Even with a short lunch break, it is possible to eat healthy food at work. With a few easy meal ideas and simple tips to follow, take the time to enjoy a high-quality lunch to stay healthy and improve your productivity at the office.

6 tips for eating healthily at work

To take advantage of a healthy lunch break that is satisfying, balanced and relaxing at the same time, the following few tips should be useful: 

• Take your time to eat: The feeling of satiety is obtained after 20 minutes. If you eat too fast when you feel hungry, you may eat more than you should.
• Eating at the office, especially in front of your computer screen, should be avoided: You risk giving in to the temptation to continue working and getting interrupted by notifications or incoming messages.
• Sit down in a quiet place, on a bench outside or in a relaxing room and take advantage of your lunch break to disconnect from the hustle and bustle.
• Take a walk a few minutes after your meal to get some fresh air, to help digestion and to reduce the feeling of sleepiness that comes right after eating. Walking is also an opportunity to exert yourself a little, which can be very enjoyable, especially if you spend the day sitting at the office.
• Choose home-cooked meals that are healthier and lower in calories than ready-made or fast food.
• Remember to have some healthy snacks on hand in case you feel peckish: Dried fruits, cereal bars, and so on.

What to eat during your lunch break

A balanced lunch consists of animal or vegetable proteins, vegetables, starchy foods, fruit and/or dairy products. Eating a complete meal will help you avoid cravings in the middle of the afternoon.

Good habits to follow if you eat out regularly

If you eat out often during the week, avoid fast food restaurants. If you happen to go to one, opt for a salad with vinaigrette rather than fattier mayonnaise and resist the urge to order a meal that comes with too many extras.

In general, vary your meals as much as possible by taking advantage of your lunch break to order dishes that you are not used to cooking at home: These foods can be a nice change from days when you take your meal to the office.

Tips to follow when buying your lunch from the supermarket

If you buy your lunch from the supermarket, avoid processed, ready-made dishes, which are too high in sugar and additives. On days when you have more time to choose, read the labels carefully and note the nutritional content of the products so that you can choose the healthiest ones without hesitation at your next lunch break.

Choose homemade food for healthy eating at the office

To vary the dishes and ensure you eat healthily at work, there are many homemade meal ideas:

• A salad with fresh seasonal vegetables, bread croutons, diced white meat, a light sauce, etc.
• A bagel, a bread roll filled with raw vegetables, cottage cheese, salmon or other protein.
• A vegetable pie, for example, a ratatouille pie: Quick preparation guaranteed!
• A wrap: A variation of the sandwich where the bread is replaced by a thin wheat wafer.
• A bento: A cold meal inspired by Japan, ready to eat and presented in a nice box, with raw vegetables, rice, meat, sashimi, kimchi, etc.
• Healthy spreadable preparations (sardine rillettes, tapenade, homemade hummus, guacamole, etc.) + wholegrain bread, wheat wafer or breadsticks.
• A bowl of creamy vegetable soup to be eaten hot or cold, gazpacho-style, with bread.
• Individual dishes to reheat, which you can prepare beforehand in one weekly session as part of your batch cooking: Green chicken curry with kaffir lime, diced salmon with small vegetables or suchlike.

Our tip:

For a nutritious and delicious lunch, why not opt for salad jars? prepare the fresh ingredients layer by layer in a glass jar and make a unique salad, presented in a zero-waste container. When it’s time to eat, shake the salad to spread the dressing and enjoy!

Check out our Health & Fitness page for more advice.