Great Things to Munch When It Comes to Lunch

Can you believe another week has flown by? We have been working towards better health together for over 4 months now!  How has it been going? Have you been able to make the small changes to your diet that we have discussed?  I hope so! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments or if there are any topics you want me to discuss.

Over the past month we have discussed the importance of lunch and the nutrients that it should provide. I started off by giving you an outline of where your Lunch calories should come from. I gave you specifics on how much carbohydrate, fat and protein is recommended for most people at lunch. We also discussed the new government dietary guidelines “My Plate”. The guidelines reiterated the importance of a well balanced meal including grains, fruits, vegetables, protein and dairy.

Now I am going to give you specific examples of healthy lunch meals. The color coding helps you to see which items you can trade out.  I am going to give you some ideas for meals at home and on the go.

2-3 oz of Lean Protein (14-21 grams Protein)

2 Starch/Bread Servings (30 grams Carbohydrate)

1 Fruit serving (15 grams Carbohydrate)

1 Fat serving (5 grams of added fat)

Free Veggies (as many as you want as long as they are not fried or covered in fat)

Meal # 1

2-3 slices of lunch meat

2 slices of high fiber whole wheat bread

1 TBS of olive oil mayonnaise

All the free veggies you want

1 tennis ball sized apple

Meal  # 2

2-3 oz of lean chicken

½ cup of corn and ½ cup of beans to make a relish

1 TBS of regular salad dressing

Salad and all the free veggies that you want

1 Clementine

Meal # 3

2-3 oz of lean steak

½ cup of mashed potatoes and ½ corn on the cob

1 tsp of butter

All the free veggies you want

1 cup of strawberries

Meal # 4

2-3 oz of fish (not fried)

2/3^rd cup of whole wheat pasta

1 tsp of olive oil

All the free veggies that you want

1 tennis ball sized pear

Meal # 5

2-3 oz of grilled chicken

2 slices of high fiber whole wheat bread

1/8^th Avocado

All the free veggies you want

1 cup of strawberries

Meal # 6

2-3 oz of turkey

1 small baked potato

1 tsp of Italian dressing

All the free veggies you want

10 cherries

Meal # 7

Grilled chicken Sandwich

On bun

No added fat necessary

Side salad

Small fruit cup

Meal # 8

Kids sized Hamburger no cheese

On bun

No added fat necessary

Side salad

A pack of Apple slices