‘Lunch is such an important meal in the day. It fuels you for the second half of the day, so get it wrong and you will find yourself craving sugar or propping yourself up with caffeine early afternoon and then your blood sugars are sent into overdrive and the afternoon slump hits big time.’
These past few weeks I have been serving jury service in Maidstone Crown Court. Actually apart from the drive to and from Maidstone I have enjoyed it, the case was juicy enough but not horrific! The case collapsed (frustrated.com) so this article is shorter than I had hoped but I wanted to just talk about lunch on the go!
For a lot of people lunch is something we get on the go, you have 30 mins or an hour for lunch, running errands, or sitting at your desk catching up on work. I found myself in the Crown Court canteen or in Maidstone town centre most days. This was a novelty for me – all the lunch time take away meal deals available, easy to eat badly.
These meal deals are often carb and sugar based, think sandwich, crisps and soft drink. Even if you go for the healthy option that is still sandwich, fruit bag and smoothie…. sugar sugar sugar! Once all this sugar has been absorded you feel great …for about an hour or so. Then it leave you feeling empty and vulnerable to snack attacks.
I also worry with these pre-packaged sandwiches… when were they made and how long have they sat on the shelf? If the refridgeration process is not correct certain fillings are more prone to give you food poisoning… how do you know? Reading an article in the Daily Mail (i realise you can take it all with a pinch of salt)
‘fillings could be produced and that sandwiches with a two-week shelf life were quite common in America and on the Continent.’
Really a very frightening thought. A two week old sandwich, urgh! The fillings must have so many additives to keep them fresh tasting and the lining of the sandwich packet – certain chemicals to maintain the ingredients… actually putting me off my supper now…
So homemade is best of course, next best thing is to go to a counter and have a fresh sandwich made for you. This way you can choose the sandwich that you really want the way you want it. Avoid the supermarket or petrol station station at all costs! Choose a wrap rather than sliced bread, it contains fewer carbs and if you can get a whole grain wrap that extra goodness.
Back to court… they filled sandwiches and jacket potatoes in front of you, I was pleasantly surprised… did take soups and salads from home but its the time factor every day… if you can STEP AWAY FROM THE SANDWICH!