If you’re at home during the lunch hour
or when you’re home on weekends, you
have any and all meal options open to
you. However, if you’re at work or out
with friends at a favorite restaurant, you
might feel a bit more challenged. Here
are some ideas to help.
At Work
Purchase an inexpensive, insulated lunch
bag and some small plastic containers to
take a healthful lunch and some snacks to
work. If you pick a bag and accessories
that you really like, you may find it more
fun and motivating to put some lunch
together every day. You’ll also be less
likely to dash out the door empty-handed
and end up at Hamburgers-R-Us.
Some good meal ideas are a clear soup,
such as barley, vegetable, minestrone or
miso, accompanied by a small sandwich
on whole grain bread or a roll. Salads
are also a great option. Load up on the
veggies (and try fruits in your salads, as
well) and pack the dressing in a separate
container.
One idea you may want to implement is
to purposely cook an extra serving or
two of every healthful, Mediterranean
dinner and then freeze it in portion-size
containers for taking to lunch later on.
In just a couple of weeks, you’ll have
quite a stockpile of your own frozen
entrees to choose from. They’ll be great
for lunch and handy for those evenings
when you forgot to thaw the chicken.
At a Restaurant
If you go out to lunch frequently, you
may face quite a few temptations and
challenges, but sticking to the
Mediterranean Diet is still very doable.
Japanese, Thai, vegetarian, seafood,
Greek and some American restaurants
can be great places to eat lunch on the
Mediterranean Diet. Mexican, buffet,
Chinese and many Italian restaurants can
be very challenging and aren’t your best
bet.
Drink a bottle or glass of water and
munch an apple or a handful of nuts and
dried fruit about an hour before lunch.
This will keep you from falling face first
into the breadbasket later. In fact, if
possible, ask the server not to bring
bread at all, unless the restaurant serves
whole-grain artisan breads. If your
dining companions want bread, just let
them know that you need to skip it and
hopefully they won’t try to tempt or tease
you into having some. If they do, you
may want to look for different lunch
companions!
Opt for a healthy salad with a vinaigrette
or oil and vinegar dressing and without
croutons (usually deep-fried) or
parmesan (too much fat and salt) or
bacon bits (too much bacon!).
Again, clear soups are a great way to get
a hearty meal and still stick with the
program.
Fish broiled or baked without butter and
shrimp without drawn butter are also
great, if you feel the need for a full
entrée.
Some Delicious Lunch
Recipes
Garden Pizza
Lightly wipe a whole-grain wheat
tortilla with a bit of olive oil, just
enough to moisten it. In a sauté pan,
quickly cook ¼ cup each of diced
onion, spinach, zucchini, red or orange
pepper, mushrooms and pineapple. Add
salt and pepper to taste, then ½ tsp.
fresh basil and ½ tsp. fresh parsley.
Spread on tortilla and sprinkle ¼ cup
shredded or fresh mozzarella. Broil
(you can microwave it for 45 seconds if
you prefer) just until cheese has melted
and slice into four wedges.
Sunshine Smoothie
(This is also a terrific breakfast
smoothie or snack.)
In a blender, combine ½ cup mango or
apricot nectar, 1 6 or 8oz. container of
Greek vanilla, honey or peach flavored
yogurt, 1 small banana, ¼ cup low-fat
milk and a handful of ice cubes. Blend
until smooth. This tastes similar to an
Orange Julius or a Creamsicle and is a
great pick-me-up. If this will be your
whole lunch, add 1 tsp. psyllium husk
to help fill you up.
Rice and Roasted Veggie Soup
(This recipe can be made fresh, but the
best way to use it is to throw in roasted
veggies and cooked rice from the night
before. This makes it extremely
packable and great for the microwave
at work. Just pop it all into a container
and heat it the next day.)
Start with two cups store-bought or
homemade chicken stock, add ½ cup of
diced roasted veggies, such as carrot,
zucchini, summer squash, asparagus
and sweet potato. Any combination you
think is yummy will do. Add ¼ cup
leftover cooked brown rice. Add one
clove of peeled and halved garlic (use
crushed or dried if you need to, about
¼ tsp.) ¼ tsp. tarragon and ½ tsp. fresh
parsley. Heat until warm, taste before
adding salt and pepper. Enjoy.
Shrimp and Black Bean Salad
On a bed of your favorite dark, leafy
greens, pile ½ cup cooked cocktail
shrimp (or six cooked, peeled and
halved larger shrimp), ¼ cup mandarin
orange or fresh tangerine slices and ¼
cup sliced red onion. Add dollop (¼
cup) warm black beans, just as they
come from the can. Top with Honey
Lime Dressing.
Honey Lime Dressing
(Makes about a pint and will keep for
at least a week.)
In a blender, combine ½ cup apple
cider vinegar, ¼ cup lime juice, ½ tsp.
sea salt and a bit of freshly ground
black pepper. Turn on low and then
slowly add 1 cup canola oil (olive will
not work well) until well blended.
