Tips about Packed Lunch

Food shops flourish in Hong Kong. Here you can find foods of all styles and origins. As eating out is so easy, most working people eat out for lunch. However, while convenience is taken for granted, good appearance, good taste and good quality of food are not. The foods from most fast food shops, local cafeterias (cha chaan teng) and Chinese restaurants are soaked in thick sauce, and are high in fat and sodium. In just one hour for lunch and with a tight budget, it's certainly not easy to find food that is both delicious and healthy.

Recently, the public has been getting more and more health-conscious about their diet. What's more, because of the expenses of eating out, some working people bring packed lunch. To help them eat the truly healthy way, below are some tips on how to prepare packed lunch:

Tip 1: Stick to the ratio
The Department of Health recommends that each meal for any one person should contain grains / cereals (such as rice and pasta),vegetables and meat (and its substitutes) in the ratio of 3 : 2 : 1 by volume. (See diagram on right)

Tip 2: Vegetables a must
The Department of Health recommends for each person a daily intake of 3 servings of vegetables (1 serving = 1/2 bowl of cooked leafy vegetables or 1 bowl of raw salad leaves). For lunch, a minimum of 1 serving of vegetables is recommended.

Tip 3: Choose low-fat meat and use low-fat cooking methods
Choose recommended low-fat cut, like pork fillet, lean pork chop, tenderloin, sirloin, beef shank, etc. As for method of cooking, avoid deep-frying, brief deep-frying, long braising and similar styles as it would boost the fat content of food. Use blanching, steaming or baking instead, which is more healthy.

Tip 4: Use less sauce
The juice released from cooked meat or steamed fish has a high content of fat and salt; so does the Chinese-style cornstarch sauce. Stop mixing your rice with liquid like this to cut down on salt, oil, sugar, seasonings, etc.

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