Healthy and Smart Eating for Lunch

Earlier this fall, I've mentioned how you can change your diet to lower the sodium amount down or to go low salt for the basic meats of chicken, turkey, bologna and bacon for any meal. Now I'm going to bring it down a level to the sandwiches we have for lunch... where it's at work, at home, on the go, or school/college. If you make healthier alternatives to your favorite sandwich ingredients, your body and your heart would thank you for it, too. While you'll do your grocery shopping at any grocery store, look for the AHA approved symbol with a heart or just a heart alone on the packaging.

So let's start out with the bread. If you love white bread, I have bad news for you. According to some online health articles, it's not heart-healthy for you. It's recommended for you to switch to whole wheat or any type of grains like whole grains. If you love bagels, I would suggest you to try Thomas's English bagels in any variety from plain to the works. It's healthier to you than any type of a bagel. If you love rolls and buns, any flavor are fine too for your sandwiches. Wraps and pita breads are also great to add on as well.

So let's move to cheese. If you're fan of American cheese, take a pass on it. It's high on cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends you should try other healthier varieties of cheese to your meals. For starters, you can try blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort, Danish Blue, Gorgonzola and mature Stilton. Or white Fengi-fermented cheeses such as Camembert and mature Brie. Or bacteria-fermented cheeses such as mature Cheddar, mature Emmental, and Ossau-Iraty. Other healthier cheeses include low-fat and part-skim cheeses. You can always look for low-sodium varieties of your favorites cheeses as well at your local deli.

You can always load your sandwich with your favorite vegetable slices for the fillings to get all of the healthy nutrition you need. And why not add an extra crunch to it with fruit slices like apples, strawberries and pears to your sandwiches as well.

Now let's talk about the condiments for your sandwiches--mustard and mayo? Which are healthier of the two? And what's the healthier ones for your subs and sandwiches? Those are all good questions. Choose a lighter spread like low-fat mayo, salad dressing or mustard, hummus, avocad spreads or slices. Overall, mustard is a healthier choice than mayo.

For other meat alternatives for lean protein, try sliced fish, eggs or canned tuna or salmon. So the next time you go to the grocery store, keep these ingredients in mind.

Now that you're ready to have lunch, breakfast or supper, now you need a perfect drink to go with it. There's so many choices out there. To start out with your recommended juice to drink once a day, vegetable juice is the way to go as the best choice, since it's loads with nutrients. V-8 has a plethora of flavors in the Fusion or Splash varieties for you to try in a fruit-vegetable combination. Pomegranate juice, acai berry juice, red grape juice, prune juice, and cranberry juice are all good choices for you to have with your morning meal. If you love orange juice, try the unsweetened variety to do your body good. Fruit smoothies are another way to start your morning with plenty of nutrients.

Although milk does the body good for your bones, traditional milk could be not healthy for you. If you crave it, consider low-fat or skim milk if you can. Try the healthier versions with soy, rice or almond extract, that's available at the local grocery store. They come in sweetened, unsweetened, and in vanilla.

And we all can't go wrong with water! Just plain filtered water is healthy for you, gives you no tummy troubles, and is no calories. If you love flavor, there's so many varieties out there. There's the powder version of Propel flavor packs that comes in a box. All you have to do is open the package and add it your deserved amount. They also come in packs of six and eight as well. There's also the liquid version from Mio, Mio Fit and Mio energy, when you can just squeeze the bottle to fill your glass or water bottle with many flavors. Crystal Light and Minute Maid also have the same options for you too.

If you love it already flavored, you can try Glaceau's Vitamin Water and Fruit Water. It comes in many fruity and delicious flavors. There's also Talking Rain's Sparkling ICE water. That also comes in a bunch of varieties, including some lemonade flavors.

Remember, try not to drink soda or fruit juices, unless it's low in sodium. Cheers! Pick the right drink for any meal! Next time, we'll talk about health snacks, dinners, and eating out tips.