Tips For Healthy Lunches

Planning — and surprisingly little of it — is the key to a nutritious lunch at work and school.

"Making healthy lunches takes me 10 minutes in the morning, and buying unhealthy cafeteria food takes me 10 minutes in the afternoon," says Wendy Potkay, a busy mom and district manager for AT&T, in New Jersey. "It's so easy to resort to eating greasy, fatty foods when you're stressed or on a deadline. After a while, you realize if you're going to shove something in your mouth, it might as well be healthy."

How does she accomplish a feat that defeats so many? And how does she do it in less than 10 minutes? To borrow an old real estate phrase, there are three keys to a healthful lunch: Planning, planning and planning.

1. Plan lunches around an assortment of whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

2. Plan the week's lunches in advance to make shopping easier. Make a list, and stick to it. Don't give in to the temptation to buy extra sweets, junk food or fatty deli meats.

3. Plan for the next day's lunch the night before. Time is tight in the morning, and rushing through lunch preparation often means compromising on nutrition or skipping prep time altogether in favor of vending machines and drive-through windows.

Jane Ziegler, a working mom and registered dietitian, also advocates planning. "I wash and cut vegetables as soon as I get home from the store so it's not a chore when I'm ready to make sandwiches," she says.

	Better Brown-Bagging

Boredom can sabotage any healthful lunch plan. To beat back boredom, keep a variety of different breads in the freezer, and have jarred vegetables on hand, such as roasted red peppers, to use when the mood strikes. "I make sandwiches the night before on frozen bread and by morning the bread is defrosted and the sandwiches taste fresh," Ziegler says.

You can also experiment with different food combinations to keep yourself, and your children, away from poor food choices.

For school:

Let children help prepare lunches and choose their own healthful snacks. To keep kids from trading lunches they don't like, maintain lines of communication by asking them what they'd like to eat. Nancy Evans, a working mom from New Jersey, takes an extra step to make sure her kids' lunches don't get swapped. She writes napkin notes that say, "I love you," or tell a joke. "This makes it harder for them to trade the lunch," she says.

Freeze juice boxes before adding to lunchboxes. This not only keeps the drink cold, but acts like a cold pack for the rest of the lunch.

Don't worry if your child requests the same food day after day. Peanut butter and jelly is a common healthy favorite. This is normal, and they'll usually move on in a matter of weeks. Provide different snack foods for variety.

For work:

If a refrigerator and microwave are available, you'll have a greater range of lunch choices.

Bring soup or leftovers from home (as long as dinner was healthful) and reheat at lunch.

Make a salad the night before, and add dressing just before eating. Add more than the usual lettuce and tomato basics-try chopped apples, raisins, nuts, jalapeρo peppers, chickpeas, beans, cauliflower, corn or other vegetables.

	When Plans Fall Through

Despite best intentions, there will be times when plans fail and you or your children will have to make smart choices from what's available outside your kitchen.

In schools:

Review school lunch menus. According the American Dietetic Association, most schools now meet or exceed guidelines that call for no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat. Menus are posted in advance in the school, printed in newspapers or sent home with students. Allow children to participate in planning which days they'd like to buy lunch, and help them pick items with the greatest nutritional value.

Pack a healthful snack to supplement lunch. If children get hungry in school, they'll be tempted to buy chips, soda or candy. Give them fruit, vegetable sticks, low-fat granola bars or yogurt to tide them over.

Advance planning with your children will help them eat a balanced diet, with fast foods as an occasional treat, not an every day habit. Some schools have let fast food restaurant concessions into cafeterias. This means children will be even more tempted to eat high-fat foods from Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and McDonalds.

At work:

If fast food is your only option, choose a broiled chicken breast sandwich without the high-fat sauce, or visit the salad bar (as long as you limit the number of mayonnaise salads, such as cole slaw, and go light on dressing, cheese and fatty meats, such as pepperoni).

Plan in advance what you want to eat at a restaurant or in a cafeteria so you won't be swayed by menu descriptions. Appetizers tend to be fried, creamy or cheesy-all of which add fat to your diet. Instead, choose a broth-based soup, fresh fruit cup or juice. For entrees, look for items that are grilled, steamed, poached or broiled-and order them without butter or sauces. "Cajun" or "blackened" items are usually spicy and low in fat.

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