As most of you know, this year I embarked on a new part of my life: The Life of an Education Major!
I spent many days eating lunch in classrooms, eating in teacher's lounges and eating lunch on the go.
I knew if I wanted to maintain the healthy lifestyle I had worked so hard to create for myself, I would need to put in the extra time and plan my lunches ahead of time.
It took ALLOT more work/thinking power than just buying my lunches from the subway in the cafeteria, or just packing a traditional sandwich.
Here is my recipe for packing my lunch:
I tried to stick to these rules as often as possible! I also packed things like full fat yogurt, cheese sticks, hummus and I ALWAYS pack a dark chocolate square for a treat!
Last but not least, I recommend BUYING A LUNCHBOX THAT MAKES THIS ALL POSSIBLE. I had a few different lunch boxes I would try out, but it was like lugging around a small suitcase with all the Tupperware stacked inside.
Then I found this cute website
http://www.laptoplunches.com/ on Pinterest one day when I was pinning lunch ideas. I kept seeing people pinning Bento Boxes or Laptop Lunches and I was like - Those are SO cute! I ordered one in the mail, (quite possibly the most expensive lunchbox EVER) but it was SO worth it. As you will see from the pictures of my lunches below, it kept my food organized and neat. I no longer had to lug around a cooler of food and it incidentally kept my portion sizes PERFECT. (this is no advertisement, I am just a HUGE FanGirl).
Some of the Examples of Lunches I Packed:
I wasn't able to snap pictures of ALL my lunches, but I managed to get a good amount of examples! I always fill one container with protein, one with veggies and then wing the rest.
Chicken Salad, Banana Chips, Carrot Sticks, Full Fat Greek Yogurt Sprinkled with Slivered Almonds and a piece of Dark Chocolate.
Chicken Salad, Full Fat Yogurt, Cheese Stick, Carrots and Hummus, Cashews and Dark Chocolate (This Bento Box was packed to get me through a full day-night at school, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Steamed Veggies, Ham and Cheese Roll Ups, Almonds, Grapes and of Course, My dark Chocolate!
Chicken and Hummus, Steamed Veggies, Watermelon, Almonds, Cheese Stick and Dark Chocolate
Diced Chicken, Sweet Potato Fries, Grapes, Cashews and Dark Chocolate
Chicken Stir Fry, Grapes, Carrots and Hummus, Cashews, Cheese Stick and Dark Chocolate
Roast Beef, Apple Slices, Cashews, Yogurt and Dark Chocolate
Air popped popcorn, ham and cheese roll ups, carrots and hummus, and pinneaple
Ham and cheese roll ups, Pirates Booty, Trail Mix, Grapes
Turkey and Cream Cheese Roll Ups, Avocado, Peaches, Carrots, Almonds and Dark Chocolate
Ham, Salad, peaches, trail mix, dark chocolate
Egg salad, steamed veggies, peaches and yogurt
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Insides, Cantaloupe, Cashews, Yogurt and Dark Chocolate
(Skipped the Veggies today?? WEIRD!) Ham, Cottage Cheese, Almonds and Yogurt
Diced Chicken, Salad, Almonds, Yogurt and Dark Chocolate
Some of these lunches may look a little big... It's because they were packed to keep me full for 10 hours! Most of the time I packed, I USED LEFTOVERS! That is my main tip for you if you are going to try and pack lunches, it is SO much easier to make a little extra dinner and pack that, than have to create a whole separate meal.
So Glad I finally got this post out there :) I hope this helps anyone struggling with packing lunches! Keeping it Gluten Free and Healthy kept me full the whole day, kept any uncomfortable bloating away and really helped me stick to my eating plan!
Love,
DANI
