If I'm packing a lunch for my kids (tomorrow's lunch for example)
hot chicken noodle soup
container of multigrain pretzels and unsalted peanuts
container of snap peas and carrot sticks with ranch dip
mandarin orange
If it's for me (not very often)
hummus and wasa
salad
orange or banana
For me I pack fruit (apples, bananas, oranges), granola bars....and that's pretty much it. lol. It'll be different when I'm working.
When I'm working I'll pack pita sandwiches, Greek Yogurt (you guys got me addicted), a tiny handful of walnuts, spinach/chicken salad, fruit, granola bars, and a skinny cow treat if I have access to a freezer.
I take my lunch to work every weekend! A lot cheaper (and healthier) than the food court ( I work in the mall).
Here are some of my usuals:
** Sandwich (Turkey, FF cheese, spinach, wheat bread)
** Pitas (I love making a Chicken Caesar Pita using Tyson grilled chicken strips, the WW 1pt Pitas, spinach, and low-fat Caesar dressing)
** Wraps (An example: Spinach, Tyson grilled chicken strips, black beans, and salsa)
**Some sort of fruit...usually an apple or some grapes
** Carrots and FF Ranch Dressing
** Curves Granola Bar
** Sugar Free Jello
** Pretzel Sticks and LC wedge
Almond butter sandwich (2 pieces of whole grain bread, smear of almond butter)
Carrot sticks and hummus
Edamame
Entree - leftover chinese with brown rice
Plain soy yogurt with frozen berries
Its a lot of food but he eats a bit and he doesn't always eat all his food. He also is at work for 10-11 hours.
I don't know about the health benefits but I recently had cashew butter and I absolutely love it. I'm not wild about the almond butter but I am eating it until it is gone. The taste is OK but I just don't really like the texture.
I pack DD's lunch every Friday for preschool.
Most of the time I melt cheese in a folded over wrap (I buy the La Tortilla Factory 12 grams of fiber kind) and then I cut it into wedges like pizza. With that she may have currants or oranges and a cup of milk. - she is almost 2 and comes home about half an hour after lunch. They also give the kids a snack mid-morning. I think it is usually goldfish.
I always take my breakfast and lunch to work... for me it is a case of anything goes - a lot of the time it is left overs. But, for a while, since someone decided to eat my fruit and cheese that I had set aside for my breakfast I was eating veggies and rice (the office thief did not like that - so it was safe) - added some soy sauce (small amount) and it was a good breakfast - the smell made a lot of people hungry.....LOL
What I find in my breakfast/lunch bag:
Boiled Eggs (a couple of times a month)
Whipped Yogurts
Cheese sticks
Pickles or Pepperocini's
Tuna salad (made with either mustard or mayo - depends on the mood)
hummus
Salads
Veggies/Fruits
Progresso soups
Steel cut oats
Raspberry Sauce (kind of like applesauce)
flat bread, pita or sandwhich thins - Heard about them here and LOVE them
or whatever is left over from the night before.
If I'll be running around all day I'll pack a lunch for me and this kids instead of stopping for fast food.
For the kids:
pb&j sandwiches (this is the only sandwich my 2 & 4 year old will try lol)
assorted fruit...usually apples, grapes, oranges or bananas
cheese sticks
For me:
a wrap
broccoli w/ ff dressing
yogurt
That is what we had today but I can get creative too
My kids get a cereal bar and a yogurt tube for morning snack and a juice pack, apple sauce, thinsations chips a hoy and a cheese/ham/turkey/jam (likely whatever we have in the house at the time) sandwich. We are a peanut free school so it can be quite challenging to keep it from getting boring.
I'm a stay at home mom so I don't pack a lunch and since I'm on Nutrisystem right now I have my NS entree and a big salad plus a honkin' bottle of water.