Give your packed lunch a make-over

For those of us who go out to work, preparing your packed lunch has probably become a ritual and with it have you become stuck in a bit of a food rut? It's easily done, as with the cost of buying lunch out being prohibitive other than for occasional treats, preparing your packed lunch can become a chore. You end up taking the same items; perhaps a sandwich, two pieces of fruit and a yoghurt, or swap one of the latter items for crisps or chocolate if you aren't feeling so virtuous. Don't get me wrong, those two pieces of fruit are great, but do you never fancy a change? If we don't act on that hankering, it might lead to the slippery slide whereby the lunchbox starts to fill up more with high calorie snack items as a way to increase variety.

As a general rule your packed lunch should include:

• A starchy food - bread, potato, pasta, rice, couscous or crackers - as not only do these provide your body's preferred fuel, but they are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
• A protein food - red or white meat, fish, egg, pulses, nuts or a meat substitute - as protein plays a vital role in renewal of the body's tissues and growth in children.
• A dairy food - milk, yoghurt, cheese - or an equivalent alternative such as soya, oat or rice milk with added calcium and vitamins to maintain the strength of your bones.
• At least two portions of fruit or veg.
• A drink - avoid sugary options such as standard fizzy drinks and "juice drinks"; pure juice and smoothies are ok, but watch the serving - 150ml is a recommended portion, but pack sizes can be bigger than this.

If you're looking for some inspiration for how to reinvent your lunch box, glance over the following suggestions:

• Adding salad to a sandwich is a good way to boost your intake of your greens, but by the end of the week you're perhaps a bit sick of the same sandwich filling. While lettuce, cucumber and tomato might all be popular sandwich additions, why not try these for a change:
• Mix grated carrot and raisins with grated cheese.
• Chop 3 dried apricots and add to a soft cheese filling; you can also add chopped walnuts if you fancy.
• Another addition to soft cheese is tinned pineapple chunks or a ring - I find this works better in a bagel, as the little bit of juice can make sliced breads or buns slightly soggy unless eaten soon after being prepared.
• Add chopped peppers to tinned tuna in place of the usual cucumber or sweetcorn.
• Blend whichever type of pea, bean or lentil you prefer with a diced onion, a clove of garlic, tomato puree and herbs or spices of your choice - think of it as the pulse equivalent of pâté.
• If you prefer meat in a sandwich, admittedly it doesn't mix well with chopped salad ingredients - unless you add a good dollop of mayonnaise or salad cream, which we don't want to encourage in view of their fat content - so instead keep things interesting by varying what salad leaves you use; why not add spinach, watercress or rocket for a change? 
•  Adding salad to your sandwich might not appeal, so what about taking some veg sticks - think carrot, pepper, celery, cucumber - with a small amount of a low fat dip to dunk them into? Salsa is one of the best options, but low fat cottage cheese or extra light soft cheese are also good possibilities. Reduced fat hummus is available, but is still fairly high in fat, so even one of the mini pots of this is probably a bit much if the hummus isn't your protein option for lunch.
• Salad boxes are expensive to buy and tend to be loaded with high fat extras such as cheese, rich dressings and croutons, but you can make your own tasty salad mix to take with you. Chop up whatever salad items you like best and use this as the base - there should be more of the salad part than the other parts, unless that is you need to gain weight. Add the protein of your choice, whether that is a chopped chicken breast, a sliced hardboiled egg, some tinned salmon or a few tablespoons of beans or lentils. Don't forget some carbohydrate - this can often be missing from a salad; you could have a few new potatoes or an equivalent amount of cooked rice, pasta, couscous or another grain. Before you reach for a calorie laden dressing, why not try balsamic vinegar or a vinegar based dressing? The likes of pickled onions, beetroot and sweetcorn can make an interesting addition without providing any extra fat.
• If you're guilty of always taking the same fruits, try to mix things up a bit and vary the ones you add to your lunch box. Don't just stick with whole fresh fruits - grapes, berries or tinned fruit in juice can all be added to a small container to take with you.
• Leading on from the idea of veg sticks, what about fruit sticks to dip into a low fat yoghurt or fromage frais? You might be best off cutting up fruit such as apple, nectarine and banana at the time you want to eat them, as they can spoil after chopping.
• You can buy pots of jelly with added fruit, but why not make your own in individual containers? Perhaps set tinned peaches or mandarins in an orange, lemon or lime jelly or frozen berries in a strawberry, raspberry or blackcurrant jelly; choose sugar free jelly for a lighter option.

Photo by Lara604 via Wikimedia Commons