Diabetes Self-Management – September 2019

Dishing up facts on food & nutrition trends

PACKING LUNCHES can seem like
drudge-work when it comes to daily
routine requirements, but it doesn’t
have to be so tedious. Infuse some
globally inspired meals between rou-
tine choices to break the monotony
and add more flavor to your lunchbox.
I’m bored with packing lunches for
work and school. Do you have any
ideas to mix up my lunch routine that
are easy to prepare?
There are many benefits to pack-
ing your own lunch, including saving
money and ensuring that you have a
more nutritious and balanced meal
mid-day. In order to make packing
lunches something to look forward
to instead of something to dread, try
focusing on some of your favorite types
of cuisine and get inspired to prepare
something new at least once a week.

Here are a few of my favorite
easy lunch meal ideas:
Spring Rolls: Budget-friendly and cus-
tomizable to each of your family’s
food preferences, spring rolls are a
great addition to any lunchbox meal.
Purchase rice paper wrappers in the
Asian section of your grocery store.
Simply moisten the wrapper in warm
water until the wrapper is pliable and
then fill with your favorite sliced veg-
etables and protein sources and roll.
Pair with a great dipping sauce and
fresh fruit for dessert.
TIP: Prepare all the ingredients
ahead of time and maximize leftovers
from dinner by using finely chopped
vegetables or proteins, like shredded

chicken or steamed shrimp. Spring

rolls taste best fresh, but if making in

advance, make sure that the spring

rolls are wrapped in plastic wrap and

stored in an airtight container.

Mediterranean Mezze Platter: Tight on

time? Pull together a Mediterranean-

inspired mezze platter. Pack hummus

and/or tzatziki and pair with a whole

grain pita or crackers, olives, raw or

roasted vegetables and a few slices of

prosciutto di parma.

TIP: Keep ingredients on hand regu-

larly to ensure that you are able to pull

together your mezze platter without

much preparation. These refrigerator

and pantry staples are also great for

pulling together a quick appetizer board

when friends and family visit.

Open-Faced Smoked Fish Sandwich:

Try pairing a slice of dark rye bread

with Jarlsberg cheese, sliced cucum-

ber, radish and smoked salmon. Pair

with an Icelandic style-yogurt, which

is typically high in protein and low in

added sugar, and fresh seasonal fruit.

TIP: Don’t like smoked fish? Swap

seafood for sliced prosciutto, turkey

or chicken.

Classic Salad Nicoise: Keep a quality

tuna packed in olive oil in your pan-

try to pull together this classic and

nourishing salad for a balanced lunch.

Top lettuce with tomatoes, steamed

green beans, tuna, anchovies, olives,

hard boiled eggs and leftover roasted

fingerling potatoes. Pair with an oil

and vinegar dressing.

TIP: A simple homemade Dijon

salad dressing can really enhance the

overall flavor of this simple salad and

allows quality control over the ingre-

dients added.

Spanish Omelet or Tortilla Espanola: A

basic omelet made with eggs, potatoes

and onions, this simple dish is satisfy-

ing, filling and easily pairs with a side

salad. Traditionally fried, this dish can

also be baked in the oven to reduce

added fat.

TIP: Use leftover potatoes and

onions from a dinner meal to mini-

mize preparation time. This dish is

good served cold or hot. Consider

preparing it in advance to ensure that

lunch is ready to put in your lunchbox

or eat when you arrive home mid-day.

Do you have any healthy recommen-

dations for sandwich sides when I’m

packing lunches for my kids?

Mid-day lunchbox meals are often

lacking in produce options. Focus on

including produce with different tastes,

textures and colors to provide visual

interest as well as a variety of nutrients.

Crunchy:

Broccoli slaw

Carrot chips

Celery with sunbutter

or cream cheese

Jicama sticks with

dipping sauce

Seaweed snacks

Starfruit

Sugar snap peas

Sweet:

Apple

Berries

Cherry tomatoes

Grapes

Grapefruit

Mango

Alison Massey, MS, RD, LDN, CDE, is a

registered dietitian and certified diabetes

educator in Maryland.

By Alison Massey, MS, RD, LDN, CDE

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62 September/October 2019