Three Healthy Lunch Ideas for Work

Whether you work a 9-5 desk job, drive a semi truck or do heavy labor on a construction site all day, chances are you've fallen victim to the fast food trap. It's just easier sometimes when the workload is heavy - and your stomach is growling - to pop through the nearest drive through for a quick bite to eat.

Kick this expensive and unhealthy habit by taking your lunch to work. Not only will you enjoy your lunch break more, but you'll be saving money and eating better, too. Here are three healthy lunch ideas that will get you started in planning tasty and nutritious lunches for work:

Lunch Idea #1: Pizza Pita, Salad, and Fruit
Pop this pita in the microwave for 30 seconds at work, and you've got a deliciously healthy lunch that will taste way better than the soggy, greasy slice of pie that you'd get at that pizza place down the street.

Simply cut a piece of whole-grain pita bread in half. Fill it with a couple of tablespoons of pizza sauce, some shredded mozzarella, and the "topping" of your choice. Try it with a slice of crumbled bacon leftover from breakfast, some black olives, a couple of chopped, fresh mushrooms, or a few pieces of pepperoni. In a separate container, whip yourself together a simple salad of shredded romaine and with a little side of ranch dressing, and finish it up with some dried blueberries, an orange, or an apple - some sort of fruit will help satiate that post-lunch sweet tooth.

Lunch Idea #2: Deli-Style Sandwich with Chips, Pickle, and a Cookie
Who says brown-bagging a sandwich to work has to involve PB&J? This lunch will have your co-workers wondering what hot new deli you discovered.

The trick to making a deli-style sandwich is all in the ingredients. By all means, go with bologna if that's your thing, but if not, grab some whole wheat bread, and some good-quality smoked turkey or honey ham and sliced muenster or provolone from your local grocery deli. This way, you can buy as much or as little as you want, and freeze what you don't use for the following week. Buy a bag of baked chips and portion them into smaller serving bags, stick a dill pickle in a Ziploc, and take a homemade cookie along for dessert.

Healthy Lunch Idea #3: Tuna and Crackers, Raw Veggies, and a Chocolate Treat
You may have noticed that some stores sell small lunch kits with tuna salad and crackers in them. You can make your own tastier version more cheaply and with fewer preservatives.

Whip up a simple tuna salad by mixing a small can of tuna and a couple tablespoons of low-fat mayo. Spice it up with a little celery, onion, salt and pepper, and pack along some wheat crackers to serve it up on. On the side, have some raw celery or carrots, and as a reward for eating your veggies, include a snack-size dark chocolate bar. Make it good-quality stuff, and savor those antioxidants.

Even with fast food value options and new, "healthier" menu items, the money you spend on fast food during the work week can add up quickly. Packing your own lunches can help you pinch pennies, eat better, and kick that lunchtime fast food habit once and for all.