Diet

Women Diets: Healthy Lunchbox Makeovers

Think what's in your brown bag would pass muster with a professional nutritionist? You might be surprised to learn how poor your diet really is

by Audrey Fine

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At this time of year it seems like every woman is on a diet. Makes sense since summer's around the corner and we all want to be able to wear cute little sundresses, short(ish) shorts and, eek, perhaps even a swimsuit.

The thing is that a lot of us simply don't know how to eat healthily -- whether we're dieting or not. And, since a personal nutritionist is cost prohibitive for all but a lucky few of us, we're pretty much left to our own devices when it comes to figuring out what to eat. Even here at Total Beauty, where looking good and being fit is our business, most of us fall short in the "eating for optimum health" category.

That's why we thought it would be fun to enlist the help of celebrity nutritionist, and natural health/beauty expert Kimberly Snyder in making over our lunches. We asked Snyder, whose diet expertise has worked wonders on all sorts of celebs like Drew Barrymore, Fergie and Channing Tatum, to critique Total Beauty staffers' lunches. We wanted her honest (read: sometimes harsh) opinion on the choices we're making and her professional recommendations for what we should be eating instead.

See the dramatic lunchbox makeovers.

The result? Nine complete lunchbox makeovers. For the next couple of months, Tuesday will be "Lunchbox Makeover" day and you'll get to see what Snyder thought of an individual staffer's menu and find out her suggestions for making the meal more healthful. (She's the consummate pro at this as her new book, "The Beauty Detox" illustrates beyond the shadow of a doubt.)

Did our staffers take Snyder's advice to heart? You bet. Will they forever and always adhere to her every word and suggestion? Probably not, but knowledge, as they say, is power and we're all definitely wiser when it comes to nutrition now thanks to her frank assessments.

So, without any further ado, let's begin with the first "guinea pig"�

SEE NEXT PAGE: The "Victim": Alex H., designer

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Older comments

Helpful, and I love celery!

by EricaC123 Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 11:44AM Report as inappropriate

I must say, I am glad not to be a guest at Kimberly's table. Most of these "victims" are making a concerted effort to be healthy while enjoying their lunches. Enjoying is the part that will be lacking in Kimberly's lunches. Nice to look good and live a long time, but not if it is without joy.

by Robin_C Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 11:14AM Report as inappropriate

I really enjoy this article, but I find it discouraging that even the tofu eater was picked apart. First of all what is LEFT for us too eat these days??? Unless I go to the store and spend literally my entire food budget on organic fruits and veggies, then I'm out of options. Especially with a nut allergy things are increasingly harder to eat, and I mean coconut as well. Also some people are stuck working an all day job with no refrigerator so what are we suppose to do? It's getting so hard just to find something that wasn't made in a lab and it makes me sick but our FDA is setting us up to fail. They are allowing all these nasty fake things to be fed to us I feel like a Turkey being fattened up, which makes a lot of sense if you eat margarine btw because that stuff was invented to make our food fat... and now it's made us fat.

by Bon_Bon Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 09:40PM Report as inappropriate

this is very helpful, but also a little impractical. It's difficult and a little expensive to get and pack some of these foods for lunch at work.

by tulipsarebetter Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 08:05PM Report as inappropriate

Eat more raw! I feel great am 85 to 95 percent raw. A slow process but well worth it.

by Ydabney Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 11:08AM Report as inappropriate

This article is very informative but this kind of dieting only works on some people. You need protein in your diet to help maintain muscle strength.

by kimihavens Wednesday, December 26, 2012 at 01:10PM Report as inappropriate

I would revamp each and every one of these meals to the hilt. The suggested substitutions might be better, but these meals need to be completely redone. Nice try for the short run. Not good for the long term.

by robyne00 Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 02:48PM Report as inappropriate

this article is confusing.

by lilas Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 03:43PM Report as inappropriate

How do you eat fresh brown rice out of a lunch box??? The suggestions are healthy but not practical for someone truly eating from a lunch box. I do pack an iced cooler daily, but I can't grill or steam anything from my car. Also some of these are much more time consuming. Can you offer practical solutions?

by Rck Monday, September 3, 2012 at 08:36PM Report as inappropriate

I agree with her on the diet sodas but most of these lunches seem a LOT healthier than many people eat and I do not know anyone who would want to stay on her diet for any length of time. I know I wouldn't..

by tigerlily5 Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 06:10PM Report as inappropriate