An hour or so in the kitchen on Sunday can reap major benefits all week long - saving you money on takeout AND saving you calories, fat, sodium and last-minute desperate lunch choices.
By preparing a few basics, plus a main-meal dish that reheats well or holds up as a salad over a few days, you can ensure a healthy lunch no matter how hectic the work week gets.
Here are a few tips and suggestions:
Sunday Make-Ahead 101
1. Chicken: Grill or bake a few chicken breasts and use them for topping salads or eating with carrots, celery and hummus plus fruit for lunch.
2. Eggs: Hardboil the entire dozen eggs and have them for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, or as part of lunch. I eat one full egg and two of the whites every day around mid-morning.
3. Fruit Salad: If the idea of plain fruit is kind of boring to you, spice things up by tossing together your fruit faves and eating from the fruit salad. It will last you through Wednesday usually before it gets too soggy. You can also toss the fruit plus high-fiber whole grain cereal like Kashi Go Lean into Greek yogurt for a light lunch or snack. Hint: Sprinkle some lemon juice in it to prevent apples from browning, etc.
4. Big-Ass Green Salad: Toss together in a big bowl a few bags of pre-washed salad mix and baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and green peppers, mushrooms and whatever other veggies you like. Every day, in a tupperware, toss a bunch of the salad with a protein like chicken, tofu, shrimp, or chickpeas. Only add in dressing that morning or just before you eat it to prevent the whole bowl from wilting.
5. Brown rice: Cook a big batch Sunday, and toss in a 1/2 cup to that salad for the complex carbs that will keep you full and your sugar levels steady.
6. Heartier entree salad or casserole: One of my go-to's is the Greek Couscous Salad, which starts with fast-cooking whole grain couscous and includes store-bought light dressing plus a can of chickpeas, a can of olives, a toss of feta and whatever other veggies I desire. Grilled chicken is a great addition to this one and to a Fatoush Salad, too. Both salads stay tasty throughout the week, getting better as the flavors marinate together. Same goes with a coleslaw, which can include whatever you want and is healthy when made with Greek yogurt or light dressing instead of mayo. Other options: Low-fat chili, made in the crockpot Sunday, and then paired with some of the green salad. Or a casserole like my Grandma's Eggplant Casserole (recipe coming Wednesday)!
7. Office Snack Staples: Also have handy portable, easy to eat snacks for mid-morning and mid-afternoon. String cheese, almonds, baby carrots, cleaned celery hearts, hummus, animal crackers, whole wheat crackers, and certain protein and granola bars are best bets.
So plan a little, and spend a little time this Sunday in the kitchen. Your Badass will be healthier for it, and your wallet will appreciate the lower food takeout bills!
Coming up: Grandma's Eggplant Casserole, tweaked for Badass approval; and a do-anywhere bootcamp routine that requires zero equipment....