Packed lunches for January diet plans
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Version 0 of 1. It’s halfway through January so it follows that in the slightly loopy spirit of New Year abstention, you’ve probably already been exposed to a dozen “new” diets. But the number one rule of any eating regime – whether you’re doing the 5.2, Paleo or going sugar-free – is getting organised: meal planning, shopping in advance and where possible, preparing and cooking your meals yourself. That may be inconvenient and time-consuming, but ultimately it’s the only way to control what goes into your body. A homemade packed lunch can be a key part of this. The trick is to make it as interesting as possible. Now, we don’t particularly advocate dieting, and are most definitely not nutritionists, but any incentive to make your own lunch is a good one, so we’ve used some of the most popular regimes’ rules as the basis for a selection of lunch ideas. • For a caveman diet lunch, try a variation on a salade nicoise: boil an egg for 6½ minutes with some green beans, then run under the cold tap and pack with a smoked mackerel fillet, some little gem lettuce leaves, flaked almonds and a tomato. When ready to eat, lay out the lettuce, flake over the mackerel, add the egg (quartered), the nuts, and the tomato, sliced. • If you’re cutting out sugar, a rainbow salad bowl is a colourful way to lunch. In separate containers, pack shredded carrot, shredded red cabbage, a small helping of cooked quinoa – or raw cauliflower blended to make cauliflower “rice” – half an avocado, and homemade hummus (whizz up soaked and cooked chickpeas with olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, crushed garlic, salt and cumin). At lunchtime, create your bowl by portioning out each veg component (slicing the avocado), so it looks like a pie chart. Dollop the hummus in the middle, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. • If you’re trying Atkins or another low-carb diet, and are in the first stage, lettuce leaf wraps can be an alternative to tortillas or sandwiches. Romaine works best. Fill with shredded roast chicken, prawns, or cooked, spiced mincemeat. Garnish with sliced radish, mint and coriander, and a dash of dressing made from 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp soy sauce, a drop of sesame oil and some chopped red chilli. Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing compiled the The Little Book of Lunch (Square Peg) |