By Marie Dufour, RD – Pitfalls litter the lunch hour; pitfalls at the office cafeteria, at the school refectory, at the corner eatery, at the elegant business lunch restaurant; brown-baggers and vending machine fans, drive-through drivers and Starbucks addicts, we all struggle with lunch. Few are those who have the luxury of a well-planned, home-cooked meal. Yet, most of us can have a healthier lunch experience.
For decades now, the Mediterranean diet has been heralded as one of the healthiest nutrition plans in the world. I venture that it’s not only the WHAT of this diet but it is also the HOW. Mediterranean-style eaters have a tendency to take their time to eat, even at lunchtime. A pause… Slowing down allows us to reduce stress, which in turn reduces our cortisol output and allows us to burn energy more effectively, store less fat. So, let’s have a sit-down lunch–and I don’t mean behind the wheel!
PLANNING is everything. If we plan our TV shows and weekend entertainment, why not our lunches? Planning strategies include:
- Office and school cafeteria: check out the weekly menu and make your selection the day before. If the menu doesn’t match your eating plan, bring your own lunch.
- Corner café and restaurants: have your list of pre-selected eateries and be familiar with their menus. Ask for healthy choices. As a consumer, you have the power to motivate restaurateurs to offer healthy menus.
- Vending machine and fast-food windows: select fruit, yogurt, whole-wheat sandwiches, salads, hard boiled eggs, and avoid chips, sodas, candy and high-fat items.
- Pack your own lunch the night before. Use a cooler with blue ice and pack the foods that match your eating plan. Add a mid-morning snack (apple, yogurt, banana, or crackers) to keep the cravings away.
Lunchtime is a pause in the day, a time to recharge nutritionally and mentally. It’s not a time to play the hunter-gatherer game behind the wheel, wondering where-oh-where is the Mammoth. Sit down, open the cooler, and enjoy. It’s good for you!
* Drink And Eat With A Purpose (DEWAP) is the nutrition lifestyle program I have developed for the DOMINO HEALTH FOUNDATION.
Filed under: diet , childhood obesity, community nutrition, diet, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, lunch, Marie Dufour RD, Mediterranean Diet, weight control, weight loss
Water is the best beverage to drink. I know the only way I got my kids to drink it was by giving them a bottle called Wat-aah… They really enjoyed the cute bottle….
Good job with your kids, Lana. You are right, water is the best drink. Keep your kids drinking water and shoo them away from all sodas, artificial juices and sports drinks.