Creating healthy lunches
Lunch can sometimes be a challenge. It’s the one meal of the day where most people are out of the house, and with friends and family to catch up with, deadlines to reach and appointments to keep, it can be a minefield of in-the-moment food choices made under the pressure and time constraints of a short lunch break. Then add in the temptation of lunchtime offers at cafes, food courts and fast-food shops and it can seem incredibly tempting to eat whatever takes your fancy now and get back on track, later. Spending just a few minutes each evening planning what you’ll have for lunch the next day could help you continue to make healthy choices, no matter where you find yourself when lunchtime rolls around.
What makes a good lunch?
When you’re halfway through the day you need a tasty meal that will satisfy your hunger and keep you going through to dinner time. Try to include one serve of cooked grains, bread or starchy vegetables, one serve of protein and two serves of cooked vegetables, salad or legumes.
Eat more vegetables at lunch
(and throughout the day)
Why? They are nature’s vitamin pills – jam-packed with nutrients, antioxidants and filling fibre. That’s why most of them are ZeroPoint foods. The trick is to eat a rainbow of colours to get the widest range of nutrients throughout your day. Packed with nutrients veggies are an important food group. But if you’ve always struggled with eating vegetables, maybe you just haven’t been cooking them right. Steaming is a quick way to cook your veggies and it also retains the most nutrients.
Here's how to steam vegetables
1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil.
2. Cut vegetables into similar-sized pieces and place in a steamer basket.
3. Place the steamer basket over the saucepan of boiling water (ensuring the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the basket). Steam, covered, for the times given below.
Vegetable | Steam for |
|---|
Asparagus | 3–5 mins |
Beetroot (whole) | 30–60 mins |
Bok choy stems | 3–5 mins (add leaves after 2–3 mins) |
Broccoli or cauliflower florets | 5–6 mins |
Brussels sprouts (halved) | 6–8 mins |
Cabbage (wedges) | 6–8 mins |
Carrots (thickly sliced) | 7–10 mins |
Corn cob | 5–8 mins |
Green beans
(whole) | 3–5 mins |
Potatoes, regular and sweet (halved) | 15–25 mins |
Snow or sugar snap peas (whole) | 2–4 mins |
Spinach leaves | 1–2 mins |
Zucchini (thickly sliced) | 3–5 mins |
