I know I should post this in the food section but I really wanted an opinion from the 20 somethings.
I'm so sick of eating sandwiches or salads everyday for lunch! I want something that is fairly quick and still healthy. Im so tired of the "just eat a chicken breast and some veggies." What is quick and healthy and doesn't cost a ton? HELP! If I eat one more tuna sandwich im going to puke!
Sometimes I just eat a lot of random stuff for lunch, just to get variety and to get enough calories in. I've been eating a lot of Greek yogurt and cottage cheese lately because they have so much protein. I usually add fruit to those. Other things I choose from at lunch: hummus with pita, carrots, celery, or basically anything; almonds; string cheese; random veggies; peanut butter with an apple or banana; lettuce wrap with turkey and avocado. I also made some soup that was surprisingly good given my culinary skills. I made a chicken-bean-spinach-pesto one and a cauliflower-leek one. Not as good as it gets warmer out, but cheap and very filling. Hope that helps!
Sometimes I'll make a "bean burger" patty - also works with canned tuna, salmon or chicken.
Take a can of Great Northern Beans (15 ounces) and drain. Smash them up, add in 1-2 egg whites (depending on how much liquid you mash out of the beans), and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Form into 4 patties, and cook in a skillet until browned (use nonstick spray - or butter or oil if you want).
I'll sometimes cook 'em the night before and take them with me and nuke 'em for lunch. Using beans, it comes out to around 145 calories PER patty...
A lot of times I do leftovers from dinner- I purposely make more so I have it the next day
It's kind of hot now but when it was colder I would make a crockpot of soup on the weekend and take it during the week
What about wraps? Or heck mix up the tuna with some whole wheat crackers? Also maybe look into different dressings on your salads- maybe have an asian inspired salad now and then with mandarin oranges, noodles, chicken, and a ginger dressing?
I randmy treat myself to some fresh spring rolls from a local thai place. They are low calorie as long as you aren't too heavy handed with the sauce
Man I think this is the toughest thing for all of us... especially when we're used to our "comfort zone" of foods that we know are on plan and we get stuck in a rut.
I'm still a big salad person, but I have to find new things to dress it up. I like to add lunch meat some days, chick peas, veggies, etc.
I'm a fan of anything with hummus, and I'm also the kind of person that LOVES soup. I mean, it's 100 degrees out today and I had lentil soup for lunch. The lentil and sausage soup is fairly easy, packed with veggies and protein and is very filling, but not everyone can do that.
I would look on some of the sub forums on here for recipes and find some stuff you like.
I always keep cans of veggieis around for a quick fix or something in the freezer.
I like the Morning Star Veggie Patties but those can get expensive.
Thanks ladies! It really is hard to figure out what to eat everyday I do fine with breakfast and dinner but lunch just kills me. I use to eat a wrap everyday but got sick of that as well. I also LOVE soup but its soooo hot outside It just kills me. (105 yesterday) I really should make stuff in advance and just eat it... Bean burger sounds interesting I will have to try it. I use to make quesadillas with brown rice and black beans in a wheat tortilla and just pan cook it and top it with salsa.. that was always good but like everything else It just got old. I love hummus as well but always fail at making a meal out of it. Crackers or pita with hummus just doesn't seem very filling. Ive also tried the different dressings for the salad but once you have had so many all the time it starts to taste the same regardless of ingredients. Im really interested in what everyone else will come up with
Every lunch is a leftover of some sort for me. I'll make up a batch of something on Sunday to carry me through like ground chicken chili, stew, even lasagna, etc. They're all pre-portioned into lunch size servings and I pair them with whatever veggie I feel like. Otherwise we make up more food for dinner than we need with the intention that the extra chicken breast, or whatever it is, will be coming with me the next day. If you like it for dinner, you'd probably enjoy it just as much for lunch.
If I happen to be home at lunch I'll make up a tuna wrap as a "treat". LoL
Oh ya, and about salads, I ate them so much that I became completely bored of them and basically stopped eating them for at least 4 months -- which isn't the greatest idea! So my fix and the reason why I'm perfectly fine eating them pretty much every day again? I don't use salad dressing. I'll switch up the different veggies, get spring mixes vs. romaine, throw in some feta..... but it's vary rare that I'll put dressing on. And even if I use something, it's on the side and I dip my fork in it before grabbing a forkfull of lettuce. Just get a slight taste but the rest is all veggie. I've found that I'm perfectly happy with it and never get bored anymore. I've also found that this is not a normal thing and usually get a raised eyebrow when I say no dressing.
I have been on a sandwich, soup and salad kick - that sort of fills in everything you don't want, lol.
Today's sandwich: bun, turkey bacon, cheese, cucumber and tomato
Sometimes I cave and eat processed foods for lunch - quick and easy to make at work. In my freezer, I keep veggie burgers, turkey burgers and sometimes lean beef patties. Sometimes I eat on half a bun, sometimes I eat alone with a side of potsickers or perogies. Turkey sausgaes and perogies make an awesome lunch and 350 calories for 4 perogies and a sausage. I know it's processed, but its so easy and I look forward to eating it. If I don't look forward to it, I usually end up going out.
Tuna melt is a fav of mine too. I like mixing different things in my tuna to make it taste different. Or canned salmon is good too. Crackers and hummus with a sandwitch or soup. Or left over dinner.
Actually last week, one day I shredded a whole zuchinni, added frozen shrimp and alfredo sauce. It was delicious and very low in calories! The next day I put alfredo sauce on brocolli with left over pork chop. Sometimes I like to be creative, and I steal ideas from the planning thread. This week I have a spaghetti squash to eat and more sauce.
Do you like chickpeas? I could eat chickpea salad for a whole meal!
Chickpeas, cukes, tomatoes, red onion, and a basic vinaigrette dressing is the base recipe - but I throw in what sounds good or is on sale at the store, bell peppers, chunks of feta cheese, celery. Yum!
I had a pizza pita today. I took a wh. wheat pita, poured in a little marina, stuffed a little moz. cheese inside, along with a scoop of peppers and onions. I buy frozen bags of it already chopped up, so I never really have any lame excuse not to put a little veggie in everything I cook. Popped it in the microwave for about 40 seconds to warm it up and get the cheese all melty. It was yum. That's the first time I made that - next time I'll really stuff the veggies in (hello little zuchini) and also maybe drizzle a little oil and italian spice and garlic over the pita, because it could have def. handled that.
Lunch??
