Making Healthy, Work-Friendly Lunches

Breakfast: egg and smoked gouda on an English muffin
Lunch: homemade soup and cornbread
Snacks: yogurt with a banana and granola and a blueberry Nutri-Grain bar

I won’t lie.  Several years ago, I bought lunch out, rather often, when I was at work, because, at the time it felt convenient and easy. It didn’t help that I worked within walking distance of several restaurants, including a Chipotle, which I admit, I love. More often than not, I skipped breakfast, which is considered the most important meal of the day. One day I decided to calculate how much I spent on buying lunches, although I don’t remember the numbers, it was a lot. To save money, I have packed lunch (and many breakfasts) almost every day since. Money isn’t the only thing you save when packing lunch for work, you can also limit the amount of sugar, salt, fat, and calories you intake, and make healthier eating choices and habits. It’s also good for the environment because you can use reusable containers and silverware for lunch instead of Styrofoam boxes and disposable plastic ware. Like many night owls out there, my brain doesn’t work properly in the morning, so I tend to make and pack my breakfast and lunch the night before, so I can just grab it and go in the morning without having to get up earlier to prepare something. I also pack snacks for mid-morning and mid-afternoon so I don’t have to rely on junk foods.

Make a List. I am a list master! I make them for just about everything but none of them are as useful as the grocery list. Every week I draw up a list of what I need from the store for dinners and for lunches. I change it every week so nothing feels redundant and dull. Who wants to be bored with their food anyway? I often make my work lunches from scratch but I do keep a few frozen Lean Cuisines on hand and a few canned soups for lazy days. Although they may be low in calories, frozen dinners and canned soups will be higher in sodium. Something to also keep in mind is that Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice offer very few vegetarian options.

Preppy, Prep, Prep. I spend about 10 minutes, max, the night before making the next day’s breakfast and lunch, for work. It doesn’t have to be fancy- just something quick that you would enjoy. When you make dinner, make a little extra so you can bring leftovers for work the next day.

Breakfast. Breakfast is easy, you don’t need a lot of it, just enough to boost your metabolism, give you energy, and not leave you a zombie in the morning (or left feeling like you are starving to death before lunchtime). For breakfast try: cereal with a low fat milk, oatmeal with fresh strawberries or blueberries and a drizzle of honey, an egg on an English muffin, yogurt with fresh fruit and granola, half a grapefruit with lightly buttered toast, a large fruit salad, ½ a bagel with cream cheese, or an apple with a handful of cubed cheddar and almonds or walnuts. I tend to get to work about 15-20 minutes early so that gives me ample time to eat breakfast, grab a coffee and water, and relax before my day begins.

Lunch.  If having salad, change it up often. Don’t eat the same salad everyday for a month- you’ll get bored. There are endless possibilities on what can be added to one. One day have a salad with the norms cucumbers, leafy greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, etc. Another day, eat a salad with spinach, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and feta with a vinaigrette. Beans and/or a diced hard-boiled egg are a great source of protein for salads and also make you feel full. Again, leftovers are a great option here. Make a batch of homemade soup and bring some to work over a period of a few days. Make veggie wraps or sandwiches, quesadillas with salsa, or couscous salads. On the side: have fresh fruits and/or veggies (hummus is a great dip for veggies), sautéed veggies with herbs, or applesauce.

Snacks. I love me some snacks! I have a drawer full of them at work. Some healthful snacks include: fresh fruit and veggies, a handful of nuts, an English muffin with peanut butter, dried fruit and nut trail mix, a hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper, yogurt, cheese and low sodium crackers, apple slices with peanut butter, or apple chips.

Happy eating!

Local/Restaurant Review: Pete’s Grill

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day. I couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it has to do with the simplicity of breakfast foods, my love of eggs, or that it’s the first food you shove in your mouth in the morning making your taste buds thrilled and happy after a long night of disuse. I don’t know what it is, but breakfast makes for a happy Rachel.

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend, after perusing the Waverly Farmer’s Market, is to eat at Pete’s Grill. Pete’s is a breakfast diner (although they do serve some lunch items as well, including burgers that get rave reviews) located on the corner of 32^nd Street and Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore City. They serve a good, cheap, filling breakfast, plain and simple. And I can tell you, I always leave happy and stuffed! The building where Pete’s is housed was initially built as a bank in the 1920s. Pete’s has been there for 30 years (and was another restaurant prior to that). It’s a very popular joint, with an old-fashioned diner feel. Everyone from the mayor to Johns Hopkins students to Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps (who lives in Baltimore) eat at Pete’s. The atmosphere is busy and lively (great for people watching). They only have around 25 seats or so at their long counter, so expect a wait, which will range between just a few minutes to half an hour. Your food comes fast after you order. The workers move at lightening speeds and it is probably the most efficiently run restaurant I’ve ever been to. But be forewarned- they close early at around 1pm and they only take cash.

What we eat: hash browns, egg and cheese on an English muffin, a short stack of chocolate chip hotcakes (i.e. two pancakes), French fries, and an omelet.

Pete’s has fantastic hash browns. They are fried to perfection with onions and fresh cracked pepper, giving them a slight spiciness, but not overwhelmingly so. The eggs are light and fluffy and the French fries are made from fresh cut potatoes. The chocolate chip hotcakes are utterly perfect and extremely filling. They are filled with semi-sweet chocolate chips and sprinkled with powdered sugar. When you drizzle them with syrup, you are in sugary pancake heaven. I can never resist their hotcakes!

Other, equally wonderful, foods I’ve had at Pete’ include blueberry hotcakes and the Belgian waffles (with a ton of blueberries, mind you).

For vegetarians who care if their eggs are being cooked, directly, next to sausage and Scrapple, this might not be the diner for you. Most heated foods are all cooked on the same surface.