PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD! Don’t spend time—and money—going out to buy an overpriced, oversize salad. Instead, bring ingredients to the office and assemble it yourself. Use your hands to shred lettuce, crumble bits of cheese with your fingers, and add some texture by crunching chips like Flat Earth Crisps on top instead of croutons for an impossibly good do-it-yourself salad.
BETTER THE NEXT DAY. Packaged lunch meats are chock-full of bad-for-you preservatives. Try a healthier option by creating your lunch from the previous evening’s leftovers. Chop up roasted chicken to make a chicken-salad sandwich or use last night’s steak and add bleu cheese crumbles atop romaine for a delicious salad.
MORE FRUIT, PLEASE. Including fruit in your lunch recipes can add refreshing flavor without packing on the pounds. Incorporate seasonal fruits throughout the year; make a strawberry-and-spinach salad in the spring, or try a shrimp-and-mango salad in the summertime. In the winter, try a turkey-and-pear sandwich with brie.
WRAP IT UP. Gourmet can still be good for you. Make your favorite dishes and wrap them in lettuce or low-fat wheat tortillas to enjoy for lunch. Prepare herb-marinated fresh mozzarella wraps or California crab wraps for a tasty lunch that won’t leave you worrying about your calorie count.
TRY NEW FLAVORS. Brown-bagging it doesn’t mean you have to pack the same turkey-on-wheat sandwich every day. Mix it up with new and exotic flavors that will have you craving more. Put a Greek-salad pita or a Thai chicken roll-up in your lunch bag and never be bored at noontime again.
