Healthy Lunches To Go

Hearty Healthy Sandwiches

Left-over Tuscan Grill

Stuff your sandwich with roast beef and a mixture of left over grilled vegetables like bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini or summer squash. Add some tomatoes and onions. Drizzle with olive oil or fat free Italian dressing. Sprinkle with fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, rosemary, or even tarragon.

Herbed Cheese Sandwich

Mayonnaise (or I prefer Vegannaise, a vegan version that tastes as good as Best Foods made without hydrogenated oils), sliced cheese (Jack, Mozzerella, Havarti, or Munster are good choices), alfalfa sprouts, and sliced tomato. Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and oregano to taste. Top with fresh basil leaves and enjoy!

A Real Peanut Butter Sandwich

Natural peanut butter (or for even more health benefits, cashew or almond butter) topped with thinly sliced real fresh fruit like peaches, nectarines, apricots, bananas, strawberries, or raspberries and a drizzle of agave syrup or honey makes an amazing sandwich that any kid will love.

Make a sandwich all it should be:

Make or buy hearty whole grain rolls or breads for your lunches. Don’t be fooled by a label that reads “made with whole grains.” Look at the ingredients. Stay away from enriched flours, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. Instead, look for whole wheat, rye oats, flax, and other grains. Oat and flax both have countless health benefits you can’t get anywhere else. As for sweeteners, look for brown rice syrup (the best), honey, agave syrup, molasses, real maple syrup, fructose, stevia, or pureed fruits instead of processed sugars (even brown sugar is bad). You can also find whole grain tortilla wraps and pita breads now so that you have more healthy options to choose from. They tend to be a little lower in carbohydrates than most breads as well.

If you are watching your carbs, consider an open faced sandwich. Open faced sanwiches can be messy in a lunch box, though, so pack your ingredients in a separate little container and top your bread just before eating. Another low carb option is high fiber breads. The fiber cancels out carbohydrates in your body so you get a much lower net carb count as well as the added benefit of fiber!

Pack up left over dinner items like meats and veggies for lunch sandwiches. Think salmon, meatloaf, beef tips, broiled chicken, and virtually any other meat you can think of. As for veggies, think squashes, carrots, salad mixes, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, mushrooms, and any other steamed, sautéed, grilled, or broiled veggies you might serve as a side dish.

No Ordinary Salads

Salads are just a bunch of ingredients tossed together that you eat with a fork. Getting away from plain old dinner salads and fattening traditional potato salads, there are an infinite number of healthy, wonderfully flavorful combinations. Non-lettuce salads will keep for days, so they are perfect for making ahead of time. Here are just a few to think about when packing your lunch box.

See our Summer Salads recipes for more great healthy ideas.

Texan Corn Salad

8 ears of fresh corn

1 small red onion, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

1 medium green bell pepper, diced

½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot, boil corn for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and run under cold water. One at a time, take an ear of corn, stand it up, and cut kernels from cob. In a large bowl, combine corn kernels with all other ingredients and chill.

Orzo Salad

2/3 cup orzo

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup finely copped orange bell pepper

1/3 cup finely chopped and seeded tomatoes

¼ cup quartered dry-packed sundried tomatoes

¼ cup chopped scallions

¼ cup chopped watercress

1/3 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare orzo according to package directions. In a large bowl, mix garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add orzo and remaining ingredients and toss.

Salad Stuffed Veggies

Cubed ham, turkey, salmon, tuna, or chicken mixed with a little mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper can be stuffed into hollowed out tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, or celery.

Quick and Easy Fixins

Tuna with Crackers

Mix one 6 oz can of solid albacore tuna in water, drained with 2 Tbsp. Vegannaise and serve with hearty oat or rye crackers like Wasa brand Crispbread.

Make Your Own Trail Mix or Granola

Go to the bulk section of your local health food market and choose granolas, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds to make your own trail mix or granola. Granolas can include oats, wheat germ, and flax seeds. Drizzle them with a natural sweetener and clump it together for a sweet treat or heat it up with a little soy milk for a hot cereal. Trail mixes are a lot of fun to make and you can nibble on them throughout the day to keep your metabolism on its feet. My favorite mix is fennel seeds, almonds, pecans, goji berries cranberries, cocoa nibs, and shredded coconut.

Make your own “Lunchable” style snacks.

Invest in sectioned storage containers and fill the sections with hearty crackers, meats, cheeses, and extras like hummus, sprouts, cherry tomatoes, or baby spinach leaves.

Sides

• Sliced tomato drizzled with vinaigrette
• Cheese sticks
• Cottage Cheese – by itself or used as a dip for veggie or tortilla chips (also great mixed with salsa for some added protein)
• Yogurt (natural yogurts sweetened naturally – no sugar or high fructose corn syrup)
• Veggies with dip – balsamic vinaigrette, ranch dressing, or hummus
• Apple slices with nut butter or yogurt for dipping
• Fruit and berries
• Hard boiled eggs
• Nuts
• Baked (with no hydrogenated oils) tortilla chips with beans and salsa or cottage cheese and salsa
• Pickles
• Fresh sliced zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, spinach, or cucumbers tossed with Italian dressing or vinaigrette
• Hot soup in a thermos

Left-overs Great Served Cold

• Pizza
• Chicken
• Spaghetti
• Marinated Tofu Dishes
• Meatloaf
• Turkey (on sandwiches or salads)

Good Sweet Treats Instead of the Old Stuff

• Candy - peanut butter covered pretzels
• Soda – Juice Squeeze brand drinks that are 70% sparkling mineral water and 30% juice
• Canned fruit – fresh fruit cocktail alone or mixed with yogurt
• Fruit snacks – dried fruits (unsweetened or sweetened with apple juice)