Food On The Move

Hi everyone!
So in the UK, this week pretty much all the schools and colleges have been starting back (although most universities don't start until between 19th September and 7th October!) so I thought it would be a good idea for us to all share some healthy lunch ideas! I absolutely adore the picture above, as it shos a healthy, balanced lunch in such a cute way! I love the way they have put the grapes and the hard boiled egg in little silicone cupcake holders. You can find silicone cupcake holders here (they do the most adorable flower, teddy bear and heart shaped ones from there!) and here. Although the silicone ones may be more expensive (the fun-shaped ones on the first website around around £13, and the colourful one's on the second website are around £7) they are re-usable, and you can just wash them out and use them the next day!! Also, the cupcake case won't get soggy. If these are too far out of your price range, then paper cupcake holders can work just as well, although they aren't as sturdy, but they still look adorable! You can find them here (for a miniscule 60p!) and here.

So, I have always find it difficult when it comes to lunches, as I am really not bothered by bread. I know a lot of people are obsessed with it and it's their weakness, but for me I'd rather have my burger without the bun! Naturally, this means that I'm not really a sandwich eater. Although a lot of people think bread is awful for you, if you pick the right bread, and don't eat too much, it's absolutely fine.
I really enjoy the Warburtons Seeded Batch Bread:

It has a special mix of five seeds, and I dislike brown and wholemeal bread, but this tastes absolutely beautiful! 

So to put on this bread, I would use a spread like Flora Light. This has only 35 calories per 10g, whereas the Flora Buttery has 63 calories. 

Ideas to put on your sandwich:

Chicken, light mayo, and salad.

Ham salad.

Egg and light mayo.

Tuna with vinegar.

Cream cheese and chives.

Beef and mustard.

Spicy chicken and onions.

Bacon (as long as it is lean with all visible fat cut off).

Prawn and light mayo.

Chicken and lean bacon.

Chicken and pesto mayonnaise (for the recipe for pesto mayonnaise, just add a small amount of pesto to a light mayonnaise, and make it as strong/weak as you like it!)

Ham and pineapple.

Vegetable sandwich - grilled vegetable such as peppers, mushrooms, aubergine, and a a little goat's cheese if you fancy!

If you have more time to make something for you lunch, then here are a few ideas:

Jacket potatoes with various fillings - baked beans, a small amount of grated cheese, tuna and light mayonnaise, leftover chilli con carne, and practically anything that you can put on your sandwiches too!

Pasta - If you have a microwave you can get hold of, you can make pasta the night before and then just heat it up in the microwave! Or ask the kitchen staff if they can heat it up for you (but make sure you put it in a microwavable dish!) You can do any kind of pasta, tomato, tuna and mayo, the list is endless really. We made one on holiday once where we put in sliced up lean ham, boiled egg, peppers, a small amount of light mayo, and a small amount of grated, half fat cheese. It was absolutely delicious! It also didn't feel like a 'healthy' meal, but it really was!

Salads - OK so salads are obviously the key word when you think of 'diet' or 'healthy eating', but they don't have to be boring! Mine can end up boring, because I dislike tomatoes and olives, but I love cucumber, so make up for it with that! You can add feta cheese, grated half fat cheese, any form of lean meat, peppers, mushrooms, onions, a few Baked crisps, some avocado, beet-root, the list is endless! 

Last night's leftovers - As I am training to be a teacher, I found a lot of the teacher's brought in the left over's from their meals the night before! I though this was such a good idea, as when you are cooking your tea, you just have to add a bit extra, and then your lunch is already made for the next day! There were all sorts of exotic things being brought in, such as chilli con carne, lamb stew, chicken and cous cous, and so much more! If you ensuring your eating a healthy meal at night too, then why not have it for lunch the next day?!

The list for snack ideas are absolutely endless, but I thought I would share some with you anyway, I have always been told to eat 5 times a day, and that doesn't necessarily mean 5 meals a day, but 3 small meals, and 2 snacks, one at about 11am and one at about 3 or 4pm. This will stop you over-indulging at your meals, and keep you fuller for longer!

Grapes, Strawberries, Pineapple, any kind of fruit, nuts (unsalted, and preferably almonds and walnuts), hard boiled eggs, raisins, a small amount of granola, a packet of crisps such as Wotsits, Skips, French Fries, or the Baked crisps I mentioned earlier, as they are low in calories (most under 100kcal) and make you still feel like you have something naughty to eat! Also, I was told, especially because I eat very little calcium (dislike milk and yoghurt unfortunately) so for me it is good to have a small block of cheese, so something like a Baby Bell, or Cheese-string is good to keep your calcium levels up!

And finally, although I have not raved about these on my blog so far, I rave about them all the time on my personal facebook and twitter (my twitter for this site is @FatGirl_89) I am waiting to get my WATER BOBBLE! My boyfriend has ordered me one for my birthday (The 18th September, incase you are interested haha!) and I am so excited for it! You fill it up with tap water, and it has an in-built filter system where it filters your water for you. Obviously water is extremely important for you, and your skin and has loads of health benefits (Would you be interested in a post on the benefits of water etc? Let me know in a comment!!) so a bottle like this would be great to take to school/college as you can just fill it up with any old tap water! 

Anyway, I hope those are some good starter ideas, I'm going to be doing more about food on the move in the future so keep up to date! Let me know if you have any good recipes or good food on the move ideas :)

Lots of Love,

Fat Girl 

xox