Lunch. Defined as a meal eaten in the middle of the day, typically lighter, or less formal than an evening meal. If you’re #nevernotworking workflow is anything like ours, lunch is more of a luxury most weekdays.

When we finally get into a flow of productivity we really don’t want to sacrifice it for anything. We envy those amazing women who use their lunch hour to network, savor their meal and take a brain-break to come back fully recharged. So we’re making an effort, call it more of a commitment, to take back our lunch hour.

The salad savvy ladies at organicgirl, our favorite organic greens company, gave us their pointers on taking back the lunch hour. With these three steps to switch up your lunch routine, you’ll be coasting through the 3pm slump unphased.

First we gotta give up some bad habits.

Give it Up

Cutting back on the carbs during lunch can help keep our energy higher throughout the day. Jennifer Whittle, one of our LA panelists gives up bread, pasta and rice – those types of carbs at lunch. “I save my cracker/bread carb for snack before dinner when I crave it or on weekends when anything goes.”

Nicole Malcolm-Manyara, conductor of communications is “making an effort to stop delaying lunch until 4pm, scheduling meetings during my lunch hour and eating at my desk. Instead, I block time on my calendar for lunch, disengage from work email, and try to spend at least 15 minutes of that time walking outside or on a treadmill. When I take regularly scheduled breaks, it makes me more productive and makes me feel happier in general. Studies have proven that taking breaks while working allows our brains to process information and connect ideas better, and therefore enables us to be more creative, insightful and focused. Who wouldn’t want that?!”

Caitrin Hall, premium salad and fresh dressing champion echos Nicole’s don’t work through lunch mantra: “I try not to look at work email. This let’s me fully enjoy my nourishing food and take a little time to reset.”

Switch it Up

Heidi Otto, the brains behind organicgirl’s new bevvy’s considers the season heavily: “I use sautéed greens because I have started learning nutrition based on Ayurvedic food philosophy. In the winter it’s important to eat warming foods that heat your soul and your energy. It’s also important to eat foods that are already warm to make it easier for your body to digest them. Salad in its normal form requires a lot of energy to heat it to your body temperature and to digest it. Sautéed you get a new texture, can eat WAY more greens and you’re helping your overall wellness to boot!”

Caitrin gets out of dodge: “Sometimes when I need to clear my head or make a decision about something at work, I drive to our charming downtown and take a walk around in the sunshine. Stretching my legs, stepping back from work, and feeling the sun on my face is always rejuvenating and boosts my focus when I get back to my desk.”

“Don’t feel guilty about taking a break; view this as a time for self-care to energize yourself for a productive second half of the work day.”

Tweet This.

Julia Neff, social community maestro agrees: “Don’t feel guilty about taking a break; view this as a time for self-care to energize yourself for a productive second half of the work day. One easy small change is to eat at a different location than my desk. On days where I’m looking for an extra boost, I turn to essential oils. Scents like lemon, ginger and peppermint are great for increasing focus.”

Spice it Up

Nicole taps into texture to change up her lunch: “I’m currently obsessed with Saffron Road’s crunchy spiced chickpeas in just about every flavor. Even though I eat meat, I still try to get most of my protein from plants. And since chickpeas have a high protein content and are super versatile, they’re high on my list of plant-based protein-rich foods. Also, sometimes I like to cook my salad greens very lightly, or I pile on a bunch of hot cooked salad toppings to lightly wilt my greens.”

Heidi layers flavors: “Adding Eden Foods Plum vinegar is a super savory, great way to add more flavor into your salad.”

Caitrin plays by numbers: “A good salad in my book always has at least 5 ingredients. Five different ingredients bring a delightful blend, yummy textures and flavors no matter what the combo! Her formula is simple:
Greens base
Crunch (nuts, seeds)
Sweet (dried fruit, cut up fresh fruit) OR Vegetables (avo, beets, etc.)
Protein (cheese, meat, egg)
Dressing!

Julia seeks delicious simplicity: “Our organicgirl dressings are perfect for spicing up your salads. There’s a flavor for every day of the work week +1!”

Pro tip: Have your co-workers join in on the fun! At organicgirl everyone brings different toppings and they create a collaborative salad bar.

Ready to be the leaf of the party? Sign up at www.iloveorganicgirl.com/party to get recipes for lunchtime ideas and crowd-pleasing favorites.

Thinking about taking back your lunch hour, too? Tell us what you’re giving up, switching up and spicing up in the comments below!