The Art of Packing your Lunch

Today's Lunch: A spinach salad with yellow pepper, tomato and cucumber with freshly ground pepper and lemon juice; green beans, snap peas and radishes with black bean dip; and celery with freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter. Not shown: 2 clementines for later :)

I have a theory: if lunch doesn't look exciting, I will find myself in line at Starbucks by 3pm asking for an overly sweet scone and a large coffee. This may not hold true for everyone, but I think it does for a majority of us whether it's Starbucks, the office cookie jar, or the local convenience store. The fact is, it's hard to find a satisfying and healthy snack on the fly these days, so it's super important to pack a lunch that will get you through quitting time.

I like to make my lunches look pretty. I'm a HUGE fan of bento boxes and actually own one of the Laptop Lunch boxes (not shown here because I was too tired to wash it last night <shame>). They allow me to pack a nice variety of foods, while keeping in mind portion control. I try to make my lunches colorful: Rule of Thumb: the more colors your meals include, the more nutrients you're getting, the more likely you are to get your fill of the daily required amounts. I also try to include veggies, fruits, nuts and legumes in all of my lunches. I know that carbs like bread and pasta make me laggy so I steer clear when it comes to lunch. Normally I pack leftovers, but last night was one of the first that we didn't cook up a really nice dinner; we just used various leftovers in the fridge to concoct 2 portions for dinner.

If you're trying to lose weight, or just trying to avoid spending money on "quick" afternoon snacks, I suggest getting creative with your lunch so that you don't feel tempted.  Check out the Vegan Lunchbox blog for ideas to get you started!