Healthy Life: Brown-bag lunches to save time, money, calories

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Desi Beers and Pam Reaves

It is surprising how many people eat out for lunch during the workweek. According to a report of National Restaurant Association, almost 60 percent of individuals consume a commercially prepared lunch at least once a week. Close to one-quarter of our population consumes a commercially prepared lunch five or more times per week. Fox News also reported that in March 2015, for the first time ever, people in the U.S. are spending more money dining out than buying groceries.

Not only is eating out hard on the food budget, it is also hard on our health. In the same report by Fox News, the National Restaurant Association stated that people tend to favor fast food, deli and pizza restaurants as their lunch choices over coffee shops, high-end dining and casual dining.

If people can change their habits by bringing brown-bag lunches, they can save themselves hundreds of calories and dollars. The barriers preventing people from bringing brown-bag lunches to work include the lack of time to prepare and the lack of lunch ideas. However, preparing a lunch is not that much work, and it comes with a lot of potential benefits.

Here are 10 healthy lunch ideas to help you plan your lunch. Each of the lunches listed contains 500-700 calories, 60 grams of carbohydrates and less than 15 grams of fat.

  1. Deli meat sandwich (2 ounces of meat with two slices bread and 1 tablespoon of mustard), one light yogurt, carrot sticks and one small apple.

  2. Grilled chicken Caesar salad (3 ounces of chicken, mushrooms, peppers, onions, romaine lettuce with 1-2 tablespoons of dressing and parmesan cheese), 12 whole-grain crackers, one small orange, and 1 cup milk.

  3. 1 cup spaghetti with meat sauce, 1 cup green beans, one kiwi and one light yogurt.

  4. One-fourth of a 12-inch, thin-crust pizza, salad (lettuce, tomato, onion and 1-2 tablespoons of dressing), 1 cup strawberries and cup sugar-free pudding.

  5. 3-ounce baked chicken breast, 2/3 cup cooked rice, cup broccoli, 1 cup honeydew melon and one 1 light yogurt.

  6. Bean salad (3 ounces low-fat grated cheese, 1 cup black or kidney beans, tomatoes, onions, carrots, lettuce, 1-2 tablespoons of dressing and salsa), cup grapes and 1 cup milk.

  7. Cheeseburger (3 ounces of lean beef with one slice reduced-fat cheese on a hamburger bun with onion, lettuce, tomato and 1 tablespoon of condiments), 1 cup baked fries and celery sticks.

  8. 1 cup vegetable beef soup, six saltine crackers, cup blueberries and five chocolate kisses.

  9. cup tuna noodle casserole, cup peas, cup cooked carrots, cup canned peaches and 1 cup milk.

  10. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cucumber slices and cup canned pineapple.

Planning tips

Leftovers from the night before are always a good choice, as long as it can fit within your calorie and carbohydrate requirements.

Most prepacked foods have nutrition labels listing the calorie, fat and carbohydrate information. Make sure you read them before purchasing.

Don't forget to remind yourself to take your lunch.

Make a plan with a coworker to both bring your lunch to hold yourselves accountable.

Lu Anderson is a clinical dietitian with a master's degree in medical nutrition from Saint Louis University. She works as a clinical dietitian at St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City and Audrain, including both inpatient and outpatient services to help people with a variety of illnesses learn how to use food to improve their symptoms and quality of life.