Better Health & Living

Issue: March 2008
Let’s Do Lunch (Right)
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Let’s Do Lunch (Right)

It's not the healthiest meal of the day--but it can be if you munch like the experts

by Daryn Eller

Americans don’t think much of lunch. When the International Food Information Council recently asked consumers which meal they think plays the most important role in an overall healthy diet, the second meal of the day came in dead last (breakfast was first).

Maybe that’s because a good lunch these days is about as uncommon as your luggage arriving at the same airport you do. If you’re not at a restaurant with a client or a colleague (think hefty portions), you’re hitting the drive-through, brown-bagging it, or rummaging through your refrigerator, all of which can have less-than-healthy consequences.

Here’s what can help: some fresh lunch ideas courtesy of several top health experts who, as it turns out, do practice what they preach. Read on for their lunchtime strategies plus some basic guidelines for getting lunch right.

Big or little?

Light lunch, big dinner? Big lunch, light dinner? Don’t worry about it—one isn’t better than the other. “How you break up your calories doesn’t really matter,” says Kerry Neville, RD, a Seattle-based spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “What’s most important, especially if you’re watching your weight, is the total number of calories you eat during the entire day.” Some experimentation is called for: If big lunches leave you nodding off at your desk later, eat smaller meals and have fruit or cheese as a midafternoon pick-me-up.

Be wise about portion size

Restaurant meals are gigantic (two to four times bigger than recommended serving sizes!), so order the smallest offerings on the menu (appetizers, small sandwiches, and half portions of entrees). Face it: You won’t take the leftovers with you. “People don’t leave lunch with doggy bags. The food doesn’t keep,” says Barbara Rolls, PhD, a professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan. Dr. Rolls’ research also suggests that if a big portion is sitting in front of you, you’re likely to eat it, not tuck it into a foil swan. When she and her colleagues offered people 6-, 8-, 10-, or 12-inch submarine sandwiches, they found that the bigger the sandwich, the more people ate, yet they felt just as full after having a 6-inch sub as they did after eating a 12-incher. Go figure.

Include some protein

A bowl of pasta tossed with a rainbow of vegetables sounds like a perfectly healthy lunch, but it also may help usher in a midafternoon energy dip (the kind that requires a chocolate bar or a nap). “If you eat just carbohydrates at lunch, you’re likely to crash sooner,” says Neville. “Adding some protein to the mix will help stabilize your blood sugar so you stay energized longer. And research shows that it can also help you maintain your weight.” This doesn’t mean you have to have a thick slice of roast beef to stave off fatigue; just including an ounce or two of lean meat, eggs, chicken, fish, tofu, beans, or cheese in your meal can help.

Mix it up

Often, when people find a lunch they like, they stick with it, eating it almost every day. That’s not so bad if your other meals provide a lot of variety during the week, says Neville, but you’re more likely to cover all your nutritional bases if you vary your lunch menu. “At the very least, include a different kind of fruit and vegetable in your lunch each day,” she says.

How The Pros Eat

lunch

I usually bring my lunch, typically something like turkey breast with lentils and a mixed green salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For dessert, my favorite part of the meal as I have a sweet tooth, I’ll have an apple or pear or some kiwi or melon on most days. Occasionally, I’ll have one chocolate chip cookie or a low-fat fudge pop. If I go out for a casual lunch, I may order grilled chicken on whole wheat bread or mozzarella with tomatoes in pita bread. For a more formal lunch, I’ll have grilled fish or scallops with vegetables and salad.

—Jennifer Mieres, MD
Director of nuclear cardiology at New York University School of Medicine

lunch

Whether eating in or out, my absolute favorite lunch is soup and a sandwich. I love real chunky soups like lentil with turkey bacon or Italian vegetable soup because they’re very filling with few calories. Then I’ll usually have a sandwich like chicken or grilled vegetables on whole-grain bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, and Dijon or spicy brown mustard.

—Bob Greene
Author of The Best Life Diet

lunch

I eat Chinese takeout four out of five workdays! It’s usually the same: chicken and mixed green veggies with steamed white rice—that’s all that’s available; I have brown rice at home to make up for it. I eat all the veggies, two-thirds of the chicken, a little of the rice, and sometimes the fortune cookie. Overall, it’s very healthy, though it wouldn’t be if I ate the whole thing.

—Susan Roberts, PhD
Director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center

lunch

My number one preference is leftovers from dinner, so if I’ve made a big pasta primavera, I take that along with a piece of fruit or yogurt. When the farmers’ market is open, I make a big salad of tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and basil with some cottage cheese for protein. For the grim times when I come back from traveling and there is absolutely nothing in my refrigerator, I always keep a selection of healthy frozen meals on hand that I can microwave at work. Or I go to the student union for sushi. For a treat, I have a small piece of chocolate.

—Barbara Rolls, PhD
Professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan

lunch

Since I generally eat at home, I make a lot of soups and freeze individual portions so I have them available for a quick and easy lunch which I can pair with leftover chicken or another protein source. When I’m short on time, I wrap sliced ham or turkey around low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks or pop an Amy’s frozen burrito into the oven. I eat them with carrot sticks or red pepper strips.

—Kerry Neville, RD
A Seattle-based spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association

Daryn Eller is a health writer whose work has appeared in many publications, including Health, Prevention, and Parenting.

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