Healthy lunches on the cheap

Instead of eating out, pack a healthy sandwich made on good bread and stuffed with veggies and meat. Pack fruits for added nutrients that will give you fuel to get through the rest of the workday. (Courtesy photo)

Healthy lunches on the cheap

By Lauren Nelson
Lodi Living Editor

Saturday, February 14, 2009 6:21 AM PST

Comments (9 comment(s))

It's 11:52 on a Tuesday and you're so hungry you're F9 key and phone cord look appetizing. You just got out of a meeting, in which your growling stomach gave more opinions than you did. Because you forgot to pack last night's leftovers in Tupperware and a cooler, you're only option is to eat out. But wait, you don't get paid until tomorrow and you can't exactly afford a sit-down meal. Even if you just get a salad, that's at least eight bucks, plus tip and a couple more bucks for a diet soda. So you're last options include a drive-thru (you tell yourself the chicken sandwich is healthy — right) or a stop at the convenience store where you give in, grabbing a bag of Doritos, a Dr. Pepper and a pack of cream-filled cupcakes — you tell yourself you deserve it because you've been trying really hard to stick to a healthy lifestyle — up until now.

In a year when terms like "bailout," "furloughs" and "recession" are entering daily conversation, it's getting harder for some to afford health foods that often have higher price tags than their processed, packaged counterparts. But Lodi residents, as well as local official and unofficial health experts, have money-saving advice for grown-ups who want to brown-bag it without compromising their health.

Sheri Didreckson

Aside from being a mid-day break, lunch is the time to get in all of the nutrients you need to keep going throughout the day (carbohydrates for your brain, protein, a little fat and some vitamins). What you pull out of your lunch pale can leave you sluggish or revitalized the rest of the day. Most would agree that eating healthy carbs, like brown bread, rice or pasta with vegetables and foods high in protein give the best results.

Sheri Didreckson, owner of Sheri's Sonshine Nutrition Center in Lodi, says brown rice is an excellent base to a healthy and economical lunch. She cooks the rice, sautés vegetable that are in season and adds flavor with curry sauce. She also recommends trying pasta and cooked vegetable, with a tomato sauce on top of that. Of course, she recommends ditching anything canned, packaged or box — fresh is always best, she says — and she never, ever eats fast food.

Lodi resident, and self-taught health guru, Julie Di Silvestro says salads are a great way to go. She highly recommends a juiced meal made with kale, celery and cucumber (see box for recipe), but agrees salads are another healthy and budget-friendly option that pack nicely in a lunch container.

A hunger-satisfying salad she created is made with a mix of iceberg and romaine, a sliced pear and walnuts. She tops the salad with bleu cheese dressing or crumbles blue cheese on top with a vinaigrette.

"This salad satisfies hunger by providing essential nutrients in their raw state while it also satisfies the body's craving for 'green' foods, fats (walnuts) and sweets (pears)," she said. "It's simple, tasty and filling without making your feel bloated or over full."

Make a large batch of chili (or any soup) and you'll have a hot lunch all week long. (Courtesy photo)

Didreckson urges people to experiment with their salads. Because you can buy a basket full of vegetables for the price of some meats, she says fill your salad with a good lettuce (not iceberg), tomatoes, carrots, avocados, edamame, celery, onions and zucchini.

"You could load that salad up to the point where you'll be so full you won't want to eat for a couple of days," she said.

If you're someone who does like to splurge on unhealthy food every once in a while, try to change your lunch habits by cutting back slightly. If you like peanut butter and jelly, Didreckson recommends using homemade peanut butter (made in peanut butter machines like the ones she has at her store) and a good jelly without a bunch of added sugar. A few spreads of a knife and you'll have a meal to get you through the day.

Around 3 p.m., when the hunger and sleepiness strikes, grab an apple that you can keep in your desk drawer.

"Apples are easy — you can just bite into them and eat them in about five minutes at your desk," Didreckson said.

If you — heaven forbid — forget your G.I. Joe lunch pale one day, think smart when the clock strikes Noon. You can choose a good bread from the grocery store (or pita) and some sliced meat and cheese from the deli.

While eating healthy isn't always the most convenient, it can be healthy and inexpensive. Some people pack chilis and homemade soups in Thermos containers while others swear by veggie-stuffed wraps and sandwiches made with healthy breads and unprocessed fillings.

Lunchtime recipes

A thin wrap with lots of fillings
Ingredients: Whole-wheat tortilla or, for a really healthy option, an Ezekiel 4:9 brand tortilla; low-fat cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, chopped green onion, deli turkey.
Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on the tortilla and layer your ingredients for a healthy and inexpensive lunch. Add other favorite ingredients, such as olives, avocado or other cheese, but note that those may be higher in calories.
Breakfast or lunch, fruit salads are nutrient-packed
Ingredients: Anything in season (seasonal is cheaper).
"Sometimes after a good-sized bowl of fruit, you're full and have lots of energy," Didreckson said. She enjoys fruit salads in the morning, making a base out of apples and adding oranges, bananas, grapes, kiwis and strawberries. If you have friends who don't pick their fruit trees, ask them if you can.
Faux taco salad to eat anytime
Ingredients: Meatless ground beef crumbles (Yves makes a good version that is available in the vegetarian department of most markets), taco seasoning, sliced tomatoes, chopped lettuce, cooked black beans, red onions (chunks or thin slivers), shredded cheese.
Don't be intimidated by meat-free ground beef. It obviously isn't hamburger, but if you cook it up with onions and taco seasoning, you might be able to fool yourself. Try it out and see what you think. Fill a large to-go container with a bunch of lettuce, black beans, tomatoes and shredded cheese. Mix in your meatless taco meat for a protein-packed, meat-free lunch.
Chunky chilis and healthy soups on the run
Kinds: Lentil, split pea, chili or a good vegetable soup
Didreckson says soups and chilis are great because you can make a bunch in a crock pot. Lentils and split peas are very inexpensive, especially if you buy them in bulk. Also pair soups with a great salad. Use your favorite soup recipes or find a recipe online that sounds good to you, Didreckson suggests.
Chicken salad: just one way to enjoy broiled chicken
Ingredients: Chicken breasts and salad fixings
One of the fastest ways to cook chicken breasts is to broil it the oven for about eight minutes on each side. Whether you eat it for dinner or take it for lunch, you can slice the chicken breast and put it on top of your salad. To dress it up, you might want to splurge on sliced olives or a hard-boiled egg.
Full of it: stock up on stuffed bell peppers
Ingredients: Ground turkey or lean ground beef, tomato sauce, onion and cooked rice. (Every recipe varies).
Once you find a stuffed bell pepper recipe you like, you can make them like crazy. Just a dozen bell peppers will make trays of this healthy dish that comes stuffed in one pepper. If you're really ambitious, make a batch and freeze them in lunch-sized containers.

What about the kids

When it comes to packing your child's lunch, the most important thing is to remember to keep the "bad" food away — sugary snacks, no-juice juices, processed foods. Pack fresh foods they will enjoy, and won't want to trade.
Lodi resident Cindy McDougal was recently shocked to discover that her 9-year-old son loves spinach leaves dipped in Italian dressing. She packs them in his lunch with deli turkey, lettuce and a pickle on whole wheat bread. He also enjoys a celery stick with peanut butter and a 100 percent juice pack. On occasion, she'll add a sliced apple or baked potato chips.
When you pack your child's lunch, think of orange slices, a nectarine or carrots dipped in peanut butter.

Juice Cocktail by Lodi's Julie Di Silvestro

After years of studying nutrition on her own, Julie Di Silvestro and her husband enjoy a juice "cocktail" three to four times a week. Here is her recipe:
Ingredients: One bunch of kale, one bunch of celery, one cucumber with skin and one lemon (including rind) and four apples with skin. All ingredients should be organic.
Process: Run all of the ingredients through a juicer — she recommends the Jack LaLanne juicer — and put it in a thermos for lunch.
"Most people eat and eat, and keep eating, because their bodies are seeking nutrients in the food. Fresh, organic produce, especially when juiced, provides virtually all nutrients needed and the body is satisfied," she said.
According to Di Silvestro, the juice provides good sodium from the celery, silicon from the cucumber skin, calcium from the kale, neutralizes over acidity in the body from the lemon plus vitamin C and pectin from the apples which aid in digestion.
She often follows up this cocktail with a green salad consisting of iceberg and romaine lettuce, olives, avocado and a vinaigrette.

Reader Feedback

T & C wrote on Feb 16, 2009 7:40 PM:

" For those who truly want to eat veggies and fruits that are truly Cancer preventive, the below website is a wonderful guide!

http://www.dolenutrition.com/facts_ae.aspx "

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T C wrote on Feb 16, 2009 7:37 PM:

" For example...Here is what I found on the web about so-called "Healthy meal choices:
12" Blimpie Veggie Supreme, 1,106 calories, 56 g fat(33 g saturated fat, 2,831 mg Sodium, 96 g carbohydrates! It is very hard to see the actual contents of what we eat, and what they do to our health! I try to eat as "Organic as I can", and try to watch the Carbs, calories, sugar intake, and sodium, as well as fats!" I may not live any longer but at least I can try to have an active role in my diet! "

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Julie Di Silvestro wrote on Feb 14, 2009 12:26 PM:

" A couple of the best books I've found on nutrition are by David Wolfe. This guy really knows his stuff.

Sunfood Diet Success System

http://www.sunfood.com/buy/3/51/5/The-Sunfood-Diet-Success-System---7th-Edition--by-David-Wolfe/0003.aspx

Eating for Beauty

http://www.sunfood.com/buy/3/51/190/Eating-for-Beauty-by-David-Wolfe/0567.aspx

For Raw Food Recipes I like

Raw Food, Real World

http://www.sunfood.com/buy/3/51/160/Raw-Food--Real-World-by-Matthew-Kenney-and-Sarma-Melngailis/0982.aspx

Raw Food Made Easy

http://www.learnrawfood.com/mybook.htm "

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Julie Di Silvestro wrote on Feb 14, 2009 12:21 PM:

" A smoothie that I like where you can use fresh or frozen fruit is one I made up one day and reminds me of the Missile Popsicles I liked when a kid. When I'm feeling lazy, I toss in a bag of organic, frozen strawberries, a can of organic pineapple and organic orange juice to thin the mixture to the consistency I want. Run the blender and yum!

Plus this smoothie is loaded with vitamin C. "

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Julie Di Silvestro wrote on Feb 14, 2009 12:18 PM:

" Blue Sunset

2 cups pineapple chunks
1 small, ripe banana
1 cup diced mango
1 1/2 cups coconut water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
1 cup blueberries

In a blender, puree all ingredients except blueberries until smooth. Pour out about half of the mixture into serving glasses, filling each glass halfway. Add the blueberries to the remaining shake in the blender and blend until smooth. Gently pour the remaining blueberry shake over the pineapple-mango shake for a two-tone shake that's delicious! "

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Julie Di Silvestro wrote on Feb 14, 2009 12:13 PM:

" These smoothies taste great and you can make them using frozen or canned fruits that can be purchased at the Sacramento Co-Op; but fresh is always best. The first one sounds gross but tastes like a pinacolada.

Avocolada

1 ripe avocado
3 cups diced pineapple
2 cups coconut water (Zico brand at the Sacramento Co-Op)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon coconut butter - Artisana is good to use in this recipe
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt of Himalayan pink salt

Put all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth and enjoy.

I use a VitaMix blender since they have a lot of power. "

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Julie Di Silvestro wrote on Feb 14, 2009 12:08 PM:

" Sherri's right about iceberg lettuce since it tends to be one of the most GMO type crops along with pesticide use, but you can get it at the Sacramento Co-Op and I like it as a type of filler since it's basically water. "

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Julie Di Silvestro wrote on Feb 14, 2009 12:07 PM:

" Thanks for the wonderful story Lauren. A few other favorites of mine are a chicken salad, originally from the chef at The Golden Door and a couple of smoothies from the book "Raw Food, Real World". You can start with the recipes as outlined, but I like to tinker with them to suit my own taste.

Chicken Salad

14 oz. cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 apple, cored and diced
1 tbls. fresh lime juice
1 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp. tarragon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 cups lettuce

Basically, you mix all of the ingredients in the list except for the last one. The chicken salad is served on the bed of lettuce.

For my own modifications, I've added more apples, celery and lime juice so I end up with more produce and less chicken in the salad. "

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Former Lodian wrote on Feb 14, 2009 9:46 AM:

" I know how easy it is to make typos these days, what with electronic spell check and grammar checks, but lunch "pale" twice in one article? Not to mention several "missed" plurals and suffixes, i.e. "box" should have been "boxed".

And on that note, following Didrickson's recommendation, doesn't she also sell canned, packaged, and boxed items in her store? "

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