How to Incorporate Veggies Into Healthy Packed Lunches

Incorporating veggies into healthy packed lunches is easy once you learn to think outside the box. When most people think of easily portable vegetables, they probably think of carrot and celery sticks. If you don't like these vegetables, though, or you're just looking to add a little variety to your existing lunch routine, don't despair. We'll give you plenty of ideas to make healthy packed lunches with vegetables more interesting whether you're packing a lunch for yourself, your kids, your spouse or a picnic.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• One or more small, airtight plastic containers
• Fork
• Heat-retaining thermos
• Spoon

1. If you want to use raw, fresh vegetables in your lunch, think seasonal. Using whatever produce is currently ripest, freshest and most flavorful will make eating veggies much more enticing. Farmers markets are a great source of top-notch produce.

2. To keep things simple, stick to produce that travels well. Carrot and celery sticks are classics, and these days you won't even have to cut them yourself. You can buy them pre-cut in convenient packaging at the grocery store. Slices of bell pepper and cucumber also travel well, as do sugar snap peas.

3. Here's another time-saving option. These days, you can often find a variety of freeze-dried vegetables at the supermarket. These are easy to transport and make a great substitute for potato chips.

4. If you're willing to spend some time preparing a salad and don't mind carrying around a small plastic container and a fork, your options really start to expand. Lettuce-based salads won't wilt before lunch if you can keep them cold and avoid putting dressing on them until mealtime. How about a Greek salad with romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, kalamata olives and a few crumbles of feta cheese? You could also try making a salad of sweet white corn, diced tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, red bell pepper, black beans and avocado tossed with a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. The lime juice will keep the avocado from turning brown.

5. Don't overlook the possibility of taking cooked vegetables in your packed lunches. An effective thermos designed to keep food safely warm for hours will further increase your options. You could have ratatouille, a traditional French dish containing eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes. This dish can sometimes be hearty enough to serve as a main course. Grocery stores often sell frozen vegetable mixes containing sauces. Just heat up the mixture in your microwave in the morning, pop it in your thermos, and it will be ready for you at lunchtime. Also consider healthy, low-fat vegetable soups like black bean chili, lentil vegetable or butternut squash. Remember to pack a spoon.

Tips & Warnings

• Combine two or more of these tips to maximize the number of veggies in your packed lunch.

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