Best Beauty Tips

Making Lunch Work

There’s no doubt carrying your lunch to work saves both money and calories, but packing a lunch every day gets boring. When noon rolls around, the thought of a soggy tuna sandwich is enough to send you zipping through the drive through lane for a “No. 4” from the value menu. Maybe changing the way you think about your midday meal will motivate you to make brown-bagging it a priority. The first step is checking out the food pyramid — the old graphic standby, created by the USDA in 1988 to provide guidelines to convey the main themes of variety, proportionality, and moderation when it comes to what we consume. Although there has been confusion about the use of the pyramid since its inception, its three tenets are worth revisiting. And the latest incarnation of the food pyramid is handy indeed, not to mention the resources the USDA’s Web site (MyPyramid.gov) provides. It might give you a nudge in the right direction when it comes to adding lots of color to that brown-bag lunch.

The best thing about the new food pyramid is the ability to personalize your eating plan. For instance, the USDA recommends women ages 31 to 50 should consume 2 ½ cups of vegetables a day and 1 ½ cups of fruit. Without taking a bite out of that requirement at lunch, that becomes a tall order. But including fresh fruit in your midday meal is easy and puts you that much closer to meeting your daily requirements. A salad loaded up with leafy greens, nuts, veggies, and even beans will give you energy to make it through those tough afternoon work hours.

Here are some easy, creative options for packing a healthy lunch and getting your daily dose:

• Bean salad made with canned kidney beans, canned garbanzo beans, fresh green beans, olive oil, and fresh herbs.
• Cottage cheese with fresh fruit.
• Leftover brown rice (set some aside from dinner) with vegetables.
• Hummus (there are several store brand varieties available) with whole grain crackers, celery, red peppers, and carrots.
• Dried fruit tossed into salads, rice, and couscous is a great way to add fiber and boost your fruit serving.
• Switch out your whole-wheat bread for wheat tortillas, flat breads, or pitas to add a little twist to your sandwiches.
• Add a couple of thin slices of avocado to your sandwich instead of mayo — it’ll save calories, incorporate a healthy fat, and add flavor.