5 quick tips for Easy Healthy Lunches

As a Health & Psychology of Eating coach, I often hear women bemoan the lunch trap.

“I was hungry and in a hurry, so I just grabbed a sandwich, but I know it wasn’t a great choice for me because I felt kind of bloated and tired afterward.!”

or

“I didn’t have time for lunch, so I just kept motoring through my day until I was starving and grabbed for whatever was in front of me, and ugh….it was the cookies at the meeting! They weren’t even that good and now I feel so crummy!”

OY! Let’s get you out of that trap.

Here are my 5 tips for easy healthy lunches!

#1: DIPS!

When you grocery shop (and you must grocery shop, or get a food delivery system rolling) – if you want to eat healthy!) – buy lots of interesting premade dips. If you love to cook and want to make them from scratch, go for it! But for everyone else. Be sure to pick up:

• Guacamole
• Hummus
• Babaganoush
• Black Bean Dip
• Pesto
• Or make my favorite veggie pate

All these dips can easily be packed up and enjoyed with crackers (I love Mary’s Gone Crackers and Simple Mills Crackers).

They can also be spread into a wrapper, to create a roll-up. Which brings us to tip #2…

#2: COLLARD GREENS

Collard Greens make the perfect wrapper for dips and veggies.

Simply cut out the rib of the collard green and then lay in some dip and any veg (tomatoes, grated carrots, beets, cucumbers etc), and roll it up for a delicious and healthy roll-up.

If you eat fish or meat, they will be delicious stuffed into the collard green as well.

#3: CUT VEGGIES IN ADVANCE

You’ll notice that in the roll ups above I mentioned stuffing veggies in. This is SO much more likely to happen if you have cut your veggies in advance!

When you are making a salad or any food for dinner the night before, cut extra and put them in a container in the fridge for the next couple of days.

#4: LEFTOVERS

This is how I make lunch for my husband most days!

I just make sure that I make a BIG dinner so there is plenty leftover.

Pack up the leftovers in your lunch containers when you are cleaning up from dinner so they are ready to go in the morning.

#5: Make my Belly Bowl!

I eat this lunch 3-5 times a week because it’s SO darn easy, filling and healthy.

Here’s how to make it to-go!

• Pack a whole avocado in it’s own container (with a knife)
• Pack your favorite sauerkraut in a small container.
• When it’s time to eat. Cut the avocado in half and take the pit out
• Cut the avocado in the shell into cubes
• Place the sauerkraut on the avocado!
• Enjoy

Here’s a video that shows you how!

I hope these tips inspire you to pack yourself a healthy lunch! Eating a truly nourishing lunch will make your mood and energy more stable and decrease your sugar cravings!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, certified Health Coach and Psychology of Eating Coach believes that every women deserves to feel good in their own body. She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life!  She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and NourishedWomanNation.com 

She helps busy women look and feel their best. She specializes in working with women over 40 who have tried other diets and approaches but are still struggling with their body and food. She helps women step into a new wellness paradigm that makes self-care real and do-able and turns it into sustainable healthy habits that

She’s the author of “Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t: an everyday guide to make healthy food happen in your home and beyond”. She’s also the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

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