Bringing a healthy, satisfying lunch to work has to be one of the most challenging aspects of eating well in our busy culture. Here are five healthy lunch ideas to get you through the work day.

Sourdough, mashed avocado, sliced tomato, crumbled feta, basil leaves

Spread 2 slices of wholemeal or multigrain sourdough with avocado. Top with sliced tomato, feta and basil leaves.

If you don’t have fresh basil handy even a small sprinkle of dried basil does the trick. Keep 1 avocado, 2 tomatoes and a small block of feta in the fridge at work, so you’re organised for 2-3 days. I keep my bread in the freezer and just pull out slices as I need it. Let it defrost in cling wrap so it doesn’t dry out.

Leafy greens, chick peas, macadamias, ham, parsley

This very easy salad is dead simple to make. Combine 2 cups of green leafy salad, 1/2 cup chick peas, a small handful of macadamia nuts, 100g of shredded ham off the bone and a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves. Toss to combine and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and lemon or just eat on it’s own.

You can make this salad the night before, just add the ham and dressing at the last minute before you eat it.

Tabouli, chicken, hummus

This is my cheat salad. What I eat when I’m crazy busy and unorganised. It’s really filling, totally delicious and really curbs those mid-afternoon hunger pangs.

Purchase a small tub of pre-made tabouli, a BBQ chicken and a tub of hummus from your local supermarket.

Shred the chicken roughly and discard the skin and stuffing. Keep out about 150g of meat for your salad and save the rest for another lunch later on in the week (add it to the salad above instead or ham or use it in the idea below in stead of salmon).

Top the tabouli with chicken and a good dollop of hummus. Serve.

Wrap, cream cheese, smoked salmon, rocket, cucumber

This is absolutely delicious and so easy to prepare. You can either prepare it ahead or bring the ingredients and make it just before eating.

Spread a wholemeal or high fibre wrap with about 1 tbsp cream cheese. Top the whole wrap with smoked salmon rocket and thinly sliced cucumber. Roll up and eat!

Pasta salad: pasta, sweet potato, feta, sun dried tomato, pine nuts, avocado

This salad takes some initial preparation to get organised but once it’s made it’ll last 2-3 days.

Cook up 150g of wholemeal or high fibre pasta. Once slightly cool, evenly divide it into 3 separate containers.

Cut 1 sweet potato into bit sized pieces and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Lightly spray with olive oil and bake in a hot oven for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, evenly divide into the 3 containers with the pasta (I often make this recipe when I have leftover sweet potato or pumpkin from dinner the night before).

Lightly toast about 3 tbsp pine nuts under a grill or in a non-stick pan until golden. Add 1 tbsp to each container. This can last in the fridge for 3 days.

Just before eating add the sun-dried tomatoes, avocado and feta. Toss and eat.

Healthy eating is all about maintaining good habits.

These good habits will serve you well if you work on incorporating them into your lifestyle:

• writing a weekly meal plan, especially for lunches and dinners
• spending 15 minutes each night making your lunch for the next day or making it while you’re cooking dinner (kill two birds with one stone)
• spend an hour or so cooking up a big batch of food for your lunches during the week
• keeping your fridge and pantry stocked with whole fresh food

If you need further help with how healthy eating applies to your lifestyle, why not make an appointment to see one of our nutritionists.