Picking what to eat for lunch every day can be a drag, even if you’re surrounded by amazing restaurants, food trucks, and eateries! So, this summer, let’s make lunch fun with a “Health Hunters: Taste the World Challenge!”
Here at Edenred, we offer a meal perk called Ticket Restaurant, designed to help your employees gain access to healthy meals during the workday. This benefit offers employees the convenience of a prepaid card that is funded monthly with a meal allowance.
You can use it to pay for meals at local eateries, restaurants, grocery stores, and through food-delivery apps.
Here’s how Ticket Restaurant works
- We send your employees a prepaid card. It’s just like a bank debit card, but only holds your benefits cash and can only be used for purposes predetermined by your employer.
- You can use the Edenred mobile app to see your Benefits Cash balance and transaction history.
- Then you just use it as you would any other card! Swipe it at a restaurant or food truck, or use it to order through DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, and more.
But what about that challenge you mentioned?
At Edenred, we want you to have access to good, nutritious food that helps you concentrate, makes you feel good, and keeps your body happy. And this summer, we want to challenge ourselves to eat our way around the world – in the healthiest way possible!
The goal is to choose “good for your body” options. What you need to do is make a list of restaurants in your area that offer “good for you” lunch options, and try them with your co-workers during your break. If you want to make it even more fun, put a map on the wall, and put a sticker on every country from which you’ve had a meal.
To get you started, here is a list of food genres and one “good for you” dish that could be tried at each eatery:
Health Hunters: Taste the World Challenge Starter List
Thai Restaurant: Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad), or Tom Kha Gai (warm, flavorful coconut milk soup)
Japanese Restaurant: Sashimi, or if you can’t do fish, chose a simple chicken and rice dish with vegetable tempura (fried veggies)
Chinese Restaurant: SteamedDumplings “Zheng jiao” (with any filling), any Veggie Dish, or Mapo Tofu
Italian Restaurant: Caprese Salad, or Italian Wedding Soup
Mexican Restaurant: Chicken Fajitas, literally any traditional taco, or if you want something warm, Pozole (soup)
Greek Restaurant: Greek Salad, any Protein, a Hummus, or Melitzanosalata (an eggplant dip)
Indian Restaurant: Tandoori Chicken, a refreshing Mango Lassi (drink), or Saag Paneer (a warm, firm cheese and spinach)
Lebanese Restaurant: Tabbouleh, or Lentil Soup
Ethiopian Restaurant: Gomen (Collard Greens), or Alitcha Aterkik (a split pea stew)
Persian Restaurant: Sabzi Khordan (Herb and Cheese Platter), or Adas Polo (rice and lentils)
Korean Restaurant: Bibimbap (mixed rice and veg dish), bbq and kimchi, or a warm Soondubu Jjigae (tofu soup)
Vietnamese Restaurant: Chicken Pho (soup), or a Bún Thịt Nướng (grilled meat, noodle, and veg bowl)
Brazilian Restaurant: Feijoada (Brazil’s National Dish, Black Bean Stew), or Moqueca (Fish Stew)
Spanish Restaurant: Gazpacho (soup), or Paella (rice and seafood dish)
Cuban Restaurant: Ropa Vieja (seasoned roast meat), Rice, and Maduros (sweet plantains)
Jamaican Restaurant: Jerk Chicken and Rice, or Jamaican Chicken Soup
Turkish Restaurant: Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant), Kisir (a fresh salad with mint), or Lentil Soup
Puerto Rican Restaurant: Asopao de Pollo (chicken soup), Arroz con Gandules (rice and pigeon peas), or Sancocho (beef and veggie filled soup with a starch like yuca or plantain)
Vegan Restaurant: Black Bean Tacos, Veggie Stir Fry, or the ever famous Veggie Burger
Gluten-free Restaurant: Literally any Protein and Veg combo, but I’d go for seasoned cauliflower as a side (like Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks)
That’s in no way an exhaustive list! There are so many wonderful ways to combine proteins, vegetables, and starch.
Offer Ticket Restaurant at your workplace today!
At Edenred, our mission is to make it easy to provide common-sense benefits like Ticket Restaurant. Access to healthy, regular meals helps your workforce concentrate and perform better. And the data backs it up: your brain uses up 20% of the calories you take in each day! When your employees skip meals, their problem-solving skills and ability to pay attention go right out the window!
If you’re seeking an effective strategy to attract and retain top talent, reduce turnover, and cultivate a positive workplace culture by offering a stellar benefit package, we’re here to help. Schedule a meeting with us today so we can discuss all your options with you.
