BY: VANESSA ROBERTS
Our reward for making it through what is undoubtedly a busy morning, lunch is a daily milestone welcomed by all with open arms. Whether you take a short break away from the office, or catch some me-time at home, savouring a moment for lunch puts us in the right position to tackle whatever the rest of the day has in store.
However, if you’re prone to racing through your day whilst juggling various demands, it can be all too easy to forget about your healthy eating objectives and grab the nearest, fastest lunch option instead. And unfortunately, making poor (and hasty) food decisions not only compromises your health goals, it can be seriously detrimental to your bank balance!
In other words, getting your hands on convenient, health-oriented lunches is super-important to keeping on track with various aspects of our lives. As with most things, preparation is key, but cast your doubts aside because healthy eating can be a lot easier than you think.
I’ve compiled 5 easy lunch ideas for busy people below. There’s 2 make-yourself lunch options you can whip up at home, and reviews for 3 of the new Weight Watchers frozen meal options for those of us that are a little more grab-and-go.
Make-Yourself Lunch Options:
#1 – Salad Jars
Salad jars are a great way to save time and keep healthy if you don’t mind a little prep work, and the variety is endless. Simply layer an air-tight jar with all of your fave fresh ingredients (ie lettuce mix, chopped fresh vegetables, a lean protein or legumes, seasoning and dressing), and you’re done.
Whilst a busy person may grimace at the idea of making a salad jar, the fact you can make multiple jars at once and store them in the fridge for a few days is a huge time-saver in the long run. Salad jars are so easily transportable, making them a great option if you tend to transit, or eat on the go.
#2 – Brown Rice Salad
Boasting similar virtues as the trusty salad jar, a great DIY lunch option that’ll keep your healthy eating in check is the brown rice salad. With more fibre and nutritional benefits than white rice, brown rice salads will fill you up and keep you powering through the afternoon.
Simply mix any number of fresh ingredients such as capsicum, beans, herbs, chopped nuts, seeds, roasted pumpkin, currants, corn and more through with cooked brown rice (long grain ideally) and you’re set for a few days. For something different, you can take inspiration from Indian Recipes or Asian cuisine and incorporate some of these flavours into the mix.
Weight Watchers Frozen Healthy Lunch Options:
Now, if the idea of making your own healthy lunch sounds great in theory but you’d prefer all the hard work to be done for you, then you may want to give the Weight Watchers frozen meal range a try.
With any of the frozen meal options by Weight Watchers, you not only save time, you also don’t need to worry about that all-important portion control! Simply add a week’s worth of meals to your cart during your weekly shop, and never worry about what to eat for lunch again.
I’ve just sampled 3 Weight Watchers Frozen Meals, so read on for reviews!
Moroccan Chicken & Pearl Couscous
Description: From the Weight Watchers ‘Gourmet Menu’ range. Slices of marinated chicken breast in a rich Moroccan inspired sauce. Served with pearl couscous, chickpeas, pumpkin, red capsicum & spinach.
Review: I was really quite impressed with this meal as a healthy lunch option. It did not feel like eating a frozen meal at all, and the serving size was great. The meal was fresh-tasting, with plenty of vibrant herbs and lovely colour. The pearl couscous was well-balanced with the chicken and pumpkin and did not deplete during the microwave process.
Would I buy this meal again as great tasty lunch option? For approximately $6.49, YES.
Thai Green Chicken Curry
Description: From the Weight Watchers ‘Gourmet Menu’ range. Slices of chicken breast in an aromatic Thai green curry made with coconut milk, green curry paste, fish sauce, ginger, lemongrass, garlic & coriander. Served with carrots, edamame soy beans, red capsicum, baby corn and a side of steamed brown jasmine rice.
Review: This was definitely a great lunch option without the high saturated fat and salt often found in Thai food. A mild yet tasty flavour, the vegetables remained crisp and I was really pleased that the dish had brown rice instead of white. I found the serving to be plenty for lunch, and it could even make for a light dinner.
Would I buy this meal again as great tasty lunch option? For approximately $6.49, YES.
Honey Soy Noodles
Description: From the Weight Watchers ‘Light menu’. Noodles in a honey, soy and ginger sauce with edamame soy beans, capsicum, carrots, baby corn and shiitake mushrooms.
Review: A tasty lunch option, this is more of a vegetable-based dish than a noodle dish. The snap-frozen vegetables remained crisp after microwaving, and the sauce was flavourful.
I would personally add a serve of brown rice to go with this vegetable dish as it creates a filling lunchthat is a great choice to have in your freezer.
Would I buy this meal again as great tasty lunch option? For approximately $3.99, yes but I would add a serve of rice or grains to make this meal a more filling dish for lunch.
For more information on the Weight Watchers frozen food range, head to: https://www.wowfrozenmeals.com.au/
* This post was sponsored by Weight Watchers, but all thoughts and opinions including meal suggestions are my own.
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