Add vegetables to processed lunch choices for flavor and nutrition

Running around the house getting ready for work, and remember that you haven't prepared a lunch for the day?

So you're stuck with a can of pasta or a frozen meal, knowing that a few hours later your lunch will be underfulfilling.

You don't have to be stuck in that rut as long as you realize you can supplement whatever processed food you buy.

If you have roasted red peppers handy or mushrooms, you can add those to a can of pasta for desperately needed taste and nutrition. Sure that lean microwave meal has vegetables already, but you can always add more. 

Living within the confines of the food in front of us can be frustrating if you are bored or easily distracted. Sandwich must come with chips or fries and a pickle. Microwave meals must be eaten as is. This works most of the time, but shaking things up can make food more fun and sssshhh, healthier.

Often with these types of meals, we complain about being hungry a couple of hours later, and that is when we reach for that 3:15 candy bar. You still might snack in between lunch and dinner, but you may be driven toward a healthier sack if lunch fills us up. And vegetables can fill you up. 

If you don't like canned mushrooms, saute your own and refrigerate them for later. Add cooked spinach or any of a number of vegetables to the mix. The cost and effort of the meal will go up, but you'll get more out of the meal, and that benefits everyone in the long run.

Comments

[Mack Shepperson]

Mushrooms are ideally delicious and nutritious. Most of recipes go well every meal time – from breakfast to midnight snacks. Some of the best mixed mushroom recipes for lunch are the following: Mixed Mushroom Risotto, Three-way Mushroom and Tarragon Soup, and Crunchy Warm Mushroom Salad. There are a lot more that you can search online, and you can experiment with the variations to come up with new recipes.