Reclaim Your Midday Meal: Easy Lunch Ideas for Mom

lunch ideasMy love affair with lunch started innocently enough. A brief reprieve to eat with two hands while the baby napped. The one meal of the day that I got to eat whatever I wanted. A few glorious minutes where I was completely 100% solo. It has now grown to be my favorite part of the day.

As moms, our schedules are determined by nap routines, car lines, after-school activities, and the weekend birthday party circuit. But every day around noon is ME time. It started when my first daughter (who’s now 10) was just a baby. I tried at first to eat one-handed with her strapped to my chest, but after realizing that bouncing while eating was doing nothing for my digestion and more often than not she ended up with half my lunch on her head, I started putting her down for her nap and sitting down to a solo lunch. It was glorious. Ten years later and no more naps, I still covet those few minutes every weekday. I try to put my phone away, read an actual book or magazine, or just sit outside in the sun. I eat off a real plate and make whatever sounds delicious to me without having to take into account anyone else’s tastes or opinions.

Moms, we need to reclaim lunch. We’ve already lost breakfast to a mad-dash out the door or 5 a.m. wake-ups where we can manage little more than liquid caffeine. And dinner… well, dinner you can read my last post. But lunch, lunch is ours. We need to take it out of the drive-thru, stop eating the kids’ leftovers, and instead make it simple, healthy, and delicious.

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To make it SIMPLE, I rotate through a few easy go-tos that I keep on hand always: Eggs and greens, a smoothie, or a lunch salad.  I also do a little prep at night or on weekends to make it grab-and-go on the days I know I am going to be busy.

To make it HEALTHY, I don’t weigh, measure, or calorie count. I just look at my plate and make sure at least half the plate is fiber-filled veggies and at least one-quarter to one-third is protein. Whatever space is remaining can be starchy carbs or healthy fats. It’s a visual cue that tells me immediately if I am meeting my nutrient needs.

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To make it DELICIOUS, I add in yummy condiments to keep it interesting, I peruse my favorite cookbooks or social media accounts for inspiration, or I just ask myself what I feel like today and go from there.

Remember, this is your time. Often the only meal of the day you eat solo, so enjoy it. Honor it. And eat off the good plates.

About the Author

Katie Hammill is a Certified Nutritional Practitioner, mom of two, wife, meal planner, recipe creator, outdoor enthusiast, and football fanatic. Her mission is to take the complex relationship we have with food and simplify it for REAL life. She believes there is no one universal style of eating.

She works with individuals and families from young to old, and beginner to aspiring athletes just like YOU to find the place where healthy feels great and is truly sustainable. She believes in health before weight.

As a mom, she knows it’s not easy to feed your kids with all the conflicting information out there. It is her role to decipher the good from the bad and share the true story behind the headlines. She wants to give you confidence in the kitchen and at the grocery store allowing you to reach your health goals.

Follow along on Instagram at @katiehammillnutrition or at katiehammillnutrition.com for delicious recipes, insights on the latest nutrition trends, and a healthy dose of reality.

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