Staying motivated to eat a healthy lunch at work isn’t easy, especially if your colleagues are taking the fast food option! But the secret to getting good habits to stick is making it as easy as possible for you to follow the rules – and that’s what this article is all about. We’ve put together some of the best ways you can make eating well at work easy, and save yourself a heap of cash for lunch today!

Make leftovers exciting

The very easiest way to make sure you’re eating healthy at work is by incorporating that healthy meal you slaved over the night before into your lunch. It’s much, much easier to make one large meal for the whole family with food left over for lunch than to try and make a fresh lunch in the morning when you’re already running late – as any parent will tell you!

Make dishing up for lunch part of your evening cleanup routine. Rather than putting leftover food into separate containers for the fridge before washing up the pots and pans, dish up straight into the family’s lunchboxes. Then all you need to do is grab your container from the fridge in the morning.

If you find leftovers to be a little boring, there are heaps of ways you can recycle them into something new. Have some readymade wraps in the fridge to spoon them into, or simply use them as a sandwich filling.

Make sure there’s a big salad for dinner at night. With today’s prewashed and ready to use options, this can be as simple as opening the packet and chucking it in a bowl. Use leftover greens for sandwiches the next day, or combine leftover salad with extra rice or pasta from the night before to create a whole new salad in minutes. If you like to add your own ingredients when making a salad, use the opportunity to slice up some fruit and pack them for lunch while you’re doing so.

Find a health buddy

There’s bound to be someone else at work who’s also trying to eat better, so team up to help keep each other motivated. It’s easier to resist the lure of that office pizza order if you have some moral support, and someone to sit down with and share your healthy homemade options with. When you do feel like a bit of a break (or managed to leave your lunch at home, of course) make sure you have a trusty service where you can order lunch online ready to go. Order early in the morning so you aren’t tempted to get something less healthy under the influence of a rumbling tummy!

If you have enough interest, you could even start an office salad club a few times a week. On the designated day, each member of the group brings along a healthy ingredient that you can club together and share. The more people you rope in, the more varied and exciting the meal becomes.

Do a big weekend cook-up

Some people prefer to do all their cooking over the weekend, and freeze separate portions to reheat during the week. You can use exactly the same system for your work lunch.

Make it difficult to leave your lunch at home

Some people resort to rather drastic measures when it comes to remembering their lunch, such as putting the car keys on top of their lunch box in the fridge so they literally can’t leave the house without it! It may sound bizarre, but it works! A less extreme option could be to stick a note on the back of the front door with a friendly reminder.

Keep healthy snacks at the office

Having a nice selection of fresh fruit at your desk is a great option, and maybe even a little chopping board so you can slice them up nicely – a lovely presentation always makes good food taste better!

Kit yourself out right

Love your soups? A great way to transport them without spilling is to take them to work in a thermos! An insulated mini cooler lunchbox is another great investment, as it will help keep your food as fresh as possible and taste that much better for it. This also has the added benefit that you can keep it at your desk with you if your office suffers from one of those weird phenomena where items placed in the fridge disappear never to be seen again…

Keep your motivation in mind

Remember why you’re doing this – it’s cheaper, healthier, and gives you complete control over what you’re eating – and that sounds worth it to us. Remember that good habits die hard too!