Healthy Lunch Food Options

Eating right is not everyone's number one priority in the day, since many people out there are easily influenced by junk food commercials, not to mention television shows on say, the top places to eat these fast food options around the country. It doesn't help when you see a chef piling on beef jerky into a sandwich oozing with cheese and heaped with deep-fried crispy onions, or a donut that's as big as your head, being slathered with creamy chocolate and a just as sinful filling.

As time goes by, there is an effect on the body that we will not immediately notice but others will, when they see you after days, weeks or months. If someone you know passes a comment like, "Hey you seem to be getting a little heavy around the waist.", then you need to drop that burger down right now, or toss out that donut you've been falling asleep with, and head to a nutritionist for help on how to get in shape, and lead a life that doesn't make you carry on a ton of weight.

Having healthy lunch food options at hand isn't such a bad way of life, once you get used to the different kinds of foods that are available in the menu. You can still have your favorite foods, but on a smaller portion sized serving, and with a much healthier mesh of ingredients and style of cooking. Armed with these in mind, you can eat almost anything if you know how to cook it in a non fat way, and include it with ingredients that can be ticked off the list as the most healthy foods for lunch.

Healthy Lunch Food Options

Eating healthy lunch food is wise and skipping out on the nonsense served in cafeterias is even wiser; here's your healthy alternative picks of the day.

Option 1 - Grilled Shrimp and Chicken with Herbs and Garlic Butter Sauce

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup of shredded chicken
• 5 pieces of medium-sized shrimp
• 1 tablespoon of non fat butter
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of cilantro
• 1 tablespoon of chives
• 1 tablespoon of chili flakes
• Two tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of non-fat cream
• Julienned capsicum (¼ cup)
• Grilled brown pita bread
• Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

This is a fairly simple dish to prepare; make sure all your ingredients are fresh and made the same day. The best thing to do would be to make it just before you head out for class or work. After you've cleaned the shrimp, along with the chicken (poach it first, and then shred it), you can then begin on this simple dish. You can buy pre-packaged brown pita bread, to save time on making these from scratch. Using a mixer, blitz your ingredients together - chives, chili flakes, lemon juice, cilantro, and cream. Keep this concoction in the mixer, and get on with the main part of your sauce. In a pan, pour into this a tablespoon of olive/vegetable oil and then drop in your butter letting it gradually melt with the heat. On low flame at all times, add in your sliced garlic and sauté continuously for about 30 seconds. Then marry this to your mixer's content and blitz it again; keep this to side again.

Gently grill your shrimp (if you don't have a grill on hand, then lightly fry these in olive oil; same goes for the shredded chicken) and chicken, making sure that it cooks through well. Use the same pan in which you sautéed your buttered garlic to let the meat suck in all that flavor. Then place these in a big bowl, toss with the julienned capsicum, and then add in your sauce and coat it evenly by gently bouncing the ingredients around in the bowl. Lastly, you can add a pinch of salt or more according to your taste, and garnish with more cilantro or chives. Store it away in an air tight container to retain its freshness if you prefer cooking this the previous day.

Option 2 - Beef Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Egg

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup of beef cubes
• ½ cup of cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup of onion rings (red onion)
• 1 cup of shredded lettuce
• 1 egg (poached and peeled)
• 2 green chilies (de-seeded)
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small piece of ginger (julienned)
• 1 cup of yellow julienned bell peppers
• ½ cup of mushrooms (any kind, sliced)
• Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

Keep the beef to marinate in the refrigerator overnight, mixed with the vinegar, oregano, mushrooms, crushed garlic and finely sliced ginger, in an airtight zip lock bag wildly shaken before stored. The next day, pour in some olive oil, about two tablespoons of this into a pan, and gently toss the beef about until they turn flaky, and deep brown along with the onions until they're nice and lightly browned as well. All that flavor should have seeped into the meat and garlic by now, which you need to keep aside once the frying is over (wait for it to cool). Then taking a bowl, dump into this your lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sliced egg, green chilies, bell peppers and beef. Toss these and use non-fat salad dressing to bring in a well-rounded blend of ingredients and flavors.

Healthy Lunch Foods for Weight Loss and Staying Fit

There's so much you can do when putting a dish together, that can be flavorful, lip smacking and easy to make. Here a list of healthy foods for those who want to snack on nutritious eats during the afternoon.

• Whole wheat brown bread
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole wheat pasta
• Non fat cheese/butter
• Veg/non veg broths
• Tofu
• Cottage cheese
• Non fat dressings
• Low fat plain/fruit based yogurt
• Wheat germ
• Turkey
• Lamb
• Shrimp
• Chicken
• Tuna
• Salmon
• Mussels
• Squid
• Sardines
• Brown rice
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Dried fruits

The above mentioned healthy food ideas will help you maintain a good physique, and will cut down on unnecessary calories while you consciously prepare small portioned amounts of these foods. Always opt for low cal meals, that are non fat and non greasy in nature, unlike preservative ridden foods, or fatty eats like junk foods and sugary items. It's no way to treat your body, since the effects of your bad eating habits will be your own detriment in the long haul. Have a healthy tomorrow.