What are you eating for lunch these days?
If you work outside your home full time, brown bagging your lunch can be super beneficial in many more ways than one.
The key to a successful brown-bagged lunch is to keep it plain and simple.
Because you don’t want to spend a tonne time and effort planning and preparing it.
And so I’m a big cheerleader for eating the same lunch every day.
Yup.
The same lunch, every day.
Now, it doesn’t need to be totally identical, but the structure should be pretty constant.
When you keep things constant you save time, decision-making energy (which, believe it or not, is quite draining), money, and probably a few pounds.
And I think we can all benefit from those things.
So I want to share with you what I pack in my lunch each morning.
Not because you need to do the same, but just to give you an idea of what it can look like.
Here it is:
- 1 boiled egg with salt and pepper
- 1 orange
- 3 squares of dark chocolate
- a mixture of a few plain almonds and a few dates
- leftover supper from the night before (usually includes a salad)
Also, I prepare a smoothie (see my previous post on my favorite smoothies) which I’ll sip for breakfast on my way into work.
(Actually, to be honest, my guy Albert prepares the smoothies for both of us lately… I love him for that!)
And, I pack two tea bags in my travel mug so I can prepare a caffeinated chai tea when I get to work, and an herbal tea after lunch.
Finally, I religiously take a teaspoon of Omega-3 oil each morning, and a pack couple of multivitamins for later in the day.
My lunch routine works like a well-oiled machine.
And mornings are soooo much simpler, not to mention grocery shopping is quick and easy.
So to prepare for these lunches, each weekend I stock up on eggs, oranges, dark chocolate, almonds, and dates to last me at least the week.
In addition, my week night suppers are also planned out, and so I pick up what I need for them (I have about 8 recipes that I rotate).
Now, this is where you might be thinking that all this repetition sounds super boring.
I get it.
I was worried about that too.
But I’ve discovered the benefits of eating the same lunch every day highly outweigh the boredom.
Because I’m never stuck buying lunch at the cafeteria or restaurant, or snacking on bags of chips I bought from a machine, or frantically searching for supper ideas online.
Not to mention I spend a whole lot less time thinking, deciding, shopping, and cooking at the last minute.
And the time I save on keeping my lunches the same makes my mornings much more relaxed, and I’m much more pleasant to be around.
Lunch can be an easy win every day if you’re trying to lose weight, lower your stress, improve your mood, and use your energy on other more important stuff.
So, are you ready to make lunches that are plain and simple?
I’d love to know what you do for lunch, and if you’re willing to consider eating the same thing each day.
My goal is to think less and less about food.
Because the more I think about it, the more my life revolves around what I’m going to eat next.
And I’d rather do other things with my time.
Keep moving forward my friend,
Debbie