Healthy Recipes What’s Best for Lunch

In fact, there is no "best" lunch that suits everyone. The current logic of healthy lunches recognized by the mainstream nutrition industry as suitable for most ordinary people is based on the combination of "slow carbs + high-quality protein + high-fiber vegetables". You don't need to be precise about the ratio down to the gram. About one punch of staple food, one palm of high-protein ingredients, and two punches of dark-colored vegetables are enough to meet daily needs.

However, this combination is not a golden rule. For example, people who adhere to the ketogenic diet feel that they must completely cut out carbohydrates at lunch and rely on fat and protein for energy so that they are less likely to feel sleepy after meals. A friend of mine who has been working out all year round has lost 4% of his body fat in 3 months using this method. At this point, exercise endurance is not affected, but there are also ordinary office workers who work 9 to 5 who copy this eating method. Within two months, they start to feel dizzy and even have irregular menstruation. After going to the nutrition department, they realized that their basal metabolic pattern is not suitable for the extreme zero-carbohydrate eating method.

Talking about most ordinary people without special dietary needs, there is no need to follow those niche extreme recipes. When I helped the company to educate employees on nutrition science last year, I saw many sedentary programmers eating white rice with braised heavy oil takeout at noon. From 2pm to 2pm, they would lie on the table and unable to open their eyes. Later, I was suggested to replace half of the white rice with brown rice or steamed corn, and add a small plate of blanched vegetables. After trying it for half a month, the general reaction was that the mind was much clearer in the afternoon, and even the two cups of coffee required every day were reduced to one cup.

Don’t worry if you don’t have time to bring your own food. When I was busy with projects last week, I picked up a stick of sweet corn, two tea eggs, and a box of blanched broccoli from the convenience store downstairs. The total cost was less than 15 yuan. If you like to eat something hot, choose braised radish and beef brisket with half a portion of multigrain rice in winter. It is warm and satisfying, with enough dietary fiber and protein. It is much more friendly to the stomach and intestines than ice salad.

In fact, to put it bluntly, you don’t have to pursue any “ceiling-level health configuration” for lunch. As long as it is not high in oil, salt and refined carbohydrates, it will suit your physical condition that day. If you have to run out in the afternoon to use up your energy, eating two more mouthfuls of white rice is not a burden. If your appetite is small, it is okay to eat less staple food and eat two more mouthfuls of meat and vegetables. Eating is inherently a happy thing, and there is no need to eat to satisfy the so-called standards.