How to make a healthy, fasting day lunchbox

Healthy eating does not need to mean spending hours in the kitchen cooking up big dishes to portion out for the whole week. It’s perfectly possible to create a healthy meal with nutritious ingredients that are thrown together in a packed lunch, which will not only taste good, but will keep you full all afternoon. Keep reading to find out how to build a healthy fasting day lunch.

Why should I meal-prep?

Although you might not have time to cook up a big dish, preparing your meals ahead of time is a great way to ensure you stay on track towards your health goals. It can make sure you don’t make impulsive food choices when you’re in a rush and need a quick fix, like when it would otherwise be easy to grab a carb-loaded sandwich or sugary cereal bar at lunchtime. The Fast 800 Programme focuses on recipes that can be easily prepared ahead of time, ready for when you need a convenient, healthy meal on both fasting and non-fasting days for that very reason.

What to include in a fasting day lunch

Prioritise protein

Even on fasting days, we recommend you consume 60g of protein every day as it promotes satiety and helps you stay full between meals, so it’s essential to include in a fasting day lunch. If you don’t eat enough protein, you may experience symptoms like hunger, sugar cravings, fatigue and even mood dips in the afternoon.^{1 2 3 4} Make use of tinned fish like mackerel or tuna, as it’s high in protein and convenient as you need not worry about cooking or refrigerating it. Vegetarian protein sources like eggs, feta or beans can all be super convenient options to add to a fasting day lunch box and can be enjoyed hot or cold on the go.

Play with flavour

Making your food taste delicious will help lead to consistent healthy eating, trust us! Don’t save your herbs and spices for dinner dishes; a tasty fasting day lunch salad can be dressed up with a flavoursome dressing of olive oil, vinegar and mustard, or a homemade hummus. Use lemon juice, herbs and spices generously in a variety of lunch dishes to enhance their flavours and make healthy eating taste as good as it feels! The Fast 800 Programme contains plenty of recipes to give you some inspiration of how to jazz up your lunches with flavour that packs a punch!

Don’t forget fibre

Lunchtime is a great opportunity to get in fibre that will make your gut happy and help you reach the 30g daily target. It helps to protect against type 2 diabetes and digestive disorders so it’s vital to include fibrous foods into your diet every day.^{5 6} Including one avocado in your fasting day lunch provides a third of your daily recommended intake, and similarly, beans like chickpeas, edamame beans and kidney beans are all great sources of fibre. For the ultimate easy fibre addition to any healthy lunch, simply top your salad, veggies or dish with a handful of nuts or seeds.

Grab a source of healthy fats

Including healthy fats in your fasting day lunch will help your body absorb vitamins A, E, D and K, support gut health and help to keep you full and energised all afternoon.⁷ The Mediterranean-style diet, which is at the heart of The Fast 800 Programme, is naturally high in healthy fats. Examples of healthy fats we love include olives, boiled eggs, feta cheese, Greek yogurt and olive oil.

Include complex carbs on non-fasting days

All of these tips so far suit both fasting and non-fasting days, but it’s still just as important to focus on healthy lunches on non-fasting days. For a non-fasting day lunch box, adding complex carbs can provide a source of slow release energy for the afternoon. Precooked brown rice, quinoa, wholemeal flat bread or seeded sourdough all make perfect additions to a healthy lunch box on a non-fasting day.

So, use the above as a tick-list when building your next fasting day lunch box to create the ideal midday meal that will keep you full and energised for the rest of your day. For full recipe ideas and helpful shopping lists to help make your meal prepping easier, sign up for your 7-day free trial of the Programme now.