Start with the basics
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but lunch is a close second. To simplify the lunch process, invest in a quality lunch container. Get in the habit of packing lunch the night before, when you’re making dinner and remember lunch when you’re making your shopping list. Purchase items specifically for lunch such as raw nuts and seeds, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, individual yogurts, different whole grain breads, extra meat, eggs and legumes such as chick peas.

If you’re not the sandwich type, don’t try to be. Choose foods that suit your palate even if they’re not conventional lunch items including spinach salad, boiled eggs, instant oatmeal, fresh peppers, or a can of salmon. Stay away from ready-made boxed lunches, packaged foods, processed meats, white sugar and white flour products, and carbonated beverages – these items are low in nutritional value and high in the glycemic index.

First and foremost, lunch should include a lean protein such as turkey, chicken, fish, eggs or a natural nut butter such as almond butter. Add a complex (high-fibre) carbohydrate such as legumes, green leafy vegetables or a small amount of whole grain bread.

Healthy snack options include nuts and seeds, sliced vegetables or fruit such as frozen blueberries or red and green grapes, or a small amount of dairy such as a piece of cheese (yellow not orange). For beverages, choose water, unsweetened fruit juices, V8, green tea and soy or rice milk. The key is to keep your fridge stocked with a wide selection of healthy foods you know your family can reach for when packing lunch.

Packing lunch for junior
Packing your child’s lunch can be frustrating, especially when the old standard PB & J is banned from most Canadian schools, and the lunchbox comes home with the food untouched or half eaten. Since lunch is what provides fuel for the afternoon, two rules for packing your child’s lunch:

1. Don’t be repetitive.
2. Do include foods you know they like.
   Lunchtime is not the right time to introduce new foods. Instead, try introducing potential new lunch items during dinner. Make a game of it and you might be surprised at what makes the list.

Come up with healthy alternatives to fast food standards and try to keep items separate so they have fun assembling their lunch, their way.

Inventive lunch suggestions for the whole family:

• Turkey chunks, brown rice crackers with chick peas or hummus, sliced peppers, and unsweetened apple sauce or plums
  
  
• Boiled egg, 100% whole wheat pita bread and cucumber slices with mild mustard and orange slices or a pomegranate
  
  
• Chicken cubes with baked corn tortilla chips, avocado, a cheese string, cherry tomatoes, and a pear or apple
  
  
• 100% whole wheat bread with a green leafy vegetable, and salmon salad (made with an all-natural mayonnaise), green and red grapes or cherries
  
  
• All-natural tomato soup with single-serving cottage cheese, jicama sticks, and melon balls with blueberries and yogurt

Other fun options to consider include: sunflower or pumpkin seeds, baked yam, dried fruit, sugar-free granola or trail mix and meatballs.

Put the brakes on stress-related eating
Skipping lunch and drinking one too many cups of coffee combined with the effects of excess stress can result in stress-related eating. You may even find yourself slipping into the bad habit of eating little during the day only to be insatiable at night. Here are some tips to help put an end to stress-related eating:

1. Don’t skip breakfast or lunch, even if you’re not hungry. Reach for a lean protein such as a boiled egg, yogurt or cold breast of chicken.
   
   
2. Limit your intake of coffee to two cups per day, and alcohol consumption to one glass per day.
   
   
3. Eat whole fruits in the midday crunch when sugar-cravings strike. Berries are a great choice full of the much needed antioxidants.
   
   
4. When willpower isn’t enough to curb nightime eating, consider a natural supplement called Relora®, which is specially formulated to help deal with stress-related eating. A unique blend of two botanicals, Relora® has been shown in clinical studies to lower cortisol levels and decrease the desire to eat in the evening. Other supplements that may help curb cravings are Theanine and 5-HTP.

1. Pack a lunch that you can’t wait to eat. Then, you won’t be tempted to join the fast food crowd or skip lunch.
   
   
2. Pack small amounts of a variety of foods: make sure you include a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate. Pack at least one vegetable and one fruit everyday.
   
   
3. Think outside the lunchbox, include your favourite foods even if they don’t qualify as traditional lunch items.
   
   
4. Keep a box of green tea or herbal tea in your office for a mid-day energy boost.
   
   
5. For a sweet treat, include a cube or two of high-quality dark chocolate, at least 70% cacao.
   
   
6. Plan ahead and keep a variety of lunch items on hand. Cook meat the night before; wash and dry vegetables and slice fruit when you’re putting away after shopping – involve the whole family.

H&L

Sherry Torkos, BSc, Phm, is a nationally recognized pharmacist and the author of Breaking the Age Barrier and Winning at Weight Loss. She is a certified fitness instructor and health enthusiast. Sherry lives in the Niagara region of Ontario, where she practices holistic pharmacy since 1992. Please visit her website at
www.sherrytorkos.com.