How to Improve Your Health and Fitness

Healthy Lunchtime Ideas
 Freeze a carton of yogurt overnight and take it to work with you. Better yet, keep a toothbrush and toothpaste at work and make a habit of brushing your teeth after lunch.
 For an eat-on-the-run lunch, mix 1 fresh egg yolk into a glass of orange juice. The yogurt will be thawed but still cold by lunchtime the next day; it's a delicious, low-calorie lunch.
 You can fix lunches for the entire week on Sunday night. Add a teaspoon of honey to sweeten.
 Even if you're in a hurry, don't gulp down your lunch. Include a protein-rich food, a crisp fruit or vegetable, a beverage or soup, and a treat.
 Make extra servings of chili and stews to use in your lunch box. Eat slowly, chewing your food well.
 Instead of taking a coffee and doughnut break, take an exercise break instead. Add a low-calorie dressing of lemon juice and herbs just before eating your salad. The sandwiches will thaw by lunchtime without spoiling from the heat.
 Plan well-balanced box lunches. They'll thaw out but still be cold by the time you're ready to eat lunch.
 Good fillings for pita bread are grated cheese, cottage cheese mixed with tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers, a spread made from chickpeas, or pate. Then wrap each piece of chicken securely in plastic wrap and divide these prepared foods into lunch bags, with a different piece of fruit and cheese for each day of the week. You'll only get indigestion later. It's also a real source of protein, calcium, and Vitamin B2.
 Keep a mouthwash concentrate in your purse or desk to mask the scent of any onions or garlic eaten at lunch. If the salad is dressed ahead of time, it will go limp.
 You can avoid that mid-afternoon slump that usually follows close on the heels of a heavy lunch by sticking to salads or light foods at lunchtime.
 Try to use part of your lunch hour to visit a museum, do some shopping, or take a lunchtime exercise class-the break will refresh you more than a long, sedentary lunch.
 Fill plastic sandwich bags with an assortment of fresh vegetable sticks for a light vegetarian lunch, or for snacks to nibble if you're trying to avoid sugar-laden between-meal snacks.
 A packet of powdered skim milk provides a quick, vitamin-packed, liquid lunch food. Treat yourself to a handful of raw seeds or nuts afterward.
 Several ice cubes sealed with a twist tie in a plastic bag is an easy ice bag for keeping your lunch cold. Hard-boil a dozen eggs and fry 2 chickens. Add plain yogurt and shredded lettuce just before eating.
 To prevent soggy sandwiches, moisture-proof your sandwich bread by spreading on a thin layer of margarine or butter before adding the filling.
 For more food value-and to give you more energy-make lunchtime sandwiches from whole-grain breads and buns instead of white bread.
 You can cut down on calories at lunch (or at any other time) by eating hamburgers and sandwiches open-faced, with only one slice of bread or bun.
 A 40-ounce plastic freezer container provides the perfect lunch box for carrying salad fixings to the office. Pour them hot into vacuum containers for eating the next day, or freeze in serving-size portions for later in the week.
 Freeze cartons of prepared shrimp or crab cocktail. Store the bags in the refrigerator and take one out each morning on your way to work.
 You can make and freeze sandwiches up to 2 weeks ahead of time, provided you use no jelly, mayonnaise, eggs, lettuce, or tomato in the filling.
 Butter the bread, add the sandwich filling, and wrap the sandwiches tightly in plastic wrap before storing in the freezer. A sandwich removed from the freezer in the morning will be ready to eat by lunchtime.
 If your work place offers nowhere to keep your lunch refrigerated during hot weather, freeze sandwiches containing mayonnaise or salad dressing the night before, even though mayonnaise separates when it's frozen.