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Cancer Fighting Lunches: Brown Bag Recipes

March 2, 2008 By Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN

Depending on your occupation, lunchtime can be something you look forward to or just an inconvenience.  Many days I find  that my lunch meal is an afterthought. It might be 11:30 and I’m starving but I don’t have lunch. In that moment, I’ll take  anything to eat regardless of how healthy it might be! THAT is the danger in not planning.

In a previous post I talked about cancer fighting breakfast meals. Today I’ll give you some ideas about stocking your kitchen with the right foods to pack a cancer fighting lunch. It used to be called brown bagging. Now, I don’t think I see anyone bringing lunch in a brown bag, except my dad!

What to Include:

No matter what container you use, it’s important to bring the right things for lunch. Remember that even at lunch time it’s important; I’ll  go so far as to say necessary, to include vegetables.

The lunches that I see often have a lot of protein and grain or other starch. A lot of times, there is no fruit or vegetable present.  It’s like people are eating meat on starch with a side of fatty starch and a sweet, fatty starch for dessert. Where’s the vegetable?
Where’s the fruit? All we have is too many calories and not enough nutrients!

To make for a healthier lunch, here are the essentials:

  • 1-2 vegetables (1 cup or more)
  • Starch (1-2 servings)
  • Protein (2 ounces)
  • Fruit
  • Dairy (milk or yogurt)

Sample Meals:

Here are some sample meals that would make a healthy lunch:

  • Leftovers with fruit and yogurt. (I find this to be the easiest one!)
  • Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, carrots and red peppers, apple and 1% milk
  • Hummus, Raw veggies, Triscuits, banana and yogurt
  • Trail mix, salad, chocolate 1% milk
  • Tuna salad with celery and cherry tomatoes, vegetable soup and fruit
  • Turkey wrap, yogurt, orange, carrot sticks
  • Healthy choice frozen meal, salad, fruit and soy milk.

Many times, I have some of these ingredients in my work cabinet, fridge or drawer. That way, if I’ve forgotten my lunch, I have some food on standby to fall back on.

Don’t know if you need to improve your lunch or not? Try keeping a food log at lunch time to see how you’re doing.

Click here to access a food log.

Have a great week and be sure to pack your lunch!

– Julie






Anti-Cancer Diet: Should I be a Vegetarian?
Smoothies: A Cancer Fighting Combination

Filed Under: Meal Planning, Recipes

This post may contain affiliate links for products I recommend. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product, Cancer Services, Inc. will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. We use these proceeds to support cancer patient direct services and community education in the Triad area of North Carolina. For more information, view our disclosure policy.

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