How do you amp up your lunch? Lunch is a huge issues with many of my clients. Some clients don’t have time to get lunch, so they either eat while working, skip, or run through fast food. Other clients have so much to do after work to meal prep for the next day. Sometimes the location of their work doesn’t help with nutritional goals, making meal prepping essential.

Everyone thinks they need to have a salad to be healthy, which is not always true. I encourage my clients to jazz up their salads, create healthy sandwiches, bring leftovers, create grain bowls, or meal prepped lunches.

Examples to make your lunches healthier:

Salads:
- The base: greens: romaine, spinach, kale, swiss chard, mixed greens, arugula, mixed cabbage
- Add color with veggies & fruit: peppers, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, onions, mushrooms, bean sprouts, beets, tomatoes, apples, berries
- Lean protein: beans, tofu, nuts, seeds, chicken, turkey, eggs, cheese, fish, grass fed red meat, edamame
- Complex carbs: roasted potatoes, corn, beans, whole grain or chickpea pasta, fruit, quinoa, brown rice, dried fruit, tortilla chips, croutons, farro
- Healthy fats: olive oil based dressing, avocado, olives, hummus, hemp seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, nuts, seeds, coconut
Sandwiches:
- Bread: 100% whole grain, Ezekiel, sour dough, rye, low carb wraps (Lately I have been suggesting Tumaro’s), sandwich thins, lettuce, portabello mushrooms
- Spread: avocado, hummus, natural nut butter & low sugar jelly , Greek yogurt tzatziki, pesto, sundried tomato
- Protein: smashed beans, low sodium turkey, chicken salad made with Greek yogurt, tuna, turkey burger, salmon burger, chicken, Falafel, Mozzarella cheese, smoked salmon, hard boiled egg
- Veggies: cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, radishes, sprouts, watercress, spinach, peppers, roasted veggies, eggplant
- Vegan hummus sandwich idea check below for recipe
Grain bowls:
- Complex carb: brown rice, quinoa, barley, farro, roasted mixed veggies with sweet potatoes, whole grain or chick pea pasta
- Veggies: greens, cucumbers, peppers, onions, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, sprouts, snap peas, cabbage, corn, jalapeno, zucchini, broccoli
- Protein: beans, legumes, edamame, chicken, grass fed beef, fish, tofu, cheese, falafel, eggs, bbq chicken, turkey
- Healthy fats: olive oil based dressing, salsa, hummus, avocado, nuts, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, olives
- Themes: Mexican, Mediterranean, Greek, BBQ, Thai, Asian, Hawaiian