Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Cook

Delicious and nutritious packed lunches

By Annabel Arkwright on 15/1/2019

Tips for making your packed lunch healthy, delicious and something to look forward to

How to make your packed lunches nutritious and delicious
How to make your packed lunches nutritious and delicious
Tupperware is back with a vengeance. Today we’re all turning to packed lunches as a means of saving money and precious time in office hours, but also as a way of ensuring we get a tasty, healthy meal to eat at work. The key to making Tupperware a permanent fixture in your lifestyle is to ensure that your home-made lunch is just as appealing (if not more) than what’s on offer in a plethora of coffee shops, sandwich bars and supermarkets surrounding your office.


Our resident nutritional advisor and health coach offers some top tips on how to maximise the nutritional value of your lunch with minimum preparation and fuss.



1. BALANCE


Make sure that every lunchbox includes all three main food groups – carbohydrate, protein and fat. Approximately 60 per cent of your meal should be slow releasing carbs, to ensure enough energy to see you through the afternoon; these can be found in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and pulses. Eat plenty of protein too; it is essential for the growth and repair of body tissue. Protein-rich foods include eggs, quinoa, beans and lentils, fish, soya, meat, cheese, nuts and seeds.


Fats come in two types: saturated fat, which is normally found in animal products such as meat and dairy products, and unsaturated fats. It is the unsaturated fats that are good for us and, in fact, essential ingredients for overall mind and body health. These are typically found in oily fish, nuts and seeds (such as sunflower, pumpkin or chia). Try to include a tablespoon of seeds in your diet each day.



2. PORTION SIZE



It is important to keep an eye on portion size. Choose the Tupperware to suit your portion rather than feel you have to stuff full any size box you happen to pluck from the cupboard. As a rule of thumb, the starchy carb element of your lunch (think grains, rice, pasta, pulses) should be about the size of the palm of your hand. Meat and dairy-derived protein can contain a lot of saturated fat, so keep an eye on portion size when eating food from this group in particular. Load up the dish with green leafy veg, salad ingredients and fruit.



3. VARIETY



Try to include at least 8 different food ingredients and at least 4 different colours of foods in your packed lunch, to ensure it is jam-packed with vitamins and minerals. Throw it all together and don’t get too hung up with what food conventionally goes with what. Unusual mixes of ingredients can taste surprisingly good.



4. SWEET TREATS AND SNACKS



To fix a mid-morning or afternoon energy slump, try oatcakes with hummus or soft cheese, or a piece of rye bread with peanut butter (no added sugar). For the record, rice cakes, which are a lot of people’s go-to snack, can actually be high in refined sugar, so try to choose organic brown rice cakes when looking for a healthy option. As for moments when your sweet tooth takes hold, avoid sugar-laden granola bars – instead, try yoghurt with fruit, nuts and seeds, topped with a teaspoonful of honey.



5. WHAT TO STOCK IN YOUR FRIDGE OR FREEZER



We’ve all had a go at drumming up a cheap and cheerful packed lunch by recycling last night’s leftovers, or flinging the old piece of cheese or ham, winking at you from the back of the fridge, into a sandwich that will almost certainly be squashed and unappealing by the time you get to work. Instead, just make sure you put together a few of the easily sourced ingredients suggested below.


Non-refined Carbs:


Veg: courgettes (grated and raw), carrots, kale and beetroot are all great lunchbox ingredients. A dollop of hummus falls into this group, too.


Salad basics: cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, salad leaves and spinach.


Fruit: berries, oranges, pomegranate seeds and avocados (which are high in antioxidants).


Protein:


Cheese: goat’s, sheep’s and cottage are three that are low in fat.


Natural yoghurt, eggs, cooked seafood, soy and tofu are good, too. It's also always a good idea to have some broad beans or edamame beans tucked away in the freezer.


WHAT TO STOCK: CUPBOARD





For those occasions when you truly have eaten the fridge bare, make sure you keep some essentials in the cupboard. A meal can be concocted from these alone, if necessary.


Protein:


Stock up on tinned fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines), nuts (or nut butter) and seeds.


Carbohydrate and protein:


Look to tinned chickpeas, beans, lentils and quinoa.


Non-refined Carbs:


Grains (such as brown rice), oats, spelt, couscous, oatcakes and rye bread are all healthy options. Sun-dried tomatoes, capers and honey also fall into this category.

Fats, unsaturated:


Olives, nuts and seeds are all great examples of healthy unsaturated fats.


For personalised taste, you can also keep your own mini supply of condiments at work to spice things up. Chilli flakes, turmeric (the wonder anti-inflammatory spice), Himalayan salt, mixed seeds and dried cranberries can all add zing to satisfy the taste buds.


by Annabel Arkwright

Share:

lifestyle

wellbeing



You may also like:
  • Kyseri:  Selin Kiazim brings Anatolian cuisine to London [5star]

    Kyseri: London restaurant review ★★★★★

  • How the Light Gets In, 2019

    How The Light Gets In Festival, London 2019

  • Benjamin Lebus (right) and the Mob Kitchen team

    Meet the man behind the Mob

  • Cora Pearl, Covent Garden

    Cora Pearl, Covent Garden

  • Beautiful Allotment at the Geffrye Museum, London

    Beautiful Allotment, Geffrye Museum, Hoxton

  • We are One! African Celebration Dinner

    We are One! African Celebration Dinner



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×