Lunch to Have for an Energetic Afternoon

Breakfast is the most important meal. The best time for breakfast is at 6-8 o’clock, which can help enhance concentration in workplace. For lunch time, try not to eat too much, which is something people who skip breakfast always do. Following is what you should do in lunch time to maintain your weight and increase work efficiency.

1. Don’t eat too much carbs. Your lunch should consist of meat and vegetables with high protein and fiber in a bigger portion than rice. Carb, especially in rice, contains high calories. If you eat too much, excess carbohydrate will remain in your body and make you feel dull and sleepy in a room with air conditioner. Having too much at lunch can also make you gain weight.

2. Eat only 1 dish. Every type of meats and vegetables are perfect for lunch. However, you should make sure that the flavor isn’t too strong. Brown rice should be at half or a quarter of the plate. For noodles menus, a less-noodles or noodle-less soup with rice is an interesting option since it provides protein, fiber and other essential nutrients.

3. Don’t repeat your dish. Canteen is most crowded during lunch time. Choose the lunch that allows your brain to be creative and don’t eat the same dish every day. For soupy menus, try sukiyaki, grass noodles soup, bitter gourd soup, vegetable stew, cabbage stew or pork blood soup. Try eating pork or chicken breast since they are good sources of high protein with low calories. For stir fried menus, make sure to put less oil when cooking, try stir fried vegetables, chicken with ginger, stir fried bitter gourd with eggs, stir fried spinach with eggs, stir fried water spinach, stir fried kale, or stir fried luffa with shrimps. Salads with not-too-sweet dressing are good for lunch as well. Thai northeastern food is one of the popular choices since it contains low calories, such as papaya salad, cow-pea salad, corn salad, spicy minced meat salad, grilled chicken, and grilled catfish. Be mindful to have a proper amount of sticky rice.

4. Snack time after lunch. Avoid having snacks, bread, or desserts in the afternoon. If you feel like having something, try fruits such as apple, rose apple, guava, dragon fruit, papaya or pineapple, but be careful not to dip too much sugar-salt condiment. For beverages, water is always the better choice than other sweetened drinks. Otherwise, have a sip of coffee or tea with low sugar. Snack time enables you to continue your work and eat less at dinner.