I'm starting a business that will deliver low calorie lunches. The sandwiches are from 126 to 303 calories, pasta and bean salads from 82 to 124 calories (serving sizes to be confirmed but should be between 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup) and desserts from 86 to 121 calories. Boxed lunches include a sandwich, carrots, salad, yogurt and dessert and would be from 379 to 641. Do those calorie amounts fall into the amount you would typically eat for lunch? How many calories do you typically eat for lunch?

Thanks for any input! This will really help me out.

I'd estimate that my lunches(considering the "main" part of the meal + the snacks eaten in the few hours before and after lunch, as I don't generally eat it all in one go) are somewhere between 300-600 calories, depending on the day.

The calorie counts you listed for the boxed lunches seem to be in a good range to me. Good luck with your business!

This sounds like a great business idea (especially for business professionals)!!

Typically I consume 250-400 (generally soup and fruit due to my lazyness).

However the calorie range you mentioned sounds good and is something I would be interested in as it sounds like a great alternative to fast food.

Just curious: How are some of your sandwiches only 126 calories when bread is quite calorie heavy and in my experience range from 80-120 A slice?

A resto called "Mandy's Express" is thriving here in Montreal. Its website ordering idea is awesome.

Good luck to you! I also stick to the 300 - 600 range;

there actually is 40 calorie bread at most grocery stores

I try to stick to around under 300 calories.

Anywhere from 250-400 calories, depending on if I had a big breakfast or not. But that sounds like a great idea!

That's a lot of food and I would eat that for lunch, plus a snack or two. 600 on the high sounds like a decent amount to me considering that. I'd probably be more interested in the price considering I and anyone could easily pack that up myself.

I have a bizzare eating routine, so mine isn't really "normal" by any means. I know that my eating schedule wouldn't work for 99% of people. I am a night time eater. I abhor eating in the mornings (even when I was overweight, it makes me feel sluggish and grody for the rest of the day), but I LOOOOVE love love having a big filling dinner and I LOOOOVE love love snacking in the evening. The 6 mini meal thing literally nearly made me insane. I tried it for about 6 weeks thinking I might learn to deal with it. I was obsessed with food, constantly watching the clock, irritable, anxious, fidgety.

Thus, my food/time breakdown is this (again, this is against practically all diet advice you'll probably ever get...but it worked wonders for me)

Wakeup time - noon: Absolutely nothing but one cup of coffee with skim milk, maaaaybe some water. I'd guess around 25-30 cal of milk with a sweet n' low packet

Noon-5pm: Around 3pm is preferable, I have my "lunch" which is hardly ever more than 300cal. I'll have things like a bowl of oatmeal with yogurt mixed in, two turkey sandwiches on 35cal/slice bread, big salad with all the mixin's, etc. My lunches are light, but I do try to make them as filling as possible. That means lean protein, fiber, and a large volume of low call food.

6-7pm: I'll have dinner. This is the bulk of my calories, up to 800 cal. I unintentionally zig zag my cals from about 1300-1800...and it largely depends on what I eat for dinner. I like a big filling you'd-never-believe-I-was-on-a-diet kind of meal. I like to eat and socialize with friends or sit with my fiance. Seeing a big full "indulgent" plate of food and the dining experience is just as important to me feeling satisfied as the foods that I'm eating.

7pm-bedtime: 200-500cal of night time snacking. I do generally keep them healthy snacks, airpopped popcorn is my favorite, nuts, veggies, etc. But it's comforting to know that I have so much wiggle room at the end of my day if I want to indulge a bit.

Thank you everyone for your responses! This is really helpful.

Thank you!

It's on an Orowheat Sandwich Thin (100 calories for the bun).

Thank you!

The ability for someone to pack their own lunch is certainly there but I'm hoping that those that are too busy or just don't want to do that, people who forgot their lunch, people who wouldn't necessarily pack that much or those things, people who don't have time to run out and grab something and / or that these lunches are super tasty will cause people to order.

I've compared the prices to several of the sandwich shops in the area and I'm slightly higher than Subway, on par with Quiznos and Jimmy Johns (pick-up) and less expensive than Jimmy Johns (delivery), Spicy Pickle and Smiling Moose Deli. I'd say the menu items and craftsmanship of my items are closer to Spicy Pickle and Smiling Moose than Subway or Quiznos.

That would fall into my range too, usually between 300-400 calories. I would love a premade lunch all counted out, especially when I am busy busy busy at the office! Mostly 'cuz I'm lazy and don't plan ahead very well. Good luck!!

My lunches are always between 450-600 calories.

My lunches are usually between 350-450 depending on if I decided to eat any breakfast or not. My favorite lunch is a 90 calorie flat bread with honey mustard, cucumber and a bit of lean ham or turkey. I usually pair this with soup or fruit and yogurt. I think your range seems pretty good. Anything over 550 calories would be way too much for me at lunch since I like a big dinner and I only have about 1300 to work with at my weight.
Good luck with the business

I plan on sticking with about 400 calories. Don't ask me what yet, I start today, but I am sure soup and veg are in there.