Making sure you have a healthy meal at lunchtime is very important for maintaining a healthy diet. Having a lunch that is balanced and rich in macronutrients is crucial towards making sure you have enough energy for the rest of the day.

One way to make your life easier and less stressful is to meal prep. During your days off, boil eggs, roast chicken, prepare salad dressing, and have vegetables washed and prepped. By doing this, putting healthy meals together will be easy and pain-free.

“It may seem obvious, but choose foods that you enjoy!” adds Natalie. “Cooking foods that you enjoy will make your diet much easier to stick with. Also, listen to your body – don’t pick foods you know your body doesn’t tolerate well.”

Now that you understand the virtues of meal prepping, the question becomes, “what should I eat?” As a good rule of thumb, you want to make sure that at least half of your meal is vegetables. In addition, be sure to have a healthy source of carbohydrates, a high-quality source of protein, and some healthy fats.

IDEAS FOR HEALTHY PROTEINS

1. Hardboiled Eggs
2. Roasted Chicken
3. Roasted Salmon
4. Tempeh (If you tolerate soy!)
5. Cooked Ground Turkey or Beef

IDEAS FOR HEALTHY FATS

1. Olive Oil in Salad Dressing
2. Nuts
3. Seeds
4. Avocado
5. Coconut Shreds (Unsweetened)

IDEAS FOR HEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES

1. Roasted Sweet Potatoes/Yams
2. Roasted Starchy Vegetables (Parsnips, Rutabagas, Butternut Squash)
3. Quinoa
4. Black Rice
5. Millet

WALNUT KALE SALAD

In the salad pictured above, Natalie included the following:

• Vegetable Source: Kale
• Protein Source: 1 Hardboiled Egg
• Healthy Fats: Walnuts and Pumpkin Seeds & Lemon Vinaigrette
• Healthy Carbohydrates: Roasted Sweet Potatoes

LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients:

• Juice of 2 Lemons
• 1 Teaspoon of Mustard
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 3 Teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Recipe:

1. Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until combined.
2. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container to use it all week long!