◆Eat.◆ Lunch, Redefined

Soup and a salad. Sandwich and a salad. Burger and fries. Very popular lunch choices. A Google search reveals the most popular lunch remains a bologna sandwich. According to FitDay, there are 255 calories in a bologna sandwich with spread. That is a very reasonable amount of calories for your lunch. Hopefully, if you choose such a lunch you would use organic bologna (from sustainable raised sources) and whole grain bread to make it even better. Buying organic bologna and organic whole grain bread might seem expensive, but consider how much money you'd save if you packed your lunch at home and avoided the local deli. 

One step further? Try something new for lunch. Two cups of kale sauteed in garlic and one whole tomato sliced is 138 and 22 calories, respectively. Lunch for a total of 160 calories? Surprisingly enough, it is a very filling choice and it looks pretty, too. Plus lots of Vitamin A, C, lycopene and other nutrients. 

Part of learning to Eat. well is experimenting with different things. And, more importantly, noticing how you feel for the few hours afterward. Most of us feel pretty happy after stuffing ourselves with Thanksgiving dinner and then we lounge around for the rest of the day feeling, well, stuffed. 

A lunch of tomato and kale may not sound great to you. Though you could try it. How about one day during the next week, you choose something for lunch you wouldn't ever ordinarily think about? You may be pleasantly surprised. Lunch, Redefined.