Healthy Lunch Tips: How to Eat Better During Your Lunch Break

Why is a healthy lunch important?

A healthy lunch is ideal to start the afternoon with new energy. Whether you have breakfast or not, the midday hunger pangs show us that our body and brain are calling for new energy. A healthy lunch provides us with this energy - ideally until dinner, but at the latest until late afternoon.

On the other hand, if we only reach for snacks or skip meals altogether, cravings and lack of concentration are inevitable, and it is very likely that sooner or later we will end up reaching for the high-calorie snack drawer anyway.

What does a healthy lunch look like?

A healthy lunch is the basis for us to get through our everyday life with energy and good mood. The prerequisite for this is that the components of the lunch meal are balanced to supply all areas of the body with nutrients.

Healthy lunch - how to manage it time-wise?

As much as we wish for a healthy lunch, it rarely appears magically on the table, and so healthy eating often takes a back seat due to time pressure and appointments. Nevertheless, it is possible to have a healthy lunch break in the office or home office. Here are our best tips on how to manage to eat healthier at lunchtime.

5 tips on how to eat healthier at lunchtime

1. Upgrade sandwiches easily to make them healthier

Sandwiches are easy to eat everywhere, easy to take with you, they also taste good cold, and if you buy them at the bakery, you only have to wait a short time - no wonder they are so popular for lunch. And if they are topped with healthy ingredients, they are also a healthy choice. Many rolls from the bakery lack one thing above all: the vegetable component. On the other hand, there should be less meat and light carbohydrates. It becomes healthier with these simple tips:

• Vegetables take the leading role: Why always just cold cuts? By adding oven-roasted zucchini or eggplant slices, mushrooms or bell pepper strips (prepared in advance, they stay fresh in the fridge for 1 week), crunchy arugula salad or creamy avocado, you will definitely create your new favorite sandwich.

• Light spreads: With a spicy spread, you can always give your sandwich a new aromatic kick and enhance it with plant-based ingredients. How about trying curry cream cheese, chickpea hummus, lentil spread, spinach-pine nut spread, tomato-arugula spread... All these varieties and many more can be found in drugstores or supermarkets and are very convenient to have in stock.

• Fish instead of meat: Smoked salmon, smoked trout, or tuna are a good alternative to classic cold cuts.

• Choose whole grain: It is no secret that whole grain bread is a great way to make your sandwich more filling and healthier. This is due to its higher fiber content, which helps to fill our stomach faster and keep our blood sugar stable.

2. Soup of the week

The most practical option is, of course, when lunch is already prepared and waiting in the fridge. While it may seem daunting at first to think about food at the beginning of the week, pre-cooking a quick vegetable soup takes no longer than a trip to the bakery, and it heats up in no time. Simple, old jam or pickle jars are practical for storing and transporting food.

3. Also delicious when cold

A problem for many people who want to bring their own food for lunch is heating up the meals. However, there are also some dishes that taste good cold and that you can easily take with you and eat directly from the jar or your container. Well-suited are:

• Penne Pomodoro from the previous day (add mini mozzarella to make a pasta salad)

• Quiche or savory strudel

• Cooked buckwheat seasoned with grated carrots and/or apple, either savory or sweet.

• You can prepare a salad from leftover rice, potatoes, or pasta.

• Our spicy, cold gazpacho with chickpeas

4. Don't just eat carbohydrates

Whether you eat in the canteen at lunchtime or grab something in the city: Most dishes consist largely of carbohydrates (white bread rolls, white rice, and pasta). However, it is only through protein and fresh, colorful vegetables that a lunch dish becomes a balanced, satisfying meal that provides our body with what it needs and does not unnecessarily burden the metabolism. Therefore, if possible, prefer or supplement your meals with:

• Legumes: They provide a concentrated source of vitamins, as well as plant-based proteins and fibers. Optimal choices are chickpeas, white or red beans, and lentils.

• Quark, cottage cheese or (plant-based) yogurt: A dollop of it on potatoes, pan dishes, or wraps is an underestimated health booster! The additional proteins in it satisfy and make many (carbohydrate-rich) dishes complete.

• Potatoes: Despite being notorious for causing weight gain, they have more to offer than just light side dishes like pasta or baguette. So go ahead and enjoy!

• A few extra pieces of vegetables or fruit: Ask for an extra side of vegetables in the canteen or get used to having a salad beforehand or some fresh fruit afterwards.

5. Feel free to help yourself to dessert

Do you often resist having dessert after a meal? Only to later find yourself reaching for chocolate or cake in the afternoon? It's better to have dessert right after a (balanced) meal. With something healthy in your stomach, the sugar in the dessert will have much less of an impact on you.

You see, by simple small measures you can already achieve a lot. Nevertheless, hardly anyone will manage to eat healthily every day. And on some stressful days, the choice ends up being fries and currywurst. No one should feel guilty about it. Because healthy eating means above all to create a healthy balance. If this remains more of an exception, then it's not a problem at all.