Tuesday, September 4, 2007

How to pack a healthy lunch

I got a call from Jillian today asking for some advice. She was shopping at Costco and was wondering whether the croissants were somewhat healthful. I had a hunch that it wasn't the best choice and I found a website with the nutrition information. Yikes, that's eight Weight Watchers points! Jillian was looking for some healthy lunch items and was out of ideas. I suggested she try shopping at Trader Joe's because I buy my bread there - it's less than 100 calories for two slices and it's filling. It turns out that there aren't many locations in the South Sound; the closest TJ's is in University Place. I think it would be totally worth the trip though because the food is healthy, tasty and super cheap!

My lunches are almost entirely composed of TJ food. Here's my typical lunch menu:

2 slices TJ Multigrain bread (2 pts) w/mustard (0 pt)
6 slices of Oscar Meyer lowfat Turkey meat (1 pt)
1 pack of TJ 100 Cal Crackers (2 pts)
1 Kids Chocolate Chip Clif Bar (2 pts)
1 cup of grapes (1 pt)
Total points = 8 (approx 400 cal)

My lunch is filling and cheap, and I think it's the type of lunch a kid could eat (since I'm semi-picky). Veggies can easily be substituted for the chips, which would bring down the cal/points count. I think the 100 cal packs are great because it enforces portion control. Oh yeah, and don't drink juice or soda. Try a Crystal Light To Go pack if you need to add some taste to water.

I know lunches are a hot topic - mom had asked for advice on packing lunches for Dad. Does anybody else want to offer up suggestions?

4 comments:

steph said...

Well what I do is have an egg salad sandwich with two egg whites and one whole egg. I also use reduced fat mayo and multi-grain bread or any healthy bread. Just an Idea!

Debow Family said...

Awesome suggestion! Egg is good protein and it's probably more filling and tasty than a few slices of lunchmeat. I'm actually going to try that for lunch today. Thanks! :)

She She said...

I like that idea too Steph. I spent an hour this afternoon cutting up 2 heads of cauliflower, celery, cucumbers and carrots. I made ranch, but with low fat sour cream, but I need to use reduce fat mayo. Going to make a menu and go grocery shopping this week. My struggle is at night. That is when my sweet tooth really gets me going. Any help in this area would be good too.

Debow Family said...

Mom, I'll post a topic about how to deal with sweet tooths. That's my biggest hurdle as well. I've noticed that as long as I have anything sweet, my cravings go away. But something sweet doesn't have to be unhealthy. To get ride of my evening sweets craving, I eat the Kozy Shack No Sugar Added Tapioca or Rice Pudding cups. They are only one weight watchers point! As long as I don't surround myself with other sweets, I'm good to go.