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Have you ever been to South America or Europe? Then you know that lunch around here is underrated, right? According to many of my career-driven clients, the only way to have a decent lunch is to schedule a business meeting or a network event.

Am I the only one who doesn’t consider the lunch break a luxury, but a necessity? Must be because I’m from Colombia and when I was growing up lunch was so important that my mom woke up every morning before 5 am to make lunch and then breakfast for me and my brother before leaving for work. She had two jobs. And she was a single mother. And she did this for over 20 years… No, I’m not kidding.

When I hear someone tell me they have apple sauce with cheese strings or an oatmeal pouch for lunch, I just cringe… How can you have a productive afternoon on that? Well, you don’t… Either you’re snacking all afternoon long, or you get the classic 3 pm energy crash and fix yourself up with caffeine and sugar, or somehow you make it until dinner and by then you’re so ravenously hungry that you eat everything that crosses your view field. And then more.

This you?

Lucky day. I’m going to teach you how to have a real lunch. Easy. Now.

But first… why should you bother?

Let’s see if any of these is good enough to convince you…

1. If you plan your lunches, you’ll actually have more time at your lunch break. You can use the time to take a little walk… even a 15 min power nap? After that your body will be just hummin’ along. If you work from home, you’ll save a lot of time because you won’t be picking in the fridge every 20 min looking for something else.

2. You’ll feel better. And look better, lose weight, etc, etc, etc… all those things you say you really want. Why? Because your need for snacking in the afternoon will decrease and you will eat less for dinner. I don’t know about you, but this is one of the complains I hear from clients frequently: “I know I eat too much for dinner, and then I go to bed and all that food is sitting in my stomach”…. sounds familiar?

According to the Ayurvedic tradition the digestive fire is strongest between 10 am and 2 pm, when the sun is at its peak. That means this is the best time of the day to eat!

3. You’ll save money. Well… assuming you don’t use pre-made foods to pop in the microwave. The organic ones tend to be pretty expensive. Remember that every time you buy fancily packaged food you are paying for the fancy package.

Wanna try? Great! Here’s how you do it:

1. Plan. If you commute to work, buy yourself a cute lunch box, bag or tote and a nice thermos. Even if you work from home, get into the habit of planning your lunch while you have breakfast anyway. That way you won’t get “surprised” when you’re hungry for lunch. The key is to stay on top of your shopping list.

2. Start small. Nobody said you had to go all or nothing. Start by committing yourself to bring lunch twice a week. I recommend Monday and Tuesday - we tend to be more motivated at the beginning of the week. You can eat out on Wednesday and Friday, and on Thursday, bring a microwavable meal or canned soup.

If you work from home it might be more difficult for you to eat out. If that’s the case then you just need to stay on top of your shopping list and keep your pantry stocked with quick, easy meals as well as whole foods.

3. Start now. The spring is the best time of the year to get into the habit, specially if there’s a park near you. What better treat than to have your yummy lunch under the warm spring sun? Make it a mini-picnic!

Now the million dollar question:

What are you gonna put in your fancy lunch box?

No worries. I’ll tell you my favorites now. You’ll get more creative as you go…

1. Soups. This is what you use your thermos for! If you have a slow cooker, just dump the ingredients for soup in there at the same time you are making dinner and the next morning it’ll be ready to pack and bring with you. If you don’t have one, you can still make it at the same time you are making dinner. Round your lunch up with a piece of sprouted or whole wheat bread and some raw veggies.

2. Salads. Make sure they are substantial or else they won’t hold you! I usually prep all my salad ingredients in advance so that I can put a salad together in 5 minutes: two different kinds of lettuce - enough for two meals for Scott and I. Wash and spin it well. Leave in the spinner until it’s going to be served. The sky is the limit when it comes to salad toppings, but make sure you have one or two kinds of protein - tuna and hard boiled egg, cheese and nuts, shredded chicken or ham and beans, etc - and some carbs - a cooked grain, pasta, potatoes, bread, dried fruit… Always make a whole jar of dressing at a time so that you always have some ready to go. Get a small leak-proved container for your dressing.

3. Cooked grains with toppings AKA grain salads. These are my favorite to go. Super easy and perfect room temperature. For most women, lunch is the best time of the day to eat grains. Quinoa, wild rice, barley, couscous, kasha, bulgur, and rice all make great salad grains.

4. Dinner leftovers. I am a huge advocate for preparing once and eating two or three times. I like prep and/or cook ingredients separately so that I can use them in different ways for different meals - restaurant style. This way, the same shredded carrots from yesterday salad, go into my soup today and the millet I made today for lunch, will make breakfast porridge tomorrow.

If you are a total stranger to preparing your lunches, commit yourself to preparing them twice a week. You will soon be doing it at ease and enjoying real meals instead of leaving your nourishment to chance. It will create a huge positive impact for you and your family!