Healthy Lunch IdeasHealthy Lunch IdeasHealthy and Easy Lunch Ideas

Lunch at Desk

Looking for more healthy lunch ideas? Check out the most recent installments of Lunches Lately!

When I was working on coming up with a (totally reasonable, not crazy) plan to get back in shape after pregnancy, one of the action items in my plan was to pack my lunch everyday.ย Now, that might sound a little strange considering Iย work from home (about 15 feet away from my kitchen), but I’ve realized over the past two years of working from home that I really need the structure that comes from packing my food everyday. If I don’t have a preplanned meal, one of two things happen: either I snack all day long or, what happens usually, I skip meals until 3pm comes and I get so ravenously hungry that I eat everything in the pantry. Neither option is super healthy. So to fight that off, I pack my lunch!

I’ve been sharing some of my lunches, and it’s been getting such a great response, I thought I might start sharing them regularly on here, too. I’ve always been a fan of packing bento-style lunches, because I absolutely love eating a wide variety of foodsโ€”so that’s what you’ll see the most of.

And before you ask: yes, these lunch containers are awesome! Awhile back, I bought a bunch of LunchBots containers for my lunch, and I’m in love. We stopped storing food in plastic a few years back, and these stainless containers are amazing. Obviously, you can’t microwave in them, and they aren’t water-tight, but they work for my purpose. The LunchBots Cinco is my absolute favoriteโ€”it’s large enough for a big hefty lunch, and I love having five compartments. I also have the smaller LunchBots which I usually use for snacks and breakfastsโ€”Uno, Duo, and Trio, and I also have the LunchBots Dip Containers. I also use rectangular and square silicone baking cups as dividers.

Lunch Containers

My favorite part about using these containers regularly is that I’ve developed a pretty good eye for the volume and calorie count of each lunch. Of course, I could fill one up entirely with…say…mayo…and probably clock a really disgusting 5000 calorie lunch, but I have never topped 600 calories in the Cinco packing the normal, healthy foods I likeโ€”which is perfect for my breastfeeding-friendly calorie goals.

Here are a few of my lunches from the past few weeks. I apologize for the quality of photosโ€”I’m usually snapping these late in the evening when daylight is quickly fading, and I’m ready for bed! I really need to get me a new iPhone so I can take better pictures on the go.

Lunch

Turkey and sprout sandwich on a whole wheat mini bagel, cucumber slices, salted edamame, pretzels and hummus, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, blueberries and strawberries, and a few chocolate-covered cherries for dessert.

Lunch

Chicken salad, steamed green beans, roasted potatoes, crackers, mini pear, strawberries, and chocolate-covered cherries.

Lunch

Chef salad (minus the cheese, plus sprouts), roasted potatoes, fruit salad, and trail mix.

Lunch

Egg salad, pickle, cucumber slices, crackers, steamed green beans, applesauce with cinnamon, grapes, pretzels, and chocolate covered cherries.

Lunch

Bean salad, blueberry coconut milk yogurt with blueberries and chia seeds, black olives, crackers, mini pear, black cherry tomatoes, and chocolate covered cherries.

Next time, I’ll try to (a) get better photos and (b) snap more pictures of my breakfast and snack bentosโ€”they’re fun, too! I’d also love to hear your ideas for your favorite things to pack in your lunch.

Looking for more healthy lunch ideas? Check out the most recent installments of Lunches Lately!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

65 Comments

  1. I’ve been enjoying the pictures of your lunches on instagram too – they always look so yummy and give me some great ideas.

  2. I love these kinds of posts as well! Please keep them up and on Instagram. It’s so helpful just to see what else people are packing for lunch, as I do take my lunch to work every day. It’s definitely appreciated, so thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. We bought some rubbermaid due to a small container for salad dressings. I love the line, but the small container was not leakproof, spilling the dressing all over the lunchbox. After two years, we are still at square one about leakproof containers. Time for an investigation?

  4. I’ve been loving seeing your packed lunches on Instagram! And plus- the food inside looks so healthy and yummy!

  5. Your lunches look amazing! I’m all about a big variety of items in a meal and you’ve definitely got that. Love the lunchboxes with their compartments too. I’m going to have to pin some of these for ideas for next week. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. I just ordered a Planetbox to try for my daughter’s school lunches.
    Her lunchbox currently gets packed full with a bunch of small tupperware everyday. It’s still plastic, but it’s better then a bunch of ziplock bags. I do have glass containers, but even though they’re the really sturdy glass, I didn’t want to be sending that stuff to school since it’s going to get banged around on everything at school.
    Planetbox is nice because it comes with little containers that fit inside the spaces that do become liquid safe (dips, etc. I wouldn’t pack soup in them) when the whole box is clasped closed.
    However, it is also quite expensive and I could do something that isn’t leakproof for my own lunches.
    How easy is it to clean? It looks like the divider has enough space under it for food to get smushed.

    1. I’ve had no issues keeping them clean. But admittedly, I rinse them out as soon as I’m done eating (bonus of the kitchen being 15 feet away from my desk).

  7. Your lunches look great! I am amazed at your discipline to pack your own lunch each day even though you aren’t leaving the house. I will admit packing a lunch for my daughter isn’t my favorite task. I have been looking the LunchBots though because we have a different brand of stainless steel container (with only 2 dividers) and she has trouble opening the lid by herself (she’s in kindergarten). Are these easy to open? Also, do the foods stay in their own containers very well or would things get mixed up when she’s carrying her lunch in her school bag? Thanks for any feedback–these containers are expensive and I want to make a better purchase next time!

    1. They’re pretty easy to openโ€”although they might be a little tricky still for little hands. And I don’t think they’re really meant to be jostled much. The dividers aren’t a super tight fit, so you might have a mess after a few hours in a backpack.

      1. Also check KleenKanteen.com for reusable lunch containers. Most of their products are stainless steel – we love their Tiffin style lunch pails and their water bottles!

    2. I have a few suggestions for your daughter. I have a laptop lunchbox, which keeps foods separated. It is plastic but free of all the yucky stuff. It has many container configurations and some come with lids. I also like the planet box lunch box. It is stainless steel and supposedly easy to open. It also has leakproof bowls that fit inside for runny stuff. Both of these will keep food separated even when shaken around in a kids backpack.

  8. I’ve been loving your Instagram pics of your lunches so I’m glad you put them here too. I almost bought a Lunchbots box yesterday but then I read some reviews that it isn’t leakproof (which I think I could get over cuz I would just pack soups and things in another container) but that the dividers don’t keep more liquidy things separate. What was your experience with things like yogurt and chicken salad? I really love that they have all the dividers though because I end up packing 6 different containers to keep things separate.

    1. I haven’t had any issues with thicker thingsโ€”like chicken salad or yogurt, but if it’s any runnier than that, you are going to have some seepage. It doesn’t really bother me, I just put anything that might get soggy (like crackers) in a silicone cup if it’s going next to something that might seep.