Gourmet Lunchboxes for Grown-Ups

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Great ideas for grown-up lunches

Sushi rolls make a great low-fat lunch

"I recommend brown-bag lunches to clients for weight and health reasons" says CalorieKing.com.au dietitian Joan Bushman. "When you make your own lunch, you can better control the type of food you eat, the portions you eat, and even the amount of money you spend," she explains. "Of course, you still need to count your calories!" she adds.

Joan describes her favourite packed lunch as something simple, with an extravagant touch. "One of my favourite lunches has a very 'French' theme. A baguette with lean ham, cheese, sliced tomato and fresh basil, some veggie sticks, and a small piece of gourmet chocolate."

Try some of Joan's other top recommendations for gourmet workday lunches:

• Homemade or canned soup (take in a thermos or heat in the microwave) with some protein added, such as a small tin of tuna or salmon. A small side salad.
  
  
• Sushi (nori) rolls, and raw veggies or fruit.
  
  
• Homemade salads with protein such as hard-boiled egg, lean ham, chicken, tuna/salmon, and avocado. Whole-grain crackers.
  
  
• Brown rice or couscous salad (you can prepare a large amount at the start of the week) with currants or sultanas, chickpeas, pine nuts, sliced sun-dried tomatoes or similar, and other raw veggies.
  
  
• Toasted sandwiches using whole-grain bread and low-fat fillings, with salad on the side.
  
  
• Fresh Vietnamese rice-paper rolls.

The mighty microwave

Have microwave... will have soup

If you have access to a microwave at lunchtime, your lunch just got a whole lot more interesting. Soups, frozen vegetables, leftover pasta dishes, baked beans ... all nuke-able delicacies are at your command!

"It's so easy to keep a bag of frozen veggies in the freezer," comments CalorieKing.com.au dietitian, Allan Borushek (the "Calorie King"). "You can also freeze cooked brown rice. Just throw some veggies and rice together, add some protein such as canned tuna, cooked chicken, or leftover roast meat, and heat in the microwave. There you go - you have a tasty, healthy meal just like that."

Try some of these other ideas:

• Asian-style instant noodles (low-fat varieties) with added veggies and tofu.
• Low-fat leftover dishes.
• Microwave a potato, split and top with corn kernels, diced tomato, fresh basil and a sprinkling of low-fat cheese.
• Small tin of baked beans heated in the microwave served with a whole-grain bread roll.
• Warmed up homemade low-fat veggie slices, such as zucchini slice.
• Freeze a loaf of whole-grain bread. When needed, pull out 1-2 slices and toast, add a slice of low-fat cheese and tomato and microwave for a mock grilled cheese sandwich!

Allan strongly recommends stocking up on fresh fruit as a snack or lunch food, otherwise "you'll be looking for a high-calorie, high-fat finish to your meal such as biscuits or chocolate" he says. But don't just stick to apples and bananas, tempt your taste buds with more exotic choices, such as kiwi fruit, strawberries, cherries, mangos, papaya, pineapple, custard apples, passionfruit, and nashi pears - or make a fruit salad with all your favourites!

"Also beware of calories from soft drinks and juice," he adds. "Quench your thirst on water instead."