Lunch!

Chicken Broccoli Pasta healthy healthylunch healthyfood food foodie healthymeal healthylunch healthydinner healthyfoods lunchidea dinneridea

Chicken Broccoli Pasta

It’s Lunch Time!

Brenda has been bringing her lunch to work for the last 10 years. Her original goal was to control the amount of calories she ate per day. She needed to lose weight, so she counted calories on a daily basis. A nice side effect is that she saved money by bringing her lunch every day! Let’s assume an average lunch and drink costs $7 per day over 5 days per week is $35. Four weeks per month is $140 and 12 months per year is $1,680 in savings. Now multiply that times 10 years and we are talking real money savings of $16,800 bucks!!! Think of the ways you can use that kind of money, such as:

  1. Make a down payment on a house
  2. Make a contribution towards your retirement fund
  3. Pay your child’s college tuition

Another unexpected side effect was the impact Brenda’s lunch had on her co-workers. For some reason, Brenda’s co-workers were intrigued by her lunches. They would walk by and make comments about her lunch. They would ask how she made it, what ingredients she put in it. They would ask how she had the time or discipline to make her lunch everyday. Men and women wanted to know about Brenda’s lunch!

Hence, a blog was born … It started as a Twitter handle … Brenda received so many inquiries that, as a joke, she setup a Twitter account to show pics of her lunch and ingredients. To make the blog more meaty, Brenda decided to add topics she likes to talk about:

  1. Sports
  2. Politics
  3. Personal Finance

Brenda uses leftovers as the foundation of her lunches. If she has turkey burger, salmon, or chicken for dinner, she saves some of the meal for the next day’s lunch, and adds beans and brown rice to bulk it up.

Salmon Rice

If Brenda has salmon for dinner, she saves half of the salmon, adds brown rice, and a couple of teaspoons of MCCORMICK COCKTAIL SAUCE ORIGINAL 8 OZ. The next day, she cuts up the salmon into chunks, lightly mixes it with the rice and cocktail sauce, and microwaves it on medium for a minute. As a side dish, she usually has navy beans or Goya Black Beans – Frijoles Negros 15.5 Oz Pack of 6.

Turkey Bean Medley

If Brenda has turkey burger with sauteed onions for dinner, she saves half of the turkey burger and onions, and adds Goya Brown Rice, 32 oz and Goya Navy Beans 16 oz bag ( 3 bags 48 oz total ). For flavor and health benefits, she sprinkles Simply Organic Ground Turmeric – 0.53 OZ on the navy beans. Tumeric is a mild spice that provides numerous health benefits such as reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s. If Brenda has time, she’ll cut up some green pepper and add it to the dish. Brenda calls this lunch “Turkey Bean Medley.” If Brenda is in the mood for Goya Black Beans – Frijoles Negros 15.5 Oz Pack of 6, she swaps out the navy beans, and adds McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder, 0.77-Ounce (Pack of 6) for seasoning.

Black Bean Spaghetti

Brenda absolutely loves spaghetti! However, too much pasta can be fattening. To make spaghetti a little more healthy, Brenda reduces the amount of pasta and adds black beans to the spaghetti sauce. Black beans reduce fat, and they don’t have much of a taste, so they are a healthy addition to any meal. Brenda calls this lunch “Black Bean Spaghetti.”

Two Bean Chili Rice

If Brenda has chili for dinner, she saves about a third of the chili, then adds brown rice and black beans to it. It may seem odd to add black beans to a chili dish, but the more beans the better! Beans add much-needed fiber to your diet, and beans fill you up. Brenda calls this lunch “Two Bean ChiliRice.”

Chiletti

Another chili-related dish is what Brenda calls “Chiletti.” It’s a combination of chili and spaghetti noodles. Brenda spreads chili on top of spaghetti noodles, and adds just a little Parmesan Cheese. It’s very tasty!

Sweet & Sour Pineapple Chicken

One of Brenda’s favorite lunches is sauteed chicken breast with House Of Tsang, Sauce Strfry Swt Sour, 11.5 OZ (Pack of 6). Chef Lo cuts up the chicken breast into one inch chucks and sautees the chunks in olive oil. He adds green peppers, red peppers, onion, and a little minced garlic. Once the chicken is ready, Chef Lo adds the sweet and sour sauce. The sauce has very little sodium and fat, and tastes very good! To top it off, Chef Lo adds cut-up pineapple. Pineapple reduces inflammation in the body. For a side dish, Brenda chooses black beans. Brenda calls this lunch “Sweet & Sour Pineapple Chicken.”

It’s Snack Time!

Around 5pm every weekday, Brenda enjoys snack time! She used to eat cookies, specifically 2 large oatmeal raisin cookies. Now, she has fruit instead. She usually eats a banana, and follows with cashews. Cashews are good for the heart. Bananas have potassium, which counteracts the salt in your body. The combination of fruit and nuts provides natural sugar, protein, and healthy fats.

The Wrap

Food has a huge impact on the way you look and feel. Every time you put something in your mouth, ask yourself:

  1. “Is this helping or hurting me?”
  2. “How long do I have to work out to burn off these calories?”

Brenda believes if you ask yourself those 2 questions, it will help you resist overeating. Try it, and let Brenda know how it’s working out for you. Tweet Brenda on Twitter at Brenda’s Lunch, follow Brenda on Instagram at Brenda’s Lunch, pin Brenda on Pinterest at Brenda’s Lunch.