People who spend most of their time chilling on sofas will think of a mile as the top of Everest. Meanwhile, for any runner, a mile might as well be a walk in the park. The interesting thing, though, is that both of them may walk the same number of steps in a mile. The average person will cover 2,000 to 2,100 steps at a regular walking speed, but higher or lower numbers are normal too.
Most people think that they need to cover 10,000 steps daily to be on the healthy side, but that’s a mere estimation. You want to choose a reasonable number that you’ll be able to cover every day, and then build from there.
Lunch is a good place to chip away at that number, and in my book it goes a lot better when lunch is already made and sitting in the fridge. The make-ahead lunches below, from fried rice and pasta salads to wraps, jars and a box of baked meatballs, hold up for a few days once they’re packed.
Shredded Chicken and Quinoa Salad
Shredded chicken, quinoa, cucumber and tomato with a lemon vinaigrette. Keep the dressing separate until lunch so it doesn’t go soggy.
Roasted Garlic Hummus Box
A batch of roasted garlic hummus at the start of the week, packed with carrots, cucumbers, peppers and pita. It keeps about 5 days in the fridge.
Quesadilla Bento Box
Cook 3 or 4 cheese and black bean quesadillas in a dry skillet, let them cool on a rack (so the bottoms don’t steam and go soft) and cut them into triangles. The boxes here get a little cup of salsa, more black beans and some strawberries in the other compartments. They’re fine cold, which is sort of the point, or give them 30 seconds in the microwave.
Chicken Caesar Salad
Romaine, sliced chicken, parmesan and croutons. Pack the croutons and dressing on the side or they’ll be soft by noon.
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ground chicken browned with garlic, ginger, chopped water chestnuts and green onion, then finished with hoisin, soy sauce and a splash of rice vinegar. Pack the chicken and a scoop of rice in one container and a few butter lettuce leaves in another, then fill them at your desk like the plate here. The lettuce keeps a lot longer if it’s dry when it goes in.
There is nothing wrong with walking for exercise, and it is certainly better than choosing to do nothing. When you walk, one foot is always in contact with the ground, so your legs aren’t working nearly as hard as they do on a run, which also means you can fit one in on a lunch break without a change of clothes.
Italian Pasta Salad
Everything for this one is laid out above: tricolor rotini, salami, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, kidney beans and a few herbs, plus oil and red wine vinegar for the dressing.
Cook the pasta a minute short of the package time, rinse it cold and toss it with half the dressing right away. Add the rest the night before you eat it, since pasta keeps soaking it up as it sits.
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Swap the bulgur for quinoa and you’ve got a tabbouleh that holds up for days. Lots of parsley, some mint, diced tomato and cucumber, green onion, lemon juice and olive oil. Chop the herbs fine.
Turkey Spinach Pinwheels
Cream cheese spread thin on a tortilla, a layer of deli turkey, a layer of spinach, then roll it up tight and chill it for an hour before slicing. Chilling is what keeps the spirals clean like the ones on this sheet.
Pack 6 or 8 with some fruit and cut vegetables and you’ve got a lunch that needs no fork.
Black Bean and Corn Salad
Black beans, corn, diced red pepper, red onion, cilantro and a lime and cumin dressing. I’d add the avocado the morning you eat it, if at all, since it browns fast.
Pinto Beans and Chile-Lime Rice
A pot of pinto beans and rice with lime zest and a little chile, split into containers on Sunday. Add salsa or a fried egg when you reheat it.
Tuna Pasta Salad
Small shells, a couple of cans of tuna, peas, celery, a little red onion and a dressing of mayo thinned with lemon juice and a spoonful of Dijon. Make a bit more dressing than you think, because the pasta will soak it up overnight.
Since it’s a mayo salad, it needs to stay cold. FSIS suggests at least 2 cold sources in a packed lunch, like 2 frozen gel packs, or a gel pack and a frozen bottle of water.
Blisters Under a Callus
Lunch-break walks put miles on your feet too, so this one isn’t only for runners.
Blisters can sometimes appear under calluses, and these tend to be especially tough to get rid of because they’re surrounded by a rough layer of skin. If the blister is under several layers of thickened skin, you should probably visit a podiatrist so that they can treat it as they see fit.
A few habits go a long way toward keeping them from forming in the first place:
- Make sure your shoes fit well, to minimize the friction and pressure on different regions of your feet
- Go for a pair of shoes that provides proper ventilation to your feet
- Replace your cotton socks with moisture-wicking ones
- File any calluses with a pumice stone as soon as you notice them, and use moisturizing cream when you’re done
Turkey Cranberry Salad Lettuce Wraps
Diced turkey (chicken is fine too), celery, dried cranberries and chopped pecans in a Greek yogurt and mayo dressing. Keep the salad in one container and a head of butter lettuce in another, and spoon it into the leaves at lunch. It’s a good home for leftover roast turkey.
Chicken Fried Rice
Day-old rice, diced chicken, peas, carrots and egg in one skillet with soy sauce. It reheats in the microwave better than most rice dishes.
Peanut Noodles
Cook spaghetti or rice noodles, rinse them cold so they don’t clump, and toss them with a sauce of peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, a little honey and sriracha, thinned with warm water. Green onions go on last, the way they’re being sprinkled over the bowl here.
The noodles soak up the sauce overnight, so I’d keep a spoonful of extra sauce on the side for day 3.
Mason Jar Cobb Salad
The order matters here. Ranch or a red wine vinaigrette on the bottom, then tomatoes, cooked chicken, crumbled bacon, chopped hard-boiled egg and blue cheese, and the romaine on top where it stays dry.
Chicken Caesar Wraps
Chopped romaine, sliced grilled chicken, shaved Parmesan and Caesar dressing rolled in a big tortilla and cut in half, like the one on this plate. I’d toss the lettuce with the dressing right before rolling rather than the night before, or pack the dressing on the side and roll it at your desk.
If your lunch break doubles as a walk with earbuds in, keep the volume low so you can still hear cars honking and footsteps coming up behind you. If they tend to pop out, ear hooks or an anti-lost strap look a little awkward but keep them in place (here’s a search for earbud ear hooks on Amazon).
Teriyaki Chicken With Broccoli
Strips of chicken seared in a hot pan, then simmered in a quick teriyaki sauce (soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and a little cornstarch slurry) until it turns glossy. Chicken needs to hit 165°F on the FSIS safe temperature chart, so check the thickest piece.
Steam the broccoli separately and add rice if you want it. It all reheats well in the microwave.
Classic Potato Salad
Red potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery and a mayo and mustard dressing. Keep it cold and eat it within 3 to 4 days.
Green Bean Salad
Blanched green beans with almonds, shallot and a mustard vinaigrette. Green beans hold their crunch in the fridge longer than most vegetables.
Macaroni Salad
Elbow pasta, celery, red onion and a tangy mayo dressing. It tastes better on day 2.
Red Beans and Rice
Everything laid out before it goes in the pot: red beans, smoked sausage, the onion, celery and pepper trio, and Cajun seasoning. Serve it over rice; portions keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
What to Do About a Bruised Heel
A bruised heel is one of the most common injuries runners (and athletes in general) experience, usually as a result of overuse, repetitive trauma, or sudden force against a hard, uneven surface.
Generally, a bruised heel takes no longer than 1 to 3 weeks to heal. If the heel bone was bruised in the process, recovery might take up to 6 weeks. If the pain persists 3 to 5 days after the bruising and doesn’t go down even after you’ve iced the area, get yourself checked by a doctor. To keep it from coming back, replace your shoes every 300 to 500 miles, when the midsole cushioning starts to lose its resiliency.
Concrete sidewalks on a lunch-break walk count as a hard surface too.
Lentil Soup
Lentils, carrots, celery and tomatoes simmered for 40 minutes. Ladle it into jars and reheat at work to 165°F.
Egg Salad Wraps
Chopped hard-boiled eggs, a little mayo and mustard, chives and a pinch of paprika, rolled in a tortilla with some lettuce. Make the egg salad ahead and roll the wraps as you go.
Hard-cooked eggs in the shell keep about a week, but once it’s egg salad, FoodSafety.gov’s cold storage chart puts it at 3 to 4 days in the fridge, and it doesn’t freeze well.
Acorn Squash Salad
Roasted acorn squash over greens with a little feta and pumpkin seeds. Roast the squash on Sunday and build the salads as you go.
Baked Meatballs
A sheet pan of meatballs on Sunday, packed with rice or pasta and a little marinara. They reheat in about 90 seconds.
Watermelon Feta Salad
Watermelon cubes, feta, mint and a squeeze of lime. Pack it cold and drain off any liquid before you eat.
Why Feet Hurt on a Run
Many things can cause foot pain during running, since there are a variety of muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons involved in the activity. Plantar fasciitis is a common one. Its main symptom is a feeling of pain at the bottom of your heel, and it’s likely to flare up after a while of sitting down or right after running. Wearing shoes with extra arch support, replacing them every 500 miles, and stretching before each run all help. Most of the issues that cause foot pain when running can be avoided by stretching before workouts and wearing proper running shoes.
If your lunch break is a walk, the same goes for the shoes you wear on it.
White Bean and Tuna Salad
Cannellini beans, oil-packed tuna, thin-sliced red onion, parsley and a good amount of lemon juice and olive oil. No cooking at all, and about 5 minutes of work. Eat it on greens or scoop it up with crackers.
Kale Caesar With Chickpeas
Kale is the one green that can take dressing ahead of time. Massage chopped kale with a lemony Caesar dressing, add Parmesan and roasted chickpeas, and keep the chickpeas in a separate bag if you want them to stay crunchy.
Chicken Burrito Bowls
Sliced chicken seasoned with chili powder, cumin and garlic, set over romaine, rice, black beans and corn with a little shredded cheddar and a lime wedge to squeeze over the top. Pack salsa or Greek yogurt with lime in a small cup on the side so the greens don’t go soggy.