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Packing a healthy lunch for work or school is one of the best ways you can trim your budget – and your waistline! Opt out of eating pricey, calorie-laden fast food and take 10 minutes the night before to pack a lunch that you'll look forward to and feel good about eating. Here are some brown bag lunch ideas for people with diabetes, or for anyone!
When you’re packing a healthy lunch, you’ll want to think about including all of the following components:
- Vegetables – a leafy green salad, veggie sticks or cooked vegetables in a soup, stew or pasta
- Fruit – fresh, canned (unsweetened), or dried
- A grain product (whole grain or enriched) such as bread, tortilla wraps, bagels, buns, crackers, pasta, rice, muffins
- A milk product or substitute – milk, yogurt, cheese, yogurt drink, or fortified soy beverage
- Lean meat or a meat alternative – fish, poultry, egg, peanut butter, hummus or other legumes
| Tips for making packed lunches easily and quickly
· Enjoy leftover lunches based on the previous night’s dinner: the leftovers from a roasted chicken will make a perfect chicken sandwich the next day. · Fixing a batch of chili or a stew? Make it a big one, and freeze the leftovers in single-serving containers. · Think of fruits that require no or little preparation: throw an apple, orange or banana into your lunch box, and you’re good to go. · Bite-sized veggies – such as cherry tomatoes and baby carrots – require no preparation (beyond washing them!). · Pack thirst-quenching water in reusable water bottles, and leave them in the fridge – you can grab one as you’re packing lunch. |
Here are some great ideas for a weeks’ worth of tasty, healthy brown bag lunches to keep you satisfied!
| Day | Lunch idea |
| Monday | · Hummus with whole-grain crackers
· Chopped red peppers, celery sticks and carrots · Banana · Glass of low-fat milk |
| Tuesday | · Garden salad with tomato, cucumber, and baby carrots, topped with grilled salmon
· Orange · Low-fat yogurt |
| Wednesday | · Bowl of chili
· Whole wheat bun · Cherry tomatoes and zucchini sticks · Glass of soy milk · Grapes |
| Thursday | · Salad with tuna, egg, green beans and tomatoes, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing
· Whole grain crackers · Glass of low-fat milk · Berries |
| Friday | · Whole wheat pita, filled with lettuce and roast chicken
· Light Caesar salad dressing · Baby carrots · Apple · Low-fat yogurt |
For more healthy eating ideas, click here.
