Ask A Philadelphia Expert: 10 Tips For Packing Your Own Lunch
Packing your lunch during the workweek is a great way to save money and make better food choices. But many people find themselves stuck in a routine of grabbing takeout or eating cafeteria food with coworkers. Philadelphia weight-loss expert and emotional eating coach Jessica Procini shares her favorite tips to make packing your lunch easier, healthier and more fun.
Jessica Procini, CHHC AADP CTCM
(215) 716-7442
www.jessicaprocini.com
Jessica Procini's resume includes training at the Institute of Psychology of Eating and the Institute of Integrative Nutrition as well as certification in the Transformational Coaching Method. As a certified holistic weight loss and health coach, she combines her educational knowledge with her personal experiences as a woman who once struggled with binge eating, exercise addiction and extreme calorie counting. With a background in standup comedy and a general optimistic, fun-loving approach to life, Jessica helps women let go of strict diet plans and unrealistic workout regiments. Her weight loss plan, Laugh Yourself Skinny™, gives women the tools they need to drop the pounds while enjoying the process.
Top 10 Tips for Packing your Lunch:
- Get a great bag: No more carrying your lunch to work in a ratty plastic bag you could see blowing on the street or a brown paper bag. Get yourself a nice insulated lunch bag that's re-useable and large enough to fit all your good food. Investing a couple bucks into a lunch bag will help you stay committed to bringing your lunch multiple times a week. Built NY makes great lunchboxes for adults.
- Love your food: Not all healthy food is on-the-go friendly. Make sure you are actually excited about what you've packed. That way you'll actually eat it, instead of throwing it away and grabbing fast food with coworkers.
- Go for glass: No matter how "healthy" your plastic containers say they are, glass containers are the best when it comes to carrying food. They're easy to re-heat and you can easily put them in the dishwasher at the end of the day. Pyrex is a favorite of mine for glass containers.
- No-leak lids: Nothing will ruin your "I packed my lunch today" confidence more than opening your cool lunchbox (see tip #1) to find half of your lunch spilled everywhere. Invest in containers that are airtight and leak proof. Pyrex again gets my vote for best no-spill guarantee.
- Get other people to join you: No one likes to be the one person who brought their lunch when everyone else is going out to eat. So rally some co-workers to join you. It could also be a great team building idea for your department to commit to bringing lunch Monday through Thursday and then on Fridays all head out to lunch.
- Pick a great spot: When you pack your lunch, it can be easy to eat at your desk and work through lunch. This can make bringing lunch feel more like punishment. Instead, find a great spot nearby, like a small park, that allows you to be fully present with your food and disconnect from work for a bit. This will allow you to re-charge your batteries and eat less since you'll naturally be more mindful with your food. Plus, it'll give you something to look forward to in the middle of your day.
- No fish dish: Who hasn't gagged a little when their coworker has re-heated fish in the microwave? Food actually loses nutritional value if you're worried or stressed when eating it. So be sure your food choices won't potentially pollute the oxygen in the office.
- Do it on Sundays: One of the great time-saving tips I give my clients when it comes to prepping food is called "Success Sundays." Use the weekend to make large batches of food so when you're on the go during the week, you can relax at night rather than slaving away in the kitchen. Same thing with packing your lunch. Packing multiple lunches at a time, the night or days before, will free up a lot of your time and energy.
- Eat with real silverware: While companies and cafeterias often have their own plastic cutlery, pack your own silverware from home. Besides being mindful of the environment, it'll give you the "I'm eating a real meal" feeling that is often missed when not at home or a restaurant. Plus, you can just throw them in the dishwasher when you get home.
- Make it fun: Even the most mundane tasks can be fun, you just have to make them that way. So ask yourself, "What would make packing my lunch fun?" Is it lighting some candles, putting on some music and dancing your way through the kitchen? Is it pouring yourself a glass of wine and getting your kids to help? Whatever it is, do it. The more fun you make the experience, the easier it'll be to stick with it and the speedier your process will be.
Michelle Hein is the social media editor for a women's fashion company in Bucks County by day and a self-proclaimed food and drink fanatic by night and weekend. She enjoys attending wine classes, trying new recipes in the kitchen and going to old favorites and new restaurants alike in the Bucks County and Philadelphia area. If the writing gig doesn't pan out, she constantly dreams of owning her own bakery…perhaps connected to the restaurant/bar that her lawyer husband would love to open.
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