Healthy diet – lunch
Last time, we started with a healthy breakfast. This is a good start, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now we'll take it a step further and see how you can put together a healthy lunch.
Ideally, you should eat your main meal at lunchtime, but unfortunately this is not always possible because you are at work or at school. Then you have no choice but to adapt your diet to your lifestyle: if the family is at home for lunch, you eat your main meal at lunchtime and on days when this is not feasible (because of work/school or other commitments outside the home) you can eat your main meal in the evening.
Invigorating lunch
You have already got through half the day, but your energy supply is depleted and your body needs new fuel. Again, make sure you have enough nutrients, energy-generating foods and regulating foods, but not more energy-generating foods than necessary! The right amount depends on your plans for the rest of the day: the more exercise you have planned, the more energy-generating foods you will need.
Again, here are some examples of a good composition for your lunch. In these compositions you adjust the quantities according to the energy you need: if you are going to be moving around a lot or working outside all afternoon in the freezing cold, eat a bit more. If you are going to be sitting still at your desk all afternoon at a pleasant room temperature, then put a little less on your plate.
Lunch as the main meal
If you are at home with the whole family and eat your main meal at lunch, it is best to put together your lunch as follows:
EXAMPLE 1
- Potatoes: 1/4 of total amount of lunch
- Vegetables: 1/2 of total amount of lunch
- Meat/fish: 1/4 of total amount of lunch
- Drink water with your meal
EXAMPLE 2
- Single-pan dish of brown rice, vegetables and possibly meat or fish (e.g. chicken with peas and curry sauce; paella)
- Drink water with your meal
EXAMPLE 3
- Whole-wheat pasta with vegetable pasta sauce, possibly with meat (it is best to make your own fresh sauce with vegetables that everyone in the family likes, you can make several portions and then freeze them for the next time)
- Drink water with your meal
EXAMPLE 4
- Quinoa or couscous dish with vegetables and possibly meat or fish.
- Drink water with your meal
You can supplement any lunch with delicious fresh soup beforehand. That's an extra portion of vegetables, lots of water and it's already filling, so you'll eat less of your main meal. Alternatively, you can save the soup for the evening meal or have it as a snack.
Lunch away from home
If you do not eat at home for lunch, but at the office/school or elsewhere, it is of course not practical to have your main meal there. In that case, your lunch can look like this:
EXAMPLE 1
- Brown bread spread with margarine/low-fat margarine
- Filling of your choice (meat/cheese/cheese spread)
- Drink water/coffee/tea
EXAMPLE 2
- Brown bread roll with filling (meat, fish, cheese, beef tartare, etc.) and vegetables
- Drink water/coffee/tea
EXAMPLE 3
- Salad of fresh vegetables, possibly with fish/meat/seafood
- Drink water/coffee/tea
EXAMPLE 4
- Cold platter of rice/potatoes/pasta/quinoa with vegetables and optionally chicken/salmon/tuna
- Drink water/coffee/tea
EXAMPLE 5
- Main dish soup
- Optionally with brown bread
TIP: try not to eat meat every day, but alternate between meat, fish and vegetarian.
For example: 3 days meat, 3 days fish and 1 day vegetarian. This is not only good for your health, but also for the environment.
- Translated from Dutch by Tamara Swalef -