Lunch hour can be a real trouble zone if you are trying to keep your diet healthy. With time at a premium, quick and easy is often preferable to nutritious and lean. So the question arises should have that coke with your pizza or chips with the burger? Whatever decision you make will impact you in one way or the other so make sure that it is an informed one that will benefit the most important person - you. Here are some popular meals we opt for during the workweek and tips on how to save their flavour yet skim on the fat.
Turkey Sandwich
You can fool yourself into thinking that staying light with a sandwich can stave of those fatty calories. Stick with lean fillings like chicken, roast beef and tuna (with low-fat mayonnaise) instead of processed meats like pepperoni, salami and bologna and choose whole wheat bread for some fibre. Instead of fries, get a salad (around 50 calories) with a fat-free dressing on the side as it's another way to beef up the meal to maximise fullness and nutritive value.
Burger
Opt for a child-size burger with a grilled chicken or veggie patty instead of a beef burger with double cheese and skip the fries and cola. Some nutritionists believe a meal like this, which could add up to your entire calorie intake for the day, actually contains anti-nutrients because of the hydrogenated fat in the chips, cheese and the meat, with further empty nourishment from the artificial sweetener of the soda. Instead, choose a baked potato, frozen yoghurt and fruit juice and make sure the burger patty is grilled.
Caesar Salad
If this salad has to stay lean the dressing has to be low-calorie or fat-free. When ordering cut out the croutons and bacon bits and get the dressing on the side because it is high in calories. Also make sure that the chicken is grilled, broiled or steamed. Anything that is coated in breadcrumbs will most often be deep fried so reconsider if they don't have any plain chicken to add.
Pizza
Look for a thin whole wheat base with quality toppings like mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, spinach or rocket. Without any protein you won't stay full for long so add some grilled chicken as well and request for low-fat cheese. Also keep the portion small by limiting yourself to one or two slices and add a green salad on the side.
Fish and Chips
A medium-sized piece of fish can hold 149 calories with 6.4 grammes of fat. Multiply that for a normal serving of two pieces and a bag of fries (430 calories) and you have an overload of saturated fat and sodium. If you are in the mood for fish, check out if the food court has Lebanese or Persian food outlets which most often offer a fish main that you can enjoy with some tabbouleh on the side. Alternatively, grab some maki rolls or sushi from the Japanese section with some miso soup.
Baked Potato
What's a jacket potato without some warm, melting cheese? However with the flavouring of some salty butter you could be staring at 400 calories of a fat overload. Keeping the toppings simple is key. Add some fresh baked beans instead or some salmon or tuna with a mixture of mayonnaise and yoghurt and sweet corn. Avoid slathering on sauces like béchamel or hollandaise and choose herbs for garnishing rather than bacon bits or shredded cheese.
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