Monthly Archives: September 2014

5 Ideas for Healthy Packed Lunches

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Whether you’re headed off to work or school, having a healthy packed lunch is a good way to make sure your body gets the nutrients it needs to have energy throughout the day.  It also prevents you from picking up unhealthy options from the drive-thru or cafeteria in a rush.  Try one of these healthy lunch options for your next brown bag lunch.

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Broccoli and White Bean Soup

Making a big pot of soup on the weekend and taking it for lunch throughout the week makes a healthy and easy lunch option.  Heat it up at work if you have access to a microwave, or heat it up at home and bring it in a thermos to keep it warm.  Try this Broccoli and White Bean Soup from Slim Sanity, an easy soup that used frozen broccoli and canned white beans to create a hearty lunch.

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Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa

Like soup, stew makes a good portable lunch option.  Try this Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa from Cookin’ Canuck. The chicken and quinoa provide protein, while the butternut squash is full of essential vitamins.

Whole Foods-Inspired Layered Salad with Oil-Free Orange Ginger Dressing

This Make-Ahead Layered Salad with Oil-Free Orange Ginger Dressing from Oh She Glows can be packed into mason jars so they’re easy to grab and go. It’s packed with nutritious ingredients including wheatberries, quinoa, and edamame.

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Easy Hummus Spiral Wraps

These Easy Hummus Spiral Wraps from Lunch Box Bunch are an excellent vegan-friendly lunch option.  The hummus provides protein and holds the wrap together, while the addition of avocado and veggies adds healthy fat, vitamins, and minerals.  Kathy suggests experimenting with your wrap fillings to make this lunch your own.

Arugula Pasta Salad

Arugala Pasta Salad

This simple Argula Pasta Salad from Two Peas & Their Pod is another option.  Filled with whole wheat pasta, arugula, and grape tomatoes, it’s  full of both flavor and nutrients.  A pasta salad makes a good packed lunch because it has time to marinate in the dressing for extra flavor.

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Beating the Freshman 15: Managing Stress

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While nutrition and fitness are important parts of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so is managing stress and practicing good self-care.  Here are some tips from the people who’ve been there to help you conquer freshman year (and beyond!)

Be Flexible

Kimberly Olson from Fit Kim points out that each semester is different, and that workload will vary depending on the classes and teacher.  She suggests not signing up for too many activities until class gets into full swing to avoid overloading yourself. Morgan Timm from Mostly Morgan echoes this, saying that it can be easy to say “yes” to everything, but you really need to focus on avoiding spreading yourself too thin.

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Healthy On-the-Go Breakfasts

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Eating breakfast is important for several reasons, including maintaining a healthy weight and giving yourself the energy necessary to get through the day.  However, when you’re in a rush in the morning, having enough time to prepare and eat a nutritious breakfast can be a challenge.  So, instead, try one of these healthy portable breakfasts.

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Greens and Tofu Scramble Wraps

These Freezer-Friendly Greens and Tofu Scramble Wraps from Oh My Veggies make a filling and nutritious breakfast.  The tofu provides protein and vegetables like mushrooms, kale, and Swiss chard provide much-needed vitamins and minerals.  Kiersten recommends preparing a batch of these and then freezing them, so you can pull out a wrap and microwave it when you need a quick on-the-go breakfast.

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Photo by theimpulsebuy

Jamba Juice Kale-ribbean Breeze

A smoothie is a convenient breakfast when you’re in a rush.  If you don’t have time to make you own, grab a Jamba Juice Kale-ribbean Breeze, which has non-fat Greek yogurt for protein.  This smoothie also has kale, mango, and chia seeds for nutrition, and passionfruit mango juice for flavor.

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Healthy Banana Date Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Cookies for breakfast seems unhealthy, but these Healthy Banana Date Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies from The Kitchen Magpie are packed with nutritious ingredients such as bananas, oats, dates, and hemp hearts.  If you crave a little something sweet in the morning, these are a great option.  Just bake a batch whenever you can, and grab a cookie or two on your way out the door!

Starbucks Spinach and Feta Breakfast Wrap

If you’re heading to Starbucks for coffee and are looking for a healthy breakfast option, try their Spinach and Feta Breakfast Wrap.  The wrap, which is made with cage-free eggs, spinach, feta cheese, and tomatoes, has only 290 calories and 19 grams of protein.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Protein Muffins

Muffins are a good on-the-go breakfast option, but they’re usually high in calories and fat.  Not these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Protein Muffins from Ambitious Kitchen, which are low fat and contain no refined sugar.  The addition of protein powder and Greek yogurt provides 7 grams of protein per muffin, while the oat bran adds fiber.