Every day when the lunch hour rolls around at Ecollo-land, I have a habit of admiring Leafy Green's lunches. He typically brings in some leftovers from home that look and smell extremely appetizing. However, there is still the odd day he doesn't have a lunch with him and sets out a grand adventure to find something that will be filling, satisfying and reasonably healthy. Sure, he'll occasionally opt for a Spicy Baconator and have some regrets shortly afterward, but generally a sandwich loaded with fresh veggies is more his style.

On one such day late last week, Leafy ventured out out lunchtime and visited me a short while later to show me an innocuous looking wrap he'd just purchased. There was nothing particularly unsual about the actual appearance of the food; all that was visible was some deli-style turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato wrapped up in a flour tortilla. It actually looked relatively wholesome given it came from a local convenience store and he'd had to scrounge to find the healthiest option available. I was pretty impressed until Leafy pointed out the nutrition label. Wait a minute, 500 calories? 27 grams of fat? He may as well have visited McDonald's for a BigMac with those kind of numbers. I examined the food hoping the source of the calories and fat would become obvious upon the discovery of a hidden strip of bacon, but other than some cheese and mayonnaise, there was nothing to suggest something that appeared so harmless actually held approximately one-quarter of a day's worth of calories. And something tells me those 27 grams of fat didn't come from healthy omega-3's either.

The point in sharing this isn't to point out that convenience store food is evil (though that debate is pretty much resolved now), but to remind you that appearances are often deceiving and sometimes the food we consume isn't all we think it is - or rather more than we think it is. Calories and fat are only a couple of the things you can learn about your food by reading a nutrition label. You may see a whole list of chemical-sounding names you don't recognize that will leave you wondering exactly what purpose they serve in a salad. Or you may just be adding a whole lot of calories to your day that are completely unnecessary. Planning ahead can be extremely beneficial on those days when you need to grab a quick lunch or are making dinner plans with friends. Many major fast-food places and larger restaurant chains have nutrition guides online, so you can determine what to order in advance. If you don't have the luxury of viewing this information ahead of time and you don't have a nutrition label to go by, exercise some logic. Order salad with dressing on the side since most restaurants put on much more than is needed. Ask the guy taking your burger or sandwich order to hold mayo, bacon, cheese or any other high-fat source because chances are that's not light mayo and turkey bacon they're adding to your food. 

Does anyone have any lunch suggestions for Leafy Green the next time he has to grab lunch on the go?

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