Lunchtime!
Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
What is your plan?
As I have tweaked my eating over the years, lunch has become my biggest and most important meal of the day. Doesn’t matter if I had breakfast or not, or what I had for breakfast - at 11:30 my stomach is telling me it’s time for lunch!
I eat mostly the same lunch/rotation of foods day in and day out. That lunch looks like nearly three servings of vegetables and some protein, and is a key to my continued success. If that sounds like something that might help you, here are a few food prep tips that I rely on:
Raw Vegetables: I am not a big fan of most raw vegetables but I do love arugula, celery and cucumbers. Each week I buy arugula, take it out of its container and put it in a large glass bowl. Next I cut up fresh herbs (usually cilantro, parsley, and basil), cucumbers, celery, and maybe some peppers, and put them on top and seal the bowl up. The lettuce keeps better, the herbs add lots of flavor, and the other vegetables add nice crunch and texture. When it’s time for lunch I take out three handfuls and put them on my plate.
Cooked Vegetables: Cooked vegetables are so versatile. Once cooked you can heat them up and have them in your salad, put them in a taco, put dip on top of them, add them to a sandwich, have them as a side dish, or add them to eggs. My preferred method of cooking is to roast them.
Mix Ins: I add these items from time to time for variety in taste and texture. Beets (precooked from store), feta cheese, olives, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, wasabi peas, chia seeds, some sliced apple or orange sections.
Protein: This could be canned tuna, rotisserie chicken, some leftovers, hard boiled eggs, or some deli meat.
Frozen Foods: I do enjoy a few prepared foods for variety. They are not as clean as what I make myself, but variety is important. Morningstar makes some good bean burgers, and I will occasionally have some Perdue gluten free, organic chicken nuggets.
Avocado: Delicious, full of healthy fat, and satisfying, I keep these on hand and add ½ of one to my salad when they are ripe.
I may make a big salad with all of these ingredients, or I may make a smaller salad, or reheat veggies and have them with half a sandwich, or leftover pizza, or some chicken salad. The point is - I know what sort of lunch works for me, and I set myself up to make it easy, because when that lunchtime hunger hits, it is insistent, and insistent hunger needs to be satisfied.
Do I get tired of this “format?” Sometimes. But when I eat like this at home, I am building flexibility in for myself for when I am not at home, or for when I do not have good choices in front of me. The payoff is clear to me, and because I am a grown up, every meal does not need to be exciting.
The objective with food planning is to reduce or eliminate any friction that stands between you and what you want for yourself. That friction could be physical hunger, decision fatigue, stress, or an unexpected schedule change. Every time you stick with your plan, you are moving towards change.
