Ok... I work in an office setting, traditional 8-5 setting and I am running out of things to bring for lunch. I am tired of frozen dinners and sandwiches. I am also not too big of a fan of big salads either, they kind of make my stomach hurt. I have access to a toaster oven and a microwave. You guys were such a help with breakfasts... please help me!

Thanks!!!!

Veggie burgers (2 if you're on purple or red) on a 4" whole wheat pita (open faced - one half for each burger) w/BBQ sauce and few rings of purple onion. Add a salad and some fruit.

Make extra food at dinner to bring in planned leftovers.

Try the 7-layer salad in the cookbook (I posted it in the recipe thread and scaled it to a single serving)

I like cottage cheese and fresh fruit for lunch. Maybe some lot fat crackers with it.

What about raw veggies and dip.

I have been doing a lot of fruit smoothies for lunch, and a cheese stick.

I used to do an apple and banana with PB a lot. It was quick and easy and very little clean up. Now I'm avoiding PB like the plague because I can't just eat it in moderation and I think it also stalled my weight loss. So if you have better control then I did you could give that a try.

Now I do a lot of salads or leftovers like Cassi said.

Amy - have you gone back and looked at any of the menu threads? I haven't posted in a while, but if you look back in some of the previous months, you may find good ideas.

Lunch today for me was 2 cups of lettuce topped with taco meat (I prepared lean turkey meat with a bit of taco seasoning added), a dab of low fat sour cream, and about 1/4 cup of fresh salsa. It was yummy. Starting tomorrow I'll have to measure since I'm doing Deb's challenge and measuring it required....

I know LeaAnn is a big fan of tuna in the pouches.....make Cassi's famous tuna fish spread.

Don't forget all those carb craver ideas in the book (I always forget about those): garden pasta salad; PBJ sandwich; veggie stir fry with rice.

Also, I'm also a fan of peanut butter, celery stick, string cheeses. Make sure you have a piece of fresh fruit...nice crunchy apple

On the sandwich thing, don't forget that you can jazz that up too:

Try LaTortilla Factory tortillas or 4" whole wheat pita instead of regular bread. Try a different cheese or spread.

If you usually have turkey on wheat w/rf mayo then try turkey wrapped in a tortilla w/1T whipped chive cream cheese and some sprouts, onions, lettuce, etc.

Add some lime juice to some rf mayo (1/4 lime + the zest to 3oz rf mayo) and some cheddar or monterey jack cheese for a southwest sandwich/wrap

How about ham or turkey w/ some rf swiss (either the Kraft 2% or look in the deli section at the pre-sliced meats and cheeses) and honey mustard, dijon mustard or dijonnaise.

Low sodium roast beef w/horseradish sauce or add some regular horseradish to rf may.

Spread your sandwich with the different flavored Laughing Cow cheeses.

Spread the Laughing Cow on slices of deli meat and roll up.

I don't have much time between shifts but this week I've been making something that is fast, and really fills me up. 1 whole wheat tortilla wrap, brushed with light Italian dressing, a romaine leaf, 1/4 cucumber sliced thin and long, 2 oz of albacore tune (or other lunch meat) with some lemon juice and pepper and then roll it up!

I did a quesadilla (sp) yesterday - 1 LaTortilla, turkey, cheese - I put the tortilla flat on the toaster oven tray, sprinkled cheese and turkey folded over and turned on the toaster oven for about 10 min.
I topped with some Franks Hot Sauce - Yummo.

I LOVE tuna pouches - I can eat it plain- I actually prefer it that way. So I dump that on a plate with some cucumber sliced up or baby carrots, apple/apple sauce and RF Wheat Thins. (1P, 1S, 1V, 1F)

Or I do left over meat (chicken, pork, beef) and the same above - I always cook extra meat. And I LOVE green beans - so I bring those too. I toss them in a gladware with a pat of ICBINF light and toss in the microwave at work, I'll have my left over meat with that.

I'm not a salad person - a few bites I can handle, but more than that they start getting "gross" to me. I NEVER used to eat them, so this is progress. But they're usually not in my menu plan.

Amy I can barely stomache salads either. Just something about 3 cups of lettuce to get one vegetable makes it seem impossible.

I do what Chrissy does and use leftover meat most days for lunch. I'll grill up enough one night for 2 or 3 lunches. Then I'll just toss some sliced cucumber or peppers into a gladware to add some crunch to the meal. If I'm not doing the leftover thing it's deli meat with sliced veggies on the side or the laughing cow lite cheese wedges spread onto crackers. I actually find a starch mid day typically slows me down, thus I try to avoid it if possible. I have 3 months worth of lunches saved if you need any inspiration.

I had the same thing (sans sour cream)! It is my absolute favorite right now!!

I do the tuna pouches a lot, too. I'm on Red and I have a really hard time getting in all my veggies, so I put a cup of fresh spinach in my mini chopper and process it until it is finely chopped. Sometimes, I even put 2 cups of spinach in. You'd be surprised at how little that is once it's processed. I stir it into the tuna with either a wee bit of LF mayo or FF ranch or catalina dressing. I've had it on a sandwich, but it's good right out of the bowl, too!

i do cottage cheese with kashi crackers sometimes, also, i do almonds as a protein with baby carrots and an apple, you could also do a slim fast and string cheese with some type of veggie or fruit. also, i do the carb cravers pb&j sandwich or bagel w/cream cheese sometimes for lunch. i make tons of smoothies with peanut butter/bananas (but i don't know if you have access to a blender at work).

(sorry no meat ideas, since i'm a vegetarian) but there's tons of alternative protein options.

Try a mini appetizer tray - rolled up deli meat, raw veggies and RF cheese.

Every other week I drink a slimdown for lunch and then snack on 2-3 (raw) veggie servings.

Sometimes I mix it all up and eat my breakfast for lunch.

I do not have a whole lot to add but this week a few times I had a sandwhich on a mini whole wheat bagel it just jazzes up the sandwhich a little I think vs. plain old bread. I have also been having 1/4 cucumber sliced in place of chips (crunch factor) or and a fruit. Today I had a LC, cucumber slices and strawberries. I really agree with the leftovers it makes it easy the next morning when lunch is ready to go. GL hope next week is better.

Here are some other ideas from a handout I was given -

Baked apple with peanut butter - core an apple, microwave with a small amount of water and then add your serving of peanut butter to the baked apple - delish
tuna melt - 1/2 English muffin, tuna, 3 oz tuna and 1 oz reduced fat cheese in the microwave
fruit and yogurt parfait - yogurt serving, high fiber cereal like fiber one, a fruit of two of your choice depending on your plan.

Since I am on gold with lites and I have only 2 proteins a day, the yogurt parfait is my staple for one of my meals. I switch it around - somedays, breakfast or lunch and even dinner. It keeps my body guessing.

Lynn

Lynn