Lunch With a Punch: Don’t Let Your Lunchbox Make You Snore at Work

We’ve heard enough of the ‘right breakfast’ and ‘right dinner’ hoopla – what about the right lunch?

You must have read umpteen articles about how important breakfast is for us, and also how dinners should always be early and light...

But what about lunch? What constitutes the right lunch? You’d be surprised to know how much impact nailing this mid morning meal right can have on your health, weight and even your work efficiency.

First things first. Lunch is NOT dispensable. In fact it is an important meal, as a long gap (between breakfast and dinner) could lead to a drop in the blood sugar, leading to a slump in energy levels (in the middle of a working day no less, when you need it the most).

Also, the food you eat at midday, usually at work, can total up to about 1/3 to 1/4 of all the food you eat in a day. You need this nourishment to be able to work and behave at your best; ‘coz like hungry children, even hungry (or even over fed) adults find it difficult to concentrate.

Plus, when you skip this meal, you end up eating something wrong in the evening, OR eat a huge dinner – both of which don’t help.

What and How Much?

That said it is important to keep your portions small at this meal.

A study published by researchers of Cornell University has reported that participants who ate portion-controlled lunches did not compensate by eating more calories later in the day. So eating smaller portions at lunch could actually lead to a thinner you.

Make it Fun!

It is really about learning 8-10 new recipes which can be your new ‘take lunch from home’ repertoire, with which you can create variations. Try these 10 super easy interesting suggestions:

• Club sandwich squares made as a double-or triple-decker of paneer and green chutney, or mashed rajma and sweet corn.
  
• A baked dish of vegetables made the previous night with grated low fat cheese; just heat in the office microwave and eat.
  
• Chilli chicken/paneer cooked the Indian Chinese way (dry with vegetables), can be eaten with steamed rice/roti.
  
• Seasoned sprouts paired with an egg salad/paneer tikka sandwich and hummus.
  
• A potato salad made with French dressing instead of mayonnaise, paired with butter milk and some nuts.
  
• Brown rice pulao with nuts and veggies paired with yoghurt.
  
• Make a sandwich at office: carry 2-3 pav from the bakery, leave some butter and mustard in the office fridge and carry your fillings from home – a different one every day).
  
• Lemon rice with peanuts (takes less than ten minutes) and curd.
  
• Phodni chi poli (a Maharashtrian version of crumbled left over rotis, whizzed in the dry grinder for a few seconds) with peanuts, onion, veggies; uber delicious when paired with a raita.
  
• Stir fry mushrooms in a little butter, with or without onions plus lots of pepper and salt. Toss it with couscous, rice or noodles or just stuff in a sandwich. Pair with butter milk.
  
• Leftover grilled vegetables (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini) with feta cheese, goat cheese, or cottage cheese.
  

(Kavita Devgan is a weight management consultant, nutritionist, health columnist and author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People.)