Working Lunch: Make it a Team Approach

Bringing your lunch to work is a sure way to keep your healthy habits in check. You have calorie and portion control, a better chance of noshing on your fruits and veggies and your leftovers rarely make it to the trash can. Not to mention the health of your wallet will be appreciated when it comes to buying new running shoes. But, there are only so many times you can say “I brought my lunch today” before you are branded as anti-social and your co-workers kick you out of the dining circle. The answer: start a group lunchbox challenge with your colleagues.

How it Works:

1. Have a meeting with you and your 4 closest co-workers to share your brilliant idea to get everyone eating healthier, spending less and trying new lunch food.
2. Share the rules. Each day of the week 1 person will be in charge of bringing a healthy meal in for the lunchboxers. For example, Monday will be your day, Tuesday will be co-worker 1’s day and so on. On the assigned day each person needs to bring in the appropriate amount of servings to feed the entire team lunch group.
3. Determine how many calories a meal should include, that a fruit and/or veggie must be included or whatever else you think is important in a balanced brown bag lunch. For a strict lunch packer it will be hard to release the power of your meal into the hands of others, but you can rest assured that the guidelines match your dining habits ahead of time.
4. Nominate a lunchbox leader (mostly likely yourself for round 1) that will send out an email of who is in charge of what day and all the ground rules you set.

The Perks:

• You will definitely try some new, delicious foods from the households of your work buddies and incorporate some health-inspired ideas into your daily diet.
• The pressure of packing your lunch everyday will lessen which will save you time.
• Your co-workers who like to eat out every day will hopefully change their eating habits and join you at the “I brought my lunch” table more often. Hopefully you introduce them to some healthy eats they would not have otherwise tried.
• You will be part of the lunch circle again…as if anyone was really giving you the boot!

The next time you decide to have an at-work lunchbox challenge maybe more people will be inspired to bring their lunch into the office and you can have mini potlucks with a healthy approach. Try it out for one week and share your experience!

Do you bring your lunch to work every day? Would you ever make bringing your lunch a group approach?

Photo 1 courtesy of miss inthia via Flickr (CC BY 3.0)
Photo 2 courtesy of Jeffrey Beall via Flickr(CC BY-SA 3.0)