Recruitment Belly – It’s a Real Thing!

Ok, so a new year has started and the biggest resolution is normally to get fit. This is great! And we actively promote this all year round here at Bespoke with longer lunches, late starts, early finishes etc in order for everyone to have enough time to go to the gym; but not every company can offer this.

The job of a recruiter is very much in the office, at your desk with very little basic day to day exercise for most. It is not uncommon, in-fact I would almost say it’s the norm, for a recruiter to even have their lunch sat at their desk whilst working and catching up on more admin based tasks – due to the demands of the job; so what can we do to stop the recruitment belly?

We cannot come to your office and drag you to the gym.

We cannot force your company to show flexibility to working hours to promote a healthier you (although I believe, and I’m sure studies will back this up, that this would probably increase your output). BUT you must have heard that “abs are made in the kitchen” right? Well you have now haha, so maybe we can give you some ideas on practical, cheap but healthy lunches when you are that busy, no time for the gym, driven recruiter who is likely to get that recruitment belly. Trust me it’s a real thing!

Healthier Tuna Salad

Tuna salad is often an option for most when it comes to them wanting to start eating healthy. Its quick and easy to make, as well as being cheap to make. However, there is an even healthier (and we think nicer!) option for you!

Simply change the mayo, for hummus!

Grab a tin of tuna, your favourite hummus, some crunchy peppers, and whatever other salad bits you like – and shove it all in one bowl! You can either make a batch of it at the beginning of the week for a few days, or keep the ingredients at work and take a minute or two to make it fresh!

2 tbsp of mayo = 180 calories, 20g of fat, 0g protein

2 tbsp of hummus = 70 calories, 6g of fat, 2g protein

From our own research, we’ve found this lunch would cost around £7.38 a week, making that around £1.50 a day!

tuna

Chicken and Rice

This is a personal favourite of Dave’s – he eats it most days!

This is a super quick and easy lunch option, all you need to do it put the rice (in the bag) in the microwave for 2 minutes – we’d recommend either whole grain or Quinoa rice; and then put the chicken on top, with another 30 seconds in the microwave. The servings sizes are dependant on you, Dave normally goes with a full pack of chicken, along with a full pack of rice.

Rice is nearly always on offer at £1 – so make sure to stock up!

Chicken = 192 calories, 2.4g fat, 42g protein

125g of rice = 191 calories, 2.8g fat, 4.1g protein

From our research, this lunch can cost around £4.19 a day – depending on the serving size!

brown-sugar-bourbon-chicken-rice-recipe

Easy Burrito Bowls

We know that everyone enjoys a burrito every now and then (Tony) and a burrito bowl is the perfect healthy alternative!

These do take a little longer than the previous recipes, but only by a minute or two! The best way to do these burrito bowls is prepare the salad part the night before.

Grab your favourite lettuce, and pop it in a container. Then over the top, put your personal desired amount of sweetcorn, black beans, chopped cherry tomatoes and avocado. Then dollop on some salsa, finishing it off with sour cream over the top and a squeeze of lime. You can also add some garlic into the sour cream sauce if you want, with a pinch of salt.

Take this to work with you, along with a packet of microwavable rice. Pop the rice in for 2 minutes, and put into a bowl. Take you ready made salad on top, and there you go – your own burrito bowl!

The rough calorific intake of a homemade burrito bowl is around 360, whereas a traditional burrito can be around 1,000!

Our research has shown this meal can cost around £2.91 a day!

burrito_bowl

Salmon Fillets and Salad

Salmon is another great option for a healthy lunch! Both Aldi and Tesco do great salmon fillets that are microwavable, take in some salad basics, and serve them together for a quick, delicious lunch!

Sweet chilli salmon fillets from Tesco have 275 calories per portion, with 28.6g of fat.

We’ve found this lunch can cost from £1.50 to £3 a day, depending on portion size!

salmon

Now we are not saying that this will make everyone an Instagram model, with washboard like abs and bikini ready bodies; BUT maybe just one, or a few of these options, can make their way into your busy weekly lunch schedule and can replace that chippy lunch or super sized MaccyD’s.

We are also not qualified nutritionists it’s important to say, and although these have been given to us by such people, they are just aimed at providing a practical, healthier option to maybe what most busy recruiters consume on a regular basis

As always we would welcome your thoughts, feedback and if you have any of your own suggestions that you can share that would be awesome!

Now let’s all get beach ready for summer 2017