Whether you’re back to school as a student or need to take low-cal lunches to work with you every day, the choices that you make when you pack your meal can have a considerable impact on your ability to get thin and stay that way. If you want to achieve a healthy BMI and not watch the pounds climb back on again after you worked so hard to get them off, then the contents of your lunch bag are going to play an important role in that effort.
However, when it comes down to actually packing healthful, low-cal lunches, it can seem as though it’s easier said than done. It may seem like a clever idea to toss a pile of raw veggies into a reusable container and eat those for your midday meal, but it won’t be long before your taste buds complain and you find yourself hungry again if that’s what you do. The key is to find some swaps that will make sure that you are satisfied by both the flavors and the quantities of what you’re eating.
The following are some great swaps that you can apply to your low-cal lunches and to the lunchboxes of your kids, too!
• Chicken salad – this is super easy when you simply cook up one extra chicken breast at dinner time. That will give you enough for lunches. Cut it up and have it for lunch two days in a row, or save half of the chicken in the freezer so you just have to thaw it and when you’re ready for it. Instead of using a mayo based dressing, use Greek yogurt with a few fresh or dried herbs, instead. It will slash the fat and calories.
• Whole grain bread – it may seem as though a whole grain wrap will have fewer calories, but there’s a reason to choose two slices of whole grain bread, instead. The calorie count is only slightly higher, but it will fill you up a great deal more. That will help to stop you from getting hungry, later on, which could cause you to overeat at snack time.
• Quinoa – replace any rice dishes that you typically eat with quinoa cooked into the exact same recipe. The reason is that you’ll get a lot more protein and far fewer calories, meaning that you’ll feel fuller for longer, but without the higher calorie impact.
