The Brown-Bag Lunch Challenge!

Is your lunch hour your time to unwind in the middle of a hectic workday? If you're spending most lunch hours in restaurants with co-workers or clients, you could be doing a lot damage to your diet! Massive portions, loads of fat and calories, the never-ending bread basket, and I haven't even mentioned dessert — did you know some restaurant meals have more calories than you should eat in a whole day?!

You can make healthy choices when you eat out — like asking the server to remove the bread basket, requesting sauces on the side, and sticking with grilled chicken or fish and steamed veggies. Still, it may be easier — and tastier — to just bring your own healthy lunch from home!

Brown-bagging isn't hard at all; it just requires some planning. Here are a few of my favorite bring-to-work lunches:

• Sandwiches: Nothing is easier than a no-cook sandwich, and the options are endless — chicken, tuna, cheese (yum, fresh mozzarella!), egg salad — I could go on and on! You can pick whatever filling you like, just put in a whole-grain bread, wrap or pita, limit or avoid high-calorie add-ons like mayo, and throw in lots of veggies.
• Soups: They're really filling and super easy to heat up at work! Invest in a thermos and a few cans of hearty and healthy soups, or cook a big pot of your favorite veggie soup on the weekend. Pair it with two slices of whole-grain bread and you're set!
• Yogurt with granola and fruit. This light meal is an ideal grab-and-go lunch. It's perfect for those days when you don't have time to pack lunch — all of the components can be found in nearly every grocery or convenience store.
• Leftovers: My personal favorite is last night's leftovers! If you take the time to cook a healthy dinner, why not make a little extra and bring the leftovers for lunch? You can heat them up in the microwave at work.

This coming week, how about brown-bagging it at least one more workday than you usually do? You'll not only get healthier and save calories — you'll save money too!