You Are What You Eat: Lunchtime energy foods

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

What do we want from our lunches? Well for me:

• I want to replenish the energy stores I have used all morning long.
• I'd like to get enough energy from my lunch to get through until my small afternoon snack.
• I need to feed the beast -- I am starving by lunchtime.
• My lunch should be something to look forward to because it is going to taste so good.

Mostly, besides my insatiable appetite and taste buds, it is all about energy!

So, let's take a closer look at what energy foods are and how we can make sure our lunches have 'em.

What should you eat for lunch?

• Top Ten Power Foods offer energy and nutrients to power your busy day. From veggies, berries and citrus, to salmon, nuts, legumes and whole grains, you can incorporate these into your lunches.
• Nuts and nut butters have the fat and fiber to be absorbed slowly for sustained energy.
• Protein-rich salads can contain almost all of the Power Foods and Prevention says you can design a low-fat and low-calorie version that will be satisfying.

Things to avoid?

• High-calorie lunches over 1,000 calories will cause a drop in energy, otherwise known as food coma. If you've ever survived a Thanksgiving dinner you know what I am talking about.
• White carbs will not give you sustained energy and will cause a crash later.

So if we put together a lunch using all of the energy-giving ideas we have found, it might look something like this:

Citrus Salmon Salad with Chick Peas

• mixed dark leafy greens -- spinach, romaine, arugala
• chunks of blood orange
• colorful vegetable chunks -- carrots, beets, red pepper
• sliced almonds
• chick peas
• wild Alaskan salmon (canned or fresh-cooked)
• lemon tahini vinaigrette (1 TB lemon juice, 1 TB cider vinegar, 1 TB tahini, 1 TB olive oil)
  

Berry Trail Mix

• a mix of unsweetened or fruit-sweetened dried berries, like cranberries, blueberries and raspberries
• your favorite mix of raw, unsalted nuts, like almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews and walnuts
• raw, unsalted seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and sesame

Add in crackers made from whole grains and seeds, not processed flour, like Dr. Kracker's, and you've got yourself a lunch.

What other lunch combinations can you create that will include so many Power Foods?