Health and Well-being Even Away from Home

Lunching at home is now a luxury that most working people can no longer afford. Often, meals are consumed quickly, choosing foods that are harmful to health (such as pizzas, sandwiches, and deli products), or one is forced to eat too often at restaurants, risking consuming overly elaborate and high-calorie dishes.

Apart from the fortunate few who have access to a suitable company canteen, let's see what mistakes to avoid and precautions to take to manage to have a healthier and more balanced meal.

If you need to have lunch at a restaurant every day:

As soon as you sit down, drink 2 glasses of water and choose simple, unelaborated dishes.

If you opt for a first course, avoid overly seasoned sauces and stuffed pasta; it's always better to have pasta with legumes or a pasta or rice salad (with lightly dressed vegetables and/or greens, not fried); if possible, alternate with other grains (salads with spelt, barley, or quinoa).

If you choose a protein dish (fish, meats), it's better if baked or grilled.

Always accompany with a seasonal vegetable, undressed or lightly dressed.

Bread? Just enough to accompany the main course and vegetables; if whole grain, even better.

Avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, and desserts; you can end the meal with fruit.

If you have lunch in the office:

The first good rule is not to improvise!

Carve out at least 20-30 minutes, avoid having lunch in front of the computer.

Ideally, prepare at home a one-pot meal based on grains (barley or spelt or whole grain rice, which retain their texture well) or legumes with vegetables; whole grain pasta with a separately prepared vegetable (broccoli, squash, cabbage, kale) and small amounts of oily fruits (almonds, walnuts, cashews) is also perfect.

In a single dish, you will have the right balance of all nutrients.

Avoid sandwiches with cold cuts and cheeses (very fatty and caloric), instead opt for a second course with a generous side of vegetables and a slice of whole grain bread.

In the spring|summer period, everything becomes simpler if you prepare a rich salad (lettuce, tomatoes, spinach) with fish (or chicken or eggs or a light cheese or legumes) dressed with oil, lemon or vinegar.

Finish with fruit.

Result? The sacrifice of preparing at home and the time spent are immediately rewarded with health and well-being.