’re getting a load of carbohydrates, maybe a teeny amount of fat and protein from milk, but you’re hungry an hour later! Compare that to how you feel after eating avocado toast. You’re likely going to stave off the stomach grumbles for an extra hour or two because of the dietary fat in the avocado.

Let’s bring this discussion back to POV: lunch time

When thinking about where to eat during your lunch break, think about where you can find balanced meals. It’s easier than you think.

Let me show you a few examples:

Sandwich Shop
Protein: deli meat
Carbohydrate: whole grain bread
Vegetable: cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts, spinach
Dietary fat: mayo, avocado, or olive oil

Burger Stop
Protein: burger patty
Carbohydrate: bun
Vegetable: side salad (yes, instead of the fries)
Dietary fat: mayo, cheese, salad dressing

Pizza Parlor (do we still call them parlors?)
Protein: cheese, pepperoni
Carbohydrate: crust
Vegetable: side salad, carrots, celery
Dietary fat: cheese, plenty of fat in Italian meats, ranch dip

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Fast Casual (guess the spot)
Protein: barbacoa
Carbohydrate: beans and rice
Vegetable: fajita veggies, lettuce
Dietary fat: sour cream, cheese, guac

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And what to avoid

To name a few imbalanced meals that may lead to 1:02 pm sleepies or difficulty focusing…

Ramen noodles - lacks protein, dietary fat, vegetables
Banana and pretzels from the vending machine - lacks protein, dietary fat, vegetables (through A+ for including fruit!)
Protein shake - now, unless you’ve blended it up with some fruit and chia seeds, it’s probably just protein powder mixed with water which lacks dietary fat, carbohydrates, and vegetables HELLO HUNGRY!

Let’s summarize

To stay energized and productive throughout your afternoon, choose a lunch that’s balanced, or includes a carbohydrate, protein, vegetable, and dietary fat source. Try and avoid choosing something that contains only carbohydrates, or only protein, because you’ll likely feel hungry an hour later. These are just the basics. Interested in learning more about balanced lunch choices? Would you like personalized suggestions from a favorite restaurant of yours? Shoot me a message via the “contact” page and let me know what you’d like to see! Just make sure and subscribe so you’ll be alerted when your blog post is ready for your bathroom break viewing pleasure! Gotta love being paid to poop.

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Balanced meals are good
Balanced meals keep you fuller
Balanced meals are smart

Healthy Lunch Basics: A Haiku