It’s Sunday evening. The weekend is gone; it’s time to pack lunches for tomorrow. Ugh, time for another week of school and work. Even more disheartening might be to package a bland sandwich and a piece of fruit to break up the looming Monday hours. That’s nothing to look forward to.
But, using a little more intent and creativity to create an appealing lunch just may excite you for the new school or work week. Fresh, flavorful foods are always something to look forward to, even for lunch on the first day of the week.
Start with the basics. It’s important to keep in mind what a nutritious, flavorful meal includes. Whole foods are tasty and nutritious and require very little preparation. Simply pop them into a lunchbox (kids often prefer a divided container to keep foods separate) and enjoy! For a well-rounded, nutritious lunch, include at least three of the following food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, proteins, and dairy/calcium.
Looking for healthy carbs? Think spinach and other veggies, quinoa, chickpeas, and hummus. Quinoa and chickpeas also contain protein, as do chicken, almonds, or other nuts. Include healthy fats in your lunch with avocado, hummus, almonds, and olives. Add some cheese, whole grains, and fruit for variety, and you’ve given your body all it needs for a productive afternoon.
There are dozens of websites where you can find inspiring ideas for packing healthy lunches. See the resource list below for a few examples. But first, turn to CCPL for exciting and healthy lunch ideas!
For Further Reading
Visit Charles County Public Library or search the Catalog for hundreds of recipe and meal-prep books. Here are a few titles to get you started:
The Dietitian Kitchen by Kerri Major
As a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer, Kerri knows all too well the importance of nourishing and fueling our bodies with a well-balanced diet and why we should be keeping ourselves active. However, in recent years, the concept of eating well has become overly complicated and expensive thanks to the ever-growing diet industry trying to sell the next quick fix to help shed the pounds. This growing trend has, in turn, caused people to develop a poor relationship with food–and their bodies. Enough is enough. This book brings the readers back to the basics of nutrition.
The Lunch Box by Kate McMillan
Shares creative ideas for using common ingredients to make boxed lunches with a variety of nutritious sandwiches and snacks for children.
Healthy Eats by Six Sisters’ Stuff
When it comes to preparing meals, choosing between healthy and convenient can be a real struggle. Whether you are serving a full three-course meal or need to take a dish to a potluck, there is a recipe here that will fit your lifestyle as well as satisfy your taste buds.
Beating the Lunch Box Blues by JM Hirsch
Nobody wants a lunch cookbook. Especially not a lunch box cookbook. Because in the morning rush most of us aren’t going to break out a recipe to bang out a brown bag special. What busy people need are ideas. And lots of them. If they’re healthy, fun, easy and fall on the hipper end of the foodie spectrum, even better. That’s what Beating the Lunch Box Blues is – an idea book to inspire anyone daunted by the daily ordeal of packing lunch. This is an un-cookbook, a collection of 180 delicious ideas for thinking outside the (lunch) box. The format is user friendly — photos with tips and ideas, not recipes. Because you don’t need a recipe to know that a grilled cheese with manchego and fig jam with a side of fruit salad splashed with balsamic is a delicious lunch. Or that kids and adults will go nuts for a DIY taco kit made from leftover chicken or steak, whole-wheat tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream and veggies. The result is a cookbook-meets-flipbook approach to thinking about lunch, allowing parents and kids to page through fresh, healthy ideas for awesome meals. Hirsch also slipped in 30 recipes for fast and flavorful dinners. Because great lunches often are built from the leftovers of killer suppers.
Downshiftology Healthy Meal Prep by Lisa Bryan
Nobody wants a lunch cookbook. Especially not a lunch box cookbook. Because in the morning rush most of us aren’t going to break out a recipe to bang out a brown bag special. What busy people need are ideas. And lots of them. If they’re healthy, fun, easy and fall on the hipper end of the foodie spectrum, even better. That’s what Beating the Lunch Box Blues is – an idea book to inspire anyone daunted by the daily ordeal of packing lunch. This is an un-cookbook, a collection of 180 delicious ideas for thinking outside the (lunch) box. The format is user friendly — photos with tips and ideas, not recipes. Because you don’t need a recipe to know that a grilled cheese with manchego and fig jam with a side of fruit salad splashed with balsamic is a delicious lunch. Or that kids and adults will go nuts for a DIY taco kit made from leftover chicken or steak, whole-wheat tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream and veggies. The result is a cookbook-meets-flipbook approach to thinking about lunch, allowing parents and kids to page through fresh, healthy ideas for awesome meals. Hirsch also slipped in 30 recipes for fast and flavorful dinners. Because great lunches often are built from the leftovers of killer suppers.
Smart Meal Prep for Beginners by Toby Amidor
Smart meal prep means you never have to ask what s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In Smart Meal Prep for Beginners, meal prep expert Toby Amidor makes it easier than ever to start (and stick with) meal prep, so that you have ready-to-go healthy meals every day of the week. This meal prep cookbook goes beyond general meal prep guidance, and provides a 6-week plan to make a habit of meal prep and keep your fridge full. With specific, step-by-step instructions and meal prep plans that eliminate the guesswork of what to eat and for which meal, this cookbook is your kick-start guide to meal prep like a pro.
Take the drudgery out of the midday meal with Lunchbox-an adult’s guide to creating 75 unique, healthful, and delicious lunchboxes for children ages 3 to 10. For many parents, packing or preparing a healthy and satisfying lunch for their child can be a daunting task. But with breakfast being the most routine meal and dinner often a struggle, lunchtime is an opportunity to get your little ones to explore new foods, fuel up on nutrients, and sample a range of ingredients. Each meal in Lunchbox is built around a theme meant to reinforce learning, celebrate holidays, and set children up to have a positive relationship with food. There are lunches themed to colors and shapes, like the All-Orange Lunch or the Circles and Squares Lunch; lunches featuring foods of global cuisines, like the Japanese Lunch, which includes onigiri and edamame; and fun meals that sneak in foods maybe otherwise overlooked by picky eaters. Each lunchbox is designed with the busy parent in mind, so no creation requires more effort than gathering store-bought ingredients and whipping up one basic recipe (at most!). There are opportunities to repurpose leftovers, ideas for customizing any of the 50 homemade staples (such as hummus, mini muffins, and protein balls), and cost-saving and waste-saving options. Like adults, children eat with their eyes first, so every lunchbox is styled in exciting and enticing ways to encourage children to dig right in (and there are tips to get older kids involved in making their own lunch)-while annotated photographs of all 75 lunches make it easy for the parent or caregiver to re-create the visual magic. As a bonus, the book includes perforated cards so no lunch goes to school without a little note to say hi, crack a joke, or send love.
