The right choices can ensure your lunch is healthier.
Remember, if you make your own lunch, you know exactly what's in your lunchbox and you can save money.
Lunch salads
Salad can make for a healthy, filling and tasty lunch on the go. If you make them at home you'll be saving money too.
Salads that contain some starchy foods such as rice, pasta, potatoes or couscous are more filling.
Add grilled chicken (without the skin), prawns, sardines, cottage cheese, mozzarella or strips of lean ham for protein options lower in saturated fat.
Then choose a variety of veg: you could add roasted peppers and courgettes, avocado, spring onions, salad leaves, tomatoes, radishes, grated carrot or green beans.
Watch out for salads that contain a lot of mayonnaise or other high-fat dressings. This often includes coleslaw, potato salads and some pasta salads.
Pre-packed salads often have a nutrition information panel on the label so you can check how much total fat, saturated fat and salt they contain. Go for salads that are lower in fat, especially saturated fat and salt (or sodium). Learn more in Food labels.
Lunch sandwiches
Whether you're making your own sandwiches or buying them from a shop or staff canteen, here are tips to help you make healthier choices:
- Choose brown or wholemeal bread.
- When buying pre-packed sandwiches, look at the nutrition information. Choose a sandwich that is low in fat: 3g or less per 100g, and 1.5g saturated fat per 100g. Watch out for the salt content too: food is high in salt if it contains more than 1.5g salt per 100g.
- Have your sandwich without butter, spread or mayonnaise, especially if the filling is moist. Or have a small amount and go for low-fat mayonnaise.
- Go for a sandwich with salad in it. Ask for extra if the sandwich is being made for you in the shop or cafe.
- Choose healthier sandwich fillings, such as lean meats (ham, beef, turkey and chicken without the skin), tuna, smoked mackerel and hard-boiled egg.
- If you want cheese, go for edam, emmental, mozzarella and low-fat cream cheese. They are usually lower in fat than other cheeses.
Hot food
If you prefer hot food for lunch, you can still make healthier choices:
- Baked potatoes are a good lunchtime choice, but cut out the butter or use low-fat spread. Healthy fillings include baked beans, cottage cheese and ratatouille. Avoid ready-mixed fillings that contain lots of mayonnaise as these can be high in fat.
- Pasta can be a healthy choice, but avoid dishes with a creamy or cheesy sauce, or mixed with lots of oil, because these can be high in fat. Tomato or vegetable-based sauces are a healthier choice and will count towards your recommended five daily portions of fruit and veg. Avoid adding cheese, or add only a little.
- Soups can also help count towards your five portions if they contain vegetables. Try a soup with chunky vegetables, and to make it a filling meal add a wholemeal bread roll.