(NAPSI)—Weekday lunches can pose a real challenge for those trying to eat healthy—especially if you have a health condition like type 2 diabetes. When you’re hungry and in a hurry, the easiest and most tempting options are often high-calorie items from a restaurant or cafe. With a little planning, you can easily prepare a week’s worth of healthy, tasty meals to go.

Nutritionist and cookbook author Robyn Webb offers simple tips to help busy people-especially those with type 2 diabetes-plan ahead for a week of healthy midday meals.

A healthy, balanced lunch is a must, whether youre trying to eat better for overall good health or because of a condition like diabetes, says Webb. When youre a mom on the go or work in an office full-time, busy schedules leave little time for planning. This causes many of us to grab whatever may be around, such as foods that are high in fat and sugar, which can have a negative impact on blood sugar levels.

With limited time and endless demands, Webb has several healthy, diabetes-friendly lunchtime tips and recipes to make sure youre fueled with less effort and great taste.

Planned-Overs: Plan ahead and prepare enough of tonights dinner to parlay into tomorrows lunch.

Grill or broil extra boneless, skinless chicken breasts and slice into strips. Arrange over one slice of whole grain bread and drizzle low-fat Italian dressing (pack in separate container). Add sliced tomato and peppers and eat as an open-faced sandwich.

Broil an extra piece of fish and save some cooked whole wheat pasta. Flake the fish and mix together with mandarin oranges or pineapple, packed in their own juice. Add chopped scallions and serve over cold pasta.

Staples Pantry: Stock up on pantry and freezer staple items such as canned beans (no salt added), instant brown rice, whole grain tortillas, foil-packed tuna or salmon and bags of frozen veggies (no added sauce). Having these items readily available will make lunch preparation quick and easy.

Drain and rinse any type of beans and mash into a coarse consistency with a small amount of olive oil, dried oregano and ground cumin. Add to a container and pack a whole wheat tortilla. Before serving, heat the tortilla in the microwave. Add the bean mixture and cup greens from the salad bar (or bring greens in a zippered bag). Roll or fold over.

Mix foil-packed tuna or salmon with plain nonfat yogurt (you can do this at time of serving by packing yogurt separately; it will keep cold in an insulated bag). Add diced celery (pick up from salad bar or bring) and dried basil. Stuff into a small whole wheat pita bread at time of serving. Add an apple for dessert.

Having a proper midday meal provides the energy needed to tackle important challenges and keep you sharp and focused throughout the day. If youre living with type 2 diabetes, a healthy midday meal can also help keep your weight on track and help you maintain lower blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers.

Beyond planning healthy lunches, there are other steps you can take each week if youre living with type 2 diabetes. For some, this includes taking a once-weekly medication. BYDUREON (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension) was recently approved by the FDA as the first once-weekly type 2 diabetes treatment, and it works with your body to help control your blood sugar to help your best efforts pay off.

For more information about type 2 diabetes, tips for eating healthy and other small changes you can make to improve your health, please visit www.BYDUREON.com.

Important Safety Information for BYDUREON (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension)

BYDUREON is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and should be used along with diet and exercise. BYDUREON is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes.

BYDUREON is a long-acting form of the medication in BYETTA (exenatide) injection so both drugs should not be used together. BYDUREON is not insulin and should not be taken instead of insulin. BYDUREON is not for people with type 1 diabetes or people with diabetic ketoacidosis. BYDUREON is not recommended for use in children. It is not known if BYDUREON is safe and effective in people with a history of pancreatitis or severe kidney problems.

In animal studies, BYDUREON caused rats to develop tumors of the thyroid gland. Some tumors were cancers. It is not known if BYDUREON causes thyroid tumors or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) in people. BYDUREON should not be used if there is a personal or family history of MTC or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2.

Based on postmarketing data, exenatide has been associated with acute pancreatitis, including fatal and non-fatal hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis. Patients should be observed for signs and symptoms of pancreatitis after initiation of BYDUREON.

The risk of getting low blood sugar is higher if BYDUREON is taken with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar, such as a sulfonylurea. The dose of sulfonylurea may need to be lowered while BYDUREON is used. BYDUREON should not be used in people who have or had severe kidney problems and may cause or worsen problems with kidney funtion, including kidney failure. Patients should talk with their healthcare provider if they have severe problems with their stomach, such as delayed emptying of the stomach (gastroparesis) or problems with digesting food. Antibodies may develop with use of BYDUREON, which may lead to worsening or failure to achieve adequate glycemic control. Severe allergic reactions can happen with BYDUREON. There have been no clinical studies establishing conclusive evidence of macrovascular risk reduction with BYDUREON or any other antidiabetic drug.

The most common side effects with BYDUREON include nausea, diarrhea, headache, vomiting, constipation, itching at injection site, a small bump (nodule) at the injection site, and indigestion. Nausea most commonly happens when first starting BYDUREON, but may become less over time.

These are not all the side effects from use of BYDUREON. A healthcare provider should be consulted about any side effect that is bothersome or does not go away.

For additional important safety information about BYDUREON, please see the full Prescribing Information [www.BYDUREON.com/PI] and Medication Guide [www.BYDUREON.com/MG].

8-11-13063-A 2012 AMYLIN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The BYDUREON mark and design mark are trademarks of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

BYETTA is a registered trademark of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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