Hi. I am a freshmen who has lunch at 10:36 AM. Yeah, that stinks . But these past few weeks, I keep buying chicken fingers, curly fries, and the like from the cafeteria because I have NO IDEA what to bring to eat lunch. Sometimes I bring turkey sandwiches, but I hate turkey and the bread and I get hungry quicker, which ends with me bingeing at home. Also, I eat Sour Patch everyday and I need to stop.

May I please have easy-to-make, portable, low-cal lunch ideas that will fill me up until school ends (I get home 3:30 or later, depending on after-school activities, even though school ends 2:51). Or possibly a light lunch and a small snack during a later class...I don't know , all suggestions are welcome.

On a different note, I also need breakfast ideas. I am short on time in mornings and need a quick, healthy breakfast that will fill me up for three hours until lunch (school starts at eight, and I get there 7:30).

Oh, and please make sure your ideas don't have ingredients/foods that include pork/gelatin, because that's not allowed in my religion (I am not allowed to eat that).

BReakfast ideas....
any cereal like Koshi or even special K or Total... just watch your portion size and use 2% or skim milk
Fruit... I don't know how many days I grab a bannana on the way out the door
Dannon light and fit yogurt drinks... sometimes I pair with a fat free cheese stick
As for portable lunch ideas.. I am a full time student also and on days when I will be on campus late I take little lunch bags and fill them with healthy snacks like grapes, carrots, low fat cheese stick, rice cakes I will take a couple small servings and snack on them through the day.
You could also quickly throw together a salad and just keep a bottle of your favorite FF dressing in your backpack
If you have access to a microwave, I love lean cuisine meals for lunch!

For breakfast - I take breakfast bars (chewy granola peanut butter/chocolate chip - 120 cals) I toast with my CPU fan.... Nonfat sugar free yogurt. (I think Nancy's brand has no gelatin - look for the "Natural" brands)...if I take time to eat breakfast at home, I have oatmeal with a chopped apple...toss the apple and a 1/2 a cup of oatmeal and a cup of water in a cup and nuke for 4 minutes...you can add a little milk, cinnamon and splenda if you want.
For lunch I usually have a salad - I put the lettuce into a container and the dressing in another - then toss all together when it's lunchtime. I pair the salad with lean cuisines...I don't know if you can get to a microwave. The frozen meals are quite handy for variety and portion control. I have a lunch container that is insulated - it thaws a little - but cooks faster.
Also fruit for snacks in between...bananas, oranges, tangerines are quite portable...
Hope this helps!!! Once you get into the habit of planning ahead it gets easier!!

For breakfast try scrambled eggs or an omlette or something with protein in - that will keep you full till lunch.

For lunches I take sandwiches and stuff for the microwave like chicken stir-fry, also do jacket potatoes with cottage cheese. I bring salads too and I have a nice row of apples on my desk just waiting to be eaten!

I am pretty sure I don't have access to a microwave - can I do it beforehand in the morning and it will still be fresh at lunch? I like the salad idea. But what dressing should I use?

I will probably eat Gogurt or something for breakfast. It has only 80 calories. I will have to look at the sugar though.

I think that 80 calories for breakfast might be a little low?
How about some yogurt with some high-fiber, high-protein cereal mixed in, maybe with a piece of fruit?

As for the dressing to use -- whatever you like! Some people can't stand 'diet' or 'low fat' dressings, so they just measure and use a little regular. Others (me included) don't mind the diet/low-fat dressings, I still measure out a serving, though.
Alternately, try tossing it with a homemade dressings... experiment mixing mustard, honey or jam, vinegar, some garlic powder, a little oil.... whatever you'd like. I made a good one the other day with a little blueberry jam instead of honey (to give it a little sweet) with spiocy mustard and red wine vinegar and it was heavenly.

My breakfast is a homemade shake. Do you have access to a blender or food processor? I buy protein powder at the bulk food store and frozen fruit in big bags but canned is almost as good. Fruit, protein powder and water. Whiz, dump in a glass and carry it around with you, while you're fixing your hair and so on ....

You could try nuking a can of soup in the morning and taking it with you in a thermos. A good thermos should keep your soup nice an warm until lunch.

80 calories is low? Okay, then I like SusanB's idea - I can't really stomach anything in the morning, and I do have a blender. I love blueberries, so I will probably buy frozen blueberries (or maybe we have some...hmm). We have water, lol. And why the protein powder? I am not against it or anything, I am just curious. Nutrition is good .

Nobody answered my question about preheating the Lean Cuisine meals beforehand - will they still stay fresh after three hours or so? I don't want to buy the salads at school because they are huge, cost too much, and I have no idea how many calories they have. And they taste bad, my friend said. I will probably try a low-fat dressing, measured out of course with the salad.

I like the portable healthy snacks idea, luvshack. I love cheese, so a low-fat cheese stick would be excellent!

And sorry meginger, I don't like soup.

Thank you everyone! Hopefully someone will answer my question about preheating the Lean Cuisines.

Protein powder? Protein has satiety value. It keeps you feeling not-hungry longer and helps keep your blood sugar levels even. I believe in having some form of protein every couple of hours during the day.

With protein powder, you get maximum bang for your buck. It's low fat. You can use it so many ways and it's cheap.

About the lean cuisines ... I'm not in favour of processed foods. But that's me. You can warm things and take them to school in a thermos.

Low fat cheese, a baggie of cut veggies and some whole wheat crackers would be a great lunch.

Laughing Cow cheese and some Triscuits make a great snack. That gives you protein and whole grains. I pack up some lowfat plain yogurt mixed with honey and cinnamon and carry it to work separate from a baggie of Kashi Golean and a banana or some blueberries. That keeps me satisfied all morning. Bagged lettuce and little tiny tomatoes with some almonds or walnuts and a little dressing make a great little salad, too.

Yogurt with Kashi Golean is sooo good! It's hard to believe it's diet food.

What is Kashi Golean?

Hi again Claire. It's a fabulous cereal good for snacking too. Put it in a google search to learn more. It's pretty widely available in grocery stores.

Lean Cruisines are not fresh 3 hours later.