I think I'm not doing nearly as well with lunch as I think I am. What do all of you eat for lunch? I don't want it to be a cooking ordeal as my time in the afternoon is usually so busy trying to get things done!
I bring my lunch to work. I'll have a frozen dinner with either some fruit/veggies or a piece of string cheese (or both, depending what is lacking in the frozen meal). Sometimes I'll have a grilled chicken salad with dried cranberries and walnuts. I'll also buy my lunch if there is baked fish on the menu.
My lunches are usually semi-small since I have a late morning snack (multigrain bread with turkey, melba toast with pb, etc).
Usually I'll have a morningstar "burger" or "chicken patty" with 1 pckg of frozen broccoli and 1 slice ff cheese melted on top. It takes me awhile to eat all the broccoli so I get that chewing satisfaction,
I usually keep it simple ... I have a desk job and no access to nearby restaurants etc, just a cruddy vending machine with bad sandwiches in it. I usually bring 2c of raw vegetables (salad or mixed raw vegetables) with some protein (hard-boiled egg, cheese, hummus) and some grain (crackers, lately).
Since I'm a SAHM, often times our big meal (aka, I cooked) will be for lunch. My husband works close to home, so he'll come home for his lunch hour to a nicely cooked lunch.
Other times, I'll make sandwiches, usually turkey. Sometimes I'll eat a frozen meal (ala HC, LC, etc).
I usually do the turkey on wheat sammies, usually soup..sometimes I make the big pot of soup on the weekend and portion it out in Gladlock containers for the week, or I like the Campbell's Selects (in the box)....Pitas are good, kind of easy, and I second those LC, Smart Ones, etc. I usually pair them with a veggie-ful salad or just a big salad with protein (canned chicken or deli meat)....but I like this thread and will watch it to see what everyone else says.
We make extra meat at dinner and re-heat that for lunch the next day...along with a heaping portion of steamed veggies. Today, I had greek meatballs and steamed broccoli. Yum Yum!
I work near to lots of restaurants I like - so I try to stick to a few favourites (plus it gets me out of the office, a bonus on most days!). I go with a 6" grilled chicken sub from Mr. Sub or Subway (no cheese or mayo). Or, I might get a salad from McDonald's..or Wendy's. Or, a chicken pita from Extreme Pita.
I'm TRYING to start bringing things instead, so if I'm inspired I might bring a turkey wrap and veggies, or leftovers from last night (small portion of ww pasta with tomato sauce). Or, I might bring a Lean Cuisine. Today, I had the roasted veggie pizza for the first time, and what they say is true - the crust comes out crispy right out of the microwave! They're really good! And the sodium's not too horrible, 560mg.
I LOVE lunch .... and dinner .... and breakfast .... and my snacks ....
Some of my favs:
-Morning Star Farms Chick Pattie or Spicy Bean Burger with 3 cups of cooked cauliflower
-3 oz can tuna in water, with a sliced red pepper, cucumber spears, 5 almonds and 2 skinny multi - grain rice cakes
-3 oz. piece salmon fillet (very quick to prepare and cook) with either cauliflower or roasted green beans
-big, BIG salad - romaine lettuce, baby spinach, red peppers, red onions, cucumber, grape tomato with a 3 oz can of tuna
Lunch used to be a problem for me because when I had a corporate job near lots of restaurants it was very tempting. I had a whole hour for lunch (which I can't imagine now), and my wallet and waistline both suffered. Now that I teach, I get 25 minutes and there's no time to go anywhere. I completely avoid the school cafeteria because that 25 minutes is my time away from the kids. Cooking is obviously not an option, but I do sometimes do the leftover thing.
I usually eat a frozen dinner or a turkey sandwich. I also bring a snack for my planning period and another for after school, before I head to the gym. I happen to really like plain turkey-on-wheat sandwiches, so I don't mind eating them over and over, with a few fat-free Pringles, maybe some veggies, and something sweet for dessert (fruit or a York peppermint patty). The protein in the turkey fills me up, the bread gives me carbs for the run I'll do later, the pringles and York make me feel like I'm not depriving myself, and the fruit and veggies are good for me.
I love the answers, ladies! My morning is pretty strategically planned for food (oatmeal for breakfast and on Curves days, two snacks before lunch happens...often I pick two of the following: A kashi bar, lowfat cottage cheese, yogurt with kashi cereal mixe in. Then lunch won't happen until about an hour after my workout, so we're talking around 1:30 or 2:00) and by the time lunch rolls around, I'm busy housecleaning (I only work 4 hours in the morning at my job), or getting ready for kids to get home, etc. Lunch is quickly falling by the wayside. I either go with old faithful of wasa crackers, 2% cheese and a little strawberry jelly, or this week, one day I ate an entire bag of those quaker ranch flavored rice cakes! I don't think I can have these in the house anymore as I apparently have little control with them, which is odd, as chips were never really my thing.
Can we talk lunch?
I don't think I can have these in the house anymore as I apparently have little control with them, which is odd, as chips were never really my thing. 