Healthy Lunch Ideas for your Packed Lunch!

I’ve decided that I have to do something about my weight – I have two adorable dogs and a pretty decent husband (haha) and I want to be around a long time for them. This is a difficult journey that I’ve been on for quite some time – but one way I decided to start was by packing my lunch.

Healthy lunch packing takes some planning though – I’ve got to have an arsenal of goodies that I can just grab & go in the five minutes I have before I run out the door.

I created this little list for you to help as you write up your grocery list. I put all this together in a big spread for this post – but normally I have them in containers in the fridge and/or cupboards so I can just open my lunch bag and boom boom boom – done! Other essentials are the snack size zipper bags, 1/2 cup plastic containers and a good lunch bag.

Sandwiches might seem boring – but you can make them a lot tastier than just meat and bread by taking a couple minutes extra to have lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced pickles and a spread or two. I tend to immediately think of mayo – but those little spreadable cheeses add more flavor and are super low cal!

I found some great products that are all Weight Watchers approved at Walmart. I’ve done Weight Watchers before and lost 50 pounds. Now I’m trying to combine the principles I learned and using great products that they endorse to make good choices on my own. Here’s a few that I found:

• Flatout® Flatbread
• JOLLY TIME® Healthy Pop® Popcorn
• Arnold® Sandwich Thins rolls (If you can’t find Arnolds, look for Brownberry or Orowheat brands) 

I might have also snagged a box of Weight Watchers® Giant Fudge Bars too – I mean – a little chocolate can’t hurt either – right?

 From there – it’s becoming a sandwich maker extraordinaire! Whether you like a sandwich or a wrap – find ways to jazz it up a little. My husband will eat bologna and cheese every day – he’s allergic to eggs – so no mayo or anything. I can’t do it – too dry! So I jazzed up my sandwich by having things prepped like sliced tomatoes, leaf lettuce and sandwich pickles. They really make all the difference in terms of a turkey sandwich!!! (And they add NOTHING in the world of points/calories! BONUS!)

These Brownberry® Sandwich Thins are an excellent source of fiber and only 3 SmartPoints® per roll. That gets you off to a great start and leaves you plenty of room for a delicious dinner!

I made these ahead and my husband chose the wrap – which is not normally a choice for him! He really liked it! (He’s like Mikey – it’s something to be written down on a calendar if he admits he likes something!) A wrap is great too because think of all of the possibilities – I have some hard boiled eggs that are just screaming to be in an egg salad wrap! I also like the Flatout® wrap because it’s very soft – and high in protein & fiber!

Then I thought I would share with you a couple of my lunch combinations that I packed this week. I always pack a little extra to add in for breakfast or healthy snacks during the day. Lately – I’m on a cottage cheese kick – so I have 1/2 cup of that every morning. In addition my lunch was:

– Flatout Wrap with turkey, spreadable cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickle
– 12 cherry tomatoes
– 1 lite cheese stick
– celery hearts
– peanut butter to-go cup
– 3 clementines
– Jolly Time 100 calorie pack Healthy Pop

I was definitely full at the end of the day – which helped to tide me over while I got home and made dinner for me and the hubs. I tell ya – celery + peanut butter is my favorite right now!

And if you’re doing the new Weight Watchers Freestyle program – with so many zero point foods (turkey, lettuce, tomato, pickle, celery, clementines) and other Weight Watchers products and approved products – you have great options and flexibility to reach your goals!

My second day – I wanted to change it up a bit – so I swapped out a few things to make a new lunch bag for me:

– Brownberry Wheat Sandwich Thins
– celery hearts
– roasted red pepper hummus cups
– black olives
– fruit + gel cups (my new favorite)
– sugar free pudding cup
– more popcorn!

I love the popcorn because they’re small bags so it’s a great snack that doesn’t give you a giant bag you can’t finish. And seriously – I’m addicted to the fruit + gelatin cups – it’s ridiculous and I could make my own – but they’re easy to throw in my bag – woohoo!

I hope you found some new energy to make a healthy start in 2018 – it doesn’t have to be on Jan 1 – whenever you do it is the right time! In addition to packing my lunch, I’m starting to take walks more and keep track of my food diary and steps. It’s all moving in the right direction!