Posted by kathryn in Lunch

I posted a few days ago about the benefits of taking your lunch to work. It does require a little extra planning, but it’s good for both your health and your wallet.

Even with the best will in the world though, it’s hard to be organised every day of every week. On the days you do buy lunch, what are the best options?

Sandwiches

A safe option, as long as you follow a few guidelines:

• Choose wholemeal, multigrain or rye bread
• Add in a protein (fish, cheese, eggs, meat, hummous)
• Then have at least three different salad vegetables

While ham, cheese and tomato is an Australian standard, you’d be much better off making it a ham or cheese sandwich, with avocado and “all-the-salads”. One of my favourite combinations is cottage cheese, seeded mustard and salad.

Noodle soups

A good option, as long as you avoid laksa (too much coconut milk) and anything deep-fried. The combination of noodles, green vegetables, bean sprouts and protein makes them a well balanced meal.

One of my favourites is the hot and sour Thai tom yum soup. My local in Gladesville makes a meal-sized version of this which is full of vegetables, fresh herbs, tofu and a few noodles. It’s especially good at this time of year.

Sushi train

A good idea as long as you pick wisely! Choose sashimi, rather than sushi, ie the items that are more fish than rice. Top that up with some edamame beans (for your vegetable quota) and some miso soup, and again you’re having well balanced meal.

Kebab places

If you steer clear of the hunks of meat on a spit, you can get a reasonable lunch from kebab places. I usually ask for a plate with a combination of hummous, tabbouleh, lentils and rice, salad andchilli sauce. If you do want some meat, then choose the chicken, but combine it with the lentils, hummous and vegetables, rather than cheese and more meat.

Fish & chip shop

Most fish shops will now do a piece of grilled, unbattered fish, that you can have with vegies and salad, rather than chips.

Pasta

Pasta is probably not the best lunch-time option. Most of what’s on offer is pasta-centric, with little sauce, protein or vegetable to counter-balance. If you really must have pasta, then go for something in a tomato-based sauce, rather than a cream one. Buy a smaller container, plus a salad to round-out the nutritional value of your meal.

Salads

These can seem like the healthiest option, but even here you can get into nutritional trouble. The problem is usually the dressings. Anything that’s described as “creamy”, “satay”, “ranch dressing”, “caesar dressing”, or has mayonnaise, is probably loaded with fat and kilojoules.

For example, I’ve often bought salads from Sumo Salad and find they’re one of the better city operators in terms of freshness and choice. However, as you can see from their website, you have to be careful with the dressing you choose. They range in energy value from 270kJ to 558kJ (with 14g of fat) per serving.

Other thoughts

Don’t be afraid to order things that are not on-the-menu, or to be specific about exactly what you want. For example my kebab shop take-away combination is rarely on the menu, but they’re almost always happy to oblige. When ordering noodle soups, I’ll often ask for more vegetable and less noodle, or if I’m getting Thai take-away, again I’ll ask for less rice and more veg.

General guidelines

• try to have something which contains at least a cup of vegetables
• have some protein (meat, fish, eggs, legumes, tofu, cheese)
• include a smaller amount of the grain and starchy-carbohydrate foods like rice, pasta, noodles, potatoes and bread
• steer clear of deep fried foods
• and try to round your lunch off with some fruit and / or yoghurt, rather than a chocolate bar

What are your take-away lunch successes?

16 June, 2007