Work lunches: avoiding the cost and convenience traps

• Frittata
• Vegetable and legume soup, such as minestrone or lentil and barley soup. Cook up a big pot and freeze some portions. Try Sandra's cauliflower and cannellini bean soup topped with yoghurt or feta (with optional piece of wholegrain toast)
• Red cabbage coleslaw and canned fish
• Try this chicken and vegetable dish
• Zucchini slice – try this vegetarian version
• Red rice, roast vegetable and aduki bean salad

Other easy lunch ideas

• Wholegrain salad sandwich with chicken, avocado and at least five salad ingredients
• Salad of grated carrot, beetroot, mixed lettuce, tomato and capsicum, plus a protein of choice such as chicken or canned sardines and either freshly chopped herbs, such as dill or mint, or a spoon of pesto
• Leftover roast vegetables on a bed of rocket dressed with balsamic vinegar and oil and choice of protein
• Marinated tofu steaks and salad
• Canned legumes, canned fish and salad ingredients and fresh herbs (try this combination: 4-bean mix, canned tuna, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, carrot, capsicum and freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and mint, dressed with olive oil and your choice of vinegar)
• Stir-fry vegetables and tofu and cashews, with brown rice
• A patty or meatball such as quinoa patty, chickpea patties (see our upcoming magazine for this recipe), chicken meatballs or lamb kofta, with a salad and yoghurt dressing

Plate basics – aim for a protein, carb, vegetables and fruit

Protein

1 palm-sized portion, such as:

• lean meat (beef, lamb, pork, 'roo) or skinless chicken/turkey
• fish (fresh or canned)
• two eggs
• tofu
• legumes
• cottage or ricotta cheese

Vegetables
2-3 cups raw (2-3 big handfuls) or 1.5-2 cups cooked, such as:

• baked or steamed vegetables (cook extra for dinner the night before and use in salads or stir-fries)
• bunches of fresh green herbs – not only flavoursome, but a vegetable source
• a variety of vegetables of all colours – "eat the rainbow"
• vegetables such as carrots and beetroots – they keep well (which is handy towards the end of the shopping week). Grate them as a salad base

Low GI carbohydrate
1 fist-sized portion (optional – some people are choosing a low-carb diet), such as:

• wholegrain bread or wrap
• rice, corn or legumes
• a serve of fruit

Sandra's final piece of advice is to eat slowly and mindfully, away from your computer. For more information read The three P's: the secret to healthy eating.