[woobers]

I am fairly new here, and I am wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions. I am looking for quick healthy meals for one the go mornings, and also for quick healthy lunches for work and maybe a few snacks.

Like many of you I work fulltime, Im a fulltime student, and mother of a very active 4 year old. I'm not looking for a "quick fix" i am working very hard at staying on track for the new me, but i am getting bored with my yogurt and granola for breakfast, and either healthy choice frozen meals, or cold cut sandwiches for lunch. Please Help!

[junebug41]

Hi there

I truly believe that *anything* can be "quick and easy" if you plan for it (and have the right storage containers ).

If you have 30 minutes to an hour where you can be in your kitchen some nights of the week or weekend, you can have plenty of choices to grab during the day.

I make egg muffins for DH twice a week. I take a muffin tin and add egg beaters and cheese (and veggies if I am eating them) and bake at 350 until they are cooked. Then, DH just pops them in the microwave every morning for 30 seconds.

I will also make DH's lunch casseroles every Sunday night (my lunches are provided) and put them in storage containers. DH grabs them out of the freezer when he makes his lunch. The same thing goes for our salad greens. We save a ton of $$ by buying heads of lettuce instead of bags. I invested in a $10 salad spinner and store our greens in there (I need to replace every 3 days or so and it takes about 10 minutes to chop, wash, and spin). DH puts the greens in a ziplock bag and keeps his dressing in a small container as well as at his office.

Other snack ideas:
Veggies are GREAT for prepping and pulling out when you want them. Make some hummus (or buy some) and you've got a very filling snack. This is actually my lunch many days. It's easy to prepare and I'm amazed at how filling it is and it gives me so much energy to get through the rest of my day.

-Laughing cow with veggies or crackers
-string cheese and some fruit
-I'm on a soup kick right now, so I make a huge batch and store it. It's easy just to grab a single serving and it's a very filling mini-meal.
-I also make green smoothies for breakfast- spinach with frozen fruit and oj and seltzer- pretty simple (and fast).

That's all I've got for right now. As I said, if you're willing to devote a little time before hand to planning, you can make it work even with a crazy schedule. I've done it!

I always eat packed lunch at work!
I try and cook double portions for dinner and eat the remaining one on lunch the next day.
And while I love cooking I definitely don't like doing it when I'm compelled to! So my lunches tend having always the same structure: protein + veg (fruit later as a snack or it bloats me).
Protein can be:

* 2 eggs
1 egg + handful nuts
turkey breast with green pepper sauce
turkey breast with tomato sauce
roasted turkey breast
tuna (canned in water)
mackerel (canned in water)
beef heart
beef tongue
beef stew
pork chops
*


Vegs can be:

* salad
roasted peppers
fried carrots
raw celery
raw zucchini
raw cucumber
leeks
boiled spinach
*


I also cut my food in advance, I don't always have the time to cut it while eating so just prefer to make small pieces while I pack it.

[rockinrobin]

Quick and easy for me, means making it AHEAD of time. I can make vegetable cutlets AHEAD of time, they keep for quite a few days, then they're good to go for a quick grab and go breakfast or lunch. Soups. Same things. I make a huge pot on a Sunday. Then I've got it ready when I need it, quick as a whip. Chili. Same thing. Big pot on Sunday. Good to go all week. Salads. Cut up all the fixings. Keep them separate. Then just take what I need on the day of. Grilled chicken breasts. Grill up a bunch at a time. They're all ready for me. Whether I want one with the salad one day. In a wrap with the cut up veggies and a portion of soup the next. Salmon. Make a few slices at a time. Freeze them. Pull out of the freezer as needed. Saute' up a bunch of veggies. Keeps all week. Great with omlettes for breakfast or in stir fries with the chicken breast.

Snacks are quite often veggies for me. Baby carrots, grape tomatoes, string beans, sliced cukes and peppers, all cut up in advance. I also snack on cucumber and Israeli salad, which keeps for days on end in the fridge. I like fat free/sugar free yogurt (which I partially freeze) with 1/4 cup Fiber One cereal as a snack. I make a bunch of baked apples at a time, with walnuts and raisins, keeps for at least a week in the fridge. All portable.

I'm not willing to sacrifice flavor and quality and delicious foods in order to be healthy. So for me cooking delicious, fabulous foods is a must. It's all about planning and prepping in advance. Eating healthy doesn't happen by chance. It needs to be though out and planned. That takes some time. But saves a whole lot of time down the road. And better then that, it saves me the unhappiness of being overweight.

Like Junebug said:

That's all I've got for right now. As I said, if you're willing to devote a little time before hand to planning, you can make it work even with a crazy schedule. I've done it!

[in need of solace]

I agree with the other posters. Quick and easy follows taking time for planning and prep. Here are a few of the ideas I've used for work.

Frozen fruit (no sugar added) - keeps lunch box cold as it thaws and makes for a healthy snack.
Fresh fruit - Portable with little to no prep work.
Oatmeal - Quick to fix at work, filling, and it doesn't JUST have to be a breakfast food either.
Protein Powder - Convenient protein and easy to mix up if you're rushed.
Soup in thermos - A quality thermos will keep your batch of healthy, homemade soup hot all day.
Frittata slice - Make a big one with loads of veggies at the beginning of the week. Keep the individually wrapped or bagged slices in the fridge. I like it cold so I don't even need the office microwave.

[DanSinDeva]

I agree with everyone here, planning is key to your success! If your office has a fridge, even better, mine does, so this is wht I do.

I belong to a local Co-Op where we all purchase a bunch of fruits and veggies in bulk, and then show up on saturdays to divy it up and take it home. AS SOON as I get home I chop up the lettuce and put in a gallon zip loc bag with paper towels on each side. On Monday morning I grab that bag and put it in my reusable grocery bag, with a tomato, a cucumber wrapped in foil, my dressing. This way I always have somewhat of a salad with me at all times. I also like to have cans of corn and black beans with me too, it's easy to add to your salad! I keep a knife in my desk so I can cut up the tomato and cucumber when I'm putting my salad in my bowl. I have multiple bowls at my desk as well, one plastic one for muh salads, and one glass one for anything i need to cook like soups or veggies.

I buy bags of frozen veggie blends at the super market and eat half of one a day. I have measuring cups and spoons in my desk so that I can get the right amount of water added in order to steam them in the microwave. I have salt, pepper, and even green tabasco at my desk for any added kick to my veggies, and veggie burgers.

I also buy the Morning Star farms veggie patties, fat free cheddar slices and iceberg lettuce to take to work with me as well. I can use a sheet of lettuce, and melt the cheese on the patty for a nice veggie patty lettuce wrap, i also use my tomato on this!

For breakfast, I buy bananas, peel them when they are ripe and put them in the freezer gallon bags. I get frozen strawberries at Costco or right now they are in season so when they go on sale you can buy them fresh and freeze them too! I add a cup of fat free yogurt, a whole banana, and a couple strawberries in a blender for a nice low cal shake, add protein powder if you want more protein! I use sugar free/fat free pudding mix to add some chocolate, vanilla, or even mix in pisatchio with my vanilla for nutty flavor.

Great suggestions..just use your imagination! You'll be good at it in NO time! ;D

[Thighs Be Gone]

woobers,

for something super quick I like egg whites in the microwave...I dump in prepared Pico de gayo (from Walmart)

I also like 6 grain cereal (similar to organic mueslix) from the bulk bins with a dollop of greek yogurt and maybe 10 almonds

On the go, I like the packaged salads because they are easy. I will also use the Lean Cuisines sometimes.

[willow68]

i have whole wheat pita pockets at work i fill with salad, hummus, salsa and beans. that's my favorite lunch.

for snacks: trail mix or nuts, plain organic yogurt with frozen berries and protein powder.

[Stella]

I make soup at least once a week, with everything that`s there. It`s always different.

When I cook I always make two spare portions for each of us to take to work.

When I cook rice I always make tons - the rest gets eaten with something else the next day, and part of it will become a cold rice salad.

Same with Pasta.

Minimum effort, never get stuck. In case of Emergency, I have a jar of peanut butter in my desk and can buy myself a fresh roll on my way down.

Saying that, all this has to change now as I`ll be low carbing! :-)

[Dominique19]

Try watching the show cook yourself thin or buy the book. They have great simple low calorie meals. I went to books a million myself to buy it but is was sold out

[Dominique19]

you can also make healthy steak or chicken quesadillas with whole grain tortillas, low fat cheese, guacamole, salsa and low fat or fat free sour creme yummo

[Misora]

Ditto the above plus I keep extra non perishable food at work for those days I forget to pack my lunch or leave it at home so I don't feel like I have to hit the vending machine. A can of low cal soup and some beef jerky or nuts may not be that totally balanced but it will fill me up and I can have fresh veggies when I get home. Just make sure you have a couple of cans of different flavors depending on your mood and a cup and spoon.