Fatten your wallet, Not your waistline

First off, I have to apologize for the delay in writing this post. It’s the 100^th Anniversary of the Calgary Stampede and I have been busy dusting off my cowboy boots! For instance, my famiy and I went to the grandstand show last night and had a fabulous time. Given the enormously high food prices and lack of healthy options on the stampede grounds, my mom packed our entire family, including me and my 25 year old brother, a picnic dinner to have instead. Not only did we save a ton of money, we had a way healthier meal and we're ready to cheer on the chuckwagons. If you are looking to save a couple bucks every day at work this summer, here are some great options for a packed lunch.

The Nutrition Winning Sandwich

Opt for leaner cuts of meat (sliced turkey, chicken breast, ham) instead of fatty, highly processed meats like bologna, salami or bacon

A great money saver for sandwiches- buy an entire raw chicken on sale, roast it and freeze half the meat for next week

Try mustard in place of regular mayonnaise or choose light mayo

Include veggies like tomatoes, grated carrots, cucumber and pepper slices for a crunchy addition

If you’re bored of whole-grain bread, go for 100% whole wheat pita bread or a flax wrap for a change

If watching calories, buy reduced-fat cheddar cheese (made with 2% milk) or slices of light Havarti or Swiss cheese, try goat cheese if you have trouble digesting cow’s milk

Make tuna and egg salad sandwiches using greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise

Update the PB&J sandwich- try using natural peanut butter with no added sugars, salts or hydrogenated oils and buy reduced sugar jam or use natural apple butter

If you are GF, the quinoa pumpkin pancakes from Quinoa 365 are delicious topped with nut butter as a sandwich alternative

Super sides

Baby carrots with hummus

Cucumber slices with tzatziki

Apple/ pear slices with nut butter (try natural almond butter for a twist!)

“Ants on a Log”: Celery sticks with 1 tbsp peanut butter and raisins on top or light cream cheese with cranberries

If the office is nut/peanut free, try pumpkin seed butter, tahini or pea butter instead

Pack whole fruit (orange, apple, pear) over fruit juice or canned fruit for added fiber and fullness

Snack Attack

Look for granola bars: made with whole grains, contain fiber (at least 4g per bar) low in sugar (6g of sugars or less per serving) and NO trans fat. Try Kashi Chewy granola bars or All-Bran bars

For GF products, Larabars are the gold standard

Be wary of ingredients like rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup; they’re all just sugar in disguise!

Pack a small Ziploc bag with a healthy breakfast cereal (Cheerios, Shreddies, Life) with a small handful of dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, apricots) and unsalted, dry roasted nuts (walnuts, almonds or pumpkin seeds) for a quick energy option

**Reduce the morning havoc by preparing your lunch the night before so you can't use the excuse "BUT I don't have the time...."

p.s. this presentation was initially intended for children, please don't mind the cheesy titles :)