The Ultimate Tradies Lunch

Article by Chris Nayna.

Tradies have one of the most physically demanding jobs out there, so we have put together the ultimate tradies lunch to make sure you’re fuelling your body with the right quantity and quality of nutrients to give you the energy to get the job done (and to feel good while you’re doing it!).

Inadequate nutrition can leave us vulnerable to fatigue, concentration lapses, mood and energy fluctuations and increased stress. On the longer-term side of things, it can leave you facing health problems like weight gain, mental health issues, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and even stroke.

None of these things are going to be good news from a work perspective (you don’t need me to tell you that concentration lapses on a worksite aren’t ideal!), but they’re also not great when you’re trying to maintain a happy home life too.

The good news is that you don’t have to eat like an insect to eat healthily. All it takes is a bit of pre-planning to make sure that a balanced, nutritious diet is within easy reach.

The Ultimate Tradies Lunch starts at the shop

I like to start my week off with a big shop, followed by a 60-minute meal prep session in the kitchen. My meal prep is often as simple as protein (i.e. chicken, turkey or beef etc) with carbohydrates (i.e. rice, quinoa or cous-cous etc) and vegetables (i.e peas, corn, broccoli etc) crammed into a good quality container. I’ll freeze meat that I want to use later in the week, and make sure there’s plenty of veg (fresh or frozen) available to me for mid-week dinners.

Not only will this save you money during the week (having something delicious ready to go reduces the temptation for a quick lunch purchase), but it will also provide you with the right fuel to power through the rest of your day and be able to enjoy time with family and friends post-work too.

One meal-prep recipe that’s on high rotation in my household are my complete meal turkey burgers. They’re quick, easy, tasty and tradie-friendly as they’re able to be consumed hot or cold and can easily be taken to work or eaten on-the-go.

Ingredients:

• 500g turkey mince
• 1/2 brown onion
•  3 whole eggs
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 medium zucchini
• 250g microwave brown rice and quinoa pack (you can also use quinoa, brown/ black rice or ancient grains varieties)
• Himalayan salt
• Cracked pepper
• Coconut oil

Method:

1. Grate carrots and zucchini and add to a large mixing bowl with diced onion.
2. Cook quinoa over stove or use the quick and easy microwave bag option.
3. Add turkey mince, rice and grains mix, cumin, smoked paprika, crushed garlic and ginger, chilli flakes, eggs, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly in the bowl.
4. Add coconut oil to pan on high heat.
5. Roll mixture into palm size patties and cook through until brown on the outside and firm on the inside with no traces of pink.
6. Serve into 2-3 containers. Store in the fridge and eat within 3 days.

Can be paired with hummus or sweet chilli sauce.

2-3 Servings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article by Train Station Fitness Chris Nayna. Follow Chris on Instagram @chrisnayna and Facebook.

And don’t forget you can wrap your Ultimate Tradies Lunch in the ultimate tradies aluminium foil – the Ullrich Aluminium UlltraFoil. Grab some next time you drop into your local branch.

Posted at 28 June 21