The Ultimate List of Healthy Packed Lunch Ideas
Updated: May 14, 2019
I have been packing my own work and school lunches forever! Whilst doing different diets, eating plans, in different jobs, routines and locations. I have tried it all!
Here’s my healthy list:
Breakfast
Overnight oats – mix quick oats, yoghurt, milk and sweetener and place in fridge. In the morning, grab and go! Add fruit if you like.
Actual porridge – prep dry oats, sweetener/spices etc in a container and once you get to work, put in some hot water and stir!
Cereal
Scrambled eggs – put raw egg/s into a container with seasoning, beat, and once you get to work, pop it in the microwave for 45 seconds, twice.
Baked muffins – egg and bacon, savoury or sweet
Bliss balls/protein balls
Prepped breakfast bake – potatoes, veggies, eggs
Smoothies – blend at work or on your way out the door and drink on your way.
Granola and yoghurt
Fruit and yoghurt
Toast, bagels, english muffins – if your place has a toaster
Lunch
Literally any of the above breakfast things, we don’t have to stick to “societal ideals” of what to eat and when. Listen to your body.
Sandwiches/wraps/bread rolls/pitas/buns
A platter of whatever you have left in your fridge, chopped veggies, cheese, meat, fruit, whatever – I call this “Friday lunch” 😉
Ryvita/cruskits/crackers with tuna or other topping – best made fresh though, so that crackers don’t go soggy
Prepped meals – see my Meal Prepping blog post for these ideas – there’s also a million if you google "healthy meal prep recipes".
Salads with meat, beans or eggs. I leave a bottle of salad dressing at work for these.
Leftovers… obvsiously
Beans on toast
Toasties/grilled cheese
Canned soup (check the sodium levels and pick the lowest, also try to get the highest protein content)
Frozen packets of vegetables (sometimes they come with quinoa or other grains too, they’re good), add a can of tuna/other for protein
Snacks
Again you can eat any of the above, whenever suits you. When I was doing my workout straight after work, I would have a bigger afternoon snack (it looked like a lunch) to give me energy.
See the blog post on low carb snacks if you're interested.
boiled eggs
celery/carrot/apple/banana with peanut or nut butter
any dipping veg with hummus, or a greek yoghurt-based savoury dip
chia pudding
cheese, yoghurt (any dairy product or dairy alternative)
nuts (especially walnuts and almonds)
unprocessed (or as much as possible, not ham that's perfectly square or round) meat - feel free to put this on crackers or a small whole-grain wrap
homemade muffins, bars, cookies, bliss balls etc.
jerky
protein shake or smoothie
tuna or cheese on crackers
Bean/tuna/egg salad on crackers or a wrap
Popcorn -preferably homemade
Girl, if Linda from HR brings cake for your team, and you want some, Enjoy it! Savour it and leave once you’re done with that piece, so you're not tempted by another.
Fail proof tips from a girl who is always hungry:
Always have snacks in your bag – muesli/granola bars, cans of tuna, coffee sachets.
Always have snacks in your desk or locker – more of the above plus tea, nuts, a small chocolate bar, your own mug and water bottle, peanut butter, salad toppings such as seeds or croutons, crackers to go with your tuna, one friend had sriracha sauce (she liked it SPICY), protein powder and shaker (if you so desire) and other non-perishable additives for your breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks.
And last but not least, always have a water bottle.
Hope you loved this. Comment below if you have more ideas!!
Contact me if you’d like your own nutrition coach. I promise you you’ll feel satisfied, happy and you’ll even lose weight (if that’s what you’re after).
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