Hi everyone,
I'm starting back up on Atkins today. One of my biggest struggles has been lunch. I always come home on my hour break for lunch, but I don't have enough time to cook. I need something fast and easy, but tasty too! - any suggestions?

Thanks!

I usually make salads for lunch or if I make enough for dinner the night before, I have leftovers for lunch that I can just heat up in the microwave. I haven't been overly creative yet lol so my ideas are pretty basic.

Jennifer

I find that I usually have some kind of salad or some kind of chicken.

I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts when I can get them on sale. I grill them a few at a time and keep them in the fridge. Then for lunch, I slice one up while it is still cold, put a tablespoonful of pesto over the whole thing, and stick it in the microwave until hot. Add some brocolli (or not) and lunch is ready!

I also make casserole type things on occasion. This is great because they will last for several meals, and can be microwaved.

I love leftovers so I usually try to make more food for dinner than needed.

Putting together salads that are ready to go are great. I do this also- I get a tupperware and fill it with lettuce and other dry veggies like carrots. Then I chop up the other "wet" ingrediants and put them in a baggie or another tupperware.

Since you are going home you can chop up your veggies and put them in different containers and then when you get home just mix up a salad really quick. I find that my veggies stay good for three days so I chop up 3 days worth of veggies at a time.

I asked this same question when I first started! I agree that leftovers from dinner and a salad are the two easiest options for me at work.

Good luck and welcome!

I'm the least hungriest at dinner, so I usually take half of my dinner and save it for lunch. Or I have a salad with ham and cheese mixed in.

I buy one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens from the grocery store (about $8) and put it on some greens, or make chicken salad (mayo based) out of it or make a really quick soup out of it the night before. The soup is my favorite! I chop up some zucchini, onions, mushrooms or whatever veg I have on hand and toss it into some broth with some of the chicken. Takes about 5 minutes to chop everything up and a few more for the veggies to soften. It has to be easy to throw together or I can't seem to find time!

I have also been known to take any random assortment of low carb goodies I can find- a couple hard boiled eggs, some cheese, any chopped up veggies, pickles, pepperoni sticks... I keep a buffet of choices on hand all the time. I had a professor in university that always used to say "failing to plan is planning to fail." And I guess that has just stuck with me.

That soup sounds yummy! Do you just boil your veggies in the broth??

Yep, I just throw it all into the pot with the stock or broth or whatever I have on hand and let it go for a couple minutes. It's easy, tasty and satisfying on a cold day!