I am in highschool.
I need to lose about 5lbs in two weeks.
Is there any low calorie, nutrient-rich food that I could take for lunch?
The catch: I'm also a vegetarian.
How vegetarian are you? If you eat eggs then hard boiled ones are a good choice. I usually take one for an afternoon snack. They keep for a day without refrigeration.
Those little cans of tuna are good too although some form of breath freshener is needed afterwards. And a bit of almond butter or low fat goat cheese on whole grain crackers is also a good choice. I usually take along a sliced up apple to control blood sugar and for "dessert" after lunch.
My lunch today was a big salad with mixed leaves, cucumber, capsicum (bell peppers if you're american), butter/lima beans, water chestnuts, shallots and tomato with a soy sausage chopped up into it. I also added low-fat feta...but if you're vegan just leave that out, obviously! lol. It totaled under 250 calories.
I'll often have that salad combo and alternate between adding olives, different cheeses, soy sausages, different fish etc. It always ends up low cal and nutrious
I also make salad sandwiches with hommus and avocado in place of butter - filled with mixed leaves, cucumber, tomato, sometimes grilled capsicum or zuchini
I also like to have fritatta for lunch, or omlettes
If you can eat dairy, I am a big fan of fruit salad and natural yoghurt
And sometimes I'll even just have muesli with yoghurt lol.
What about veggie sandwiches and/or wraps? If you aren't vegan, you could spread non-fat cream cheese or a laughing cow cheese wedge on whole wheat bread or a wrap, then top with veggies of your choose. Onions (grilled or raw), bell peppers (grilled or raw), roasted eggplant, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms (grilled or raw), and/or cucumbers would all be good choices. Add some fresh herbs, like mint, cilantro, or basil and some leafy greens (instead of lettuce, try arugula, mustard greens, swiss chard, or spinach). You could also expirement with low-calorie spreads, salsa, hummus, or chutneys.
One of my favorite sandwiches is low calorie whole wheat brea (around 70 calories a slice), 1 oz sliced avocado, 1 oz thinly sliced cucumber, 2 tbsp hummus, dijon mustard, alfalfa sprouts, and turkey breast. Since you are a vegetarion, you could sub sun-dried tomatoes or a low fat cheese (try Trader Joe's lite chevre) for the turkey. The whole thing comes in at around 300 calories and I know it holds up well when packed for lunch because I've taken it lots of places.
Another favorite sandwich of mine is a whole wheat pita (around 150 calories) stuffed with a mixture of 3 oz roasted eggplant (weighed before cooking), 2 oz cherry tomatoes, fresh basil or arugula, dijon mustard, and 1 oz Trader Joe's light chevre (or other low fat cheese), and 2 oz diced chicken. You could sub cannellini beans (white kidney beans), regular kidney beans, or chickpeas for the chicken. This also comes in at around 300 calories. I've also packed this sandwich to eat on the road (put the filling in a tupperware container and the pita in a baggie, then fill the pita just before you eat it, otherwise the tomatoes will make the pita soggy).
If you live near a Trader Joe's, they have some great vegetarian options that you could take for lunch, including pre-made salads, pre-roasted veggies that you could use to make veggie sandwiches or wraps, an eggless egg salad, and marinated tofu that you could use to make sandwiches or wraps.
Broth-y soups are great - very filling without a lot of calories, and especially if you make your own, very healthy. Basically, just take a low-sodium vegetable broth, toss in all the vegetables you can think of (carrots, celery, peas, spinach, asparagus, etc), and heat it until the veggies are cooked. You may have to put them in at different times so that some don't become mushy while others are still raw. You can find a lot of recipes online for that kind of thing.
I've been loving this Japanese soup I started making. Miso/dashi (seaweed) broth with daikon (Japanese radish, though you can substitute parsnips if you cna't find that), snap peas, carrots, parsley, and tofu. Yummy!
Lunch!
