What do YOU eat for lunch? All dieters/lifestyles/plans welcome to answer not just CC
So Im sticking this in CC since thats what I do but if youve hit new post and stumbled across this thread please answer regadless of your program.
I do fine with breakfast oatmeal and yogurt its easy, low cal, its predictable and it taste good.
Dinner as long as I plan it out ahead of time Im fine. DH cooks a lot, we love to grill out, I love my crockpot. Im good with dinner.
BUT
I have an awful time finding a easy lunch option that is "healthy"
I am a SAHM but I stay pretty busy with my lil one and I just have no time/desire to fix lunch. I forget about it until Im so hungry Im ready to eat everything. So I need something easy or that I can prepare ahead of time I guess. I HATE the frozen meals so thats not an option. Frozen pizza is about the only choice there I can stand. And I just had 2 very small slices of freschetta cheese pizza (not that filling) and it was 370 calories. Yummy yes filling and healthy no.
I dont do salads either, yuck. I can handle some cooked veggies but raw veggies forget it.
So what do YOU eat? Whats your favorite lunch regardless prep time and whats your go to lunch if your in a hurry?
Just would like to hear what you eat for lunch and what works for you. You might inspire me!
Wow...so much. Here are some of my meals. The point of lunch is to try and stay under 350 in calorie range. I TRY to pick things that are filling, but sometimes it also just based on cravings:
1/2 Black Forest Ham Sub from Subway, loaded with veggies, no cheese and only spicy mustard
I make 4 portions of my dinner - 2 servings for me and my wife for dinner, 2 for lunch the next day. It's quick (no more time than to cook dinner in the first place), on plan, and helps to ensure I don't eat a very small lunch and get overhungry for dinner, then overeat (a problem I've had). 2 servings go on plates, 2 go into Tupperware, and I'm done (and eating a lovely, fully cooked hot meal at lunchtime!)
Well, I eat 6 times a day, and try to break things up into workable 150 to 250 calorie amounts of food. I also work, so most of my lunches and snacks are purchased as opposed to self-prepared.
Most days, I get a Chick-fil-A chargrilled chicken sandwich with extra pickles. I keep a bottle of red wine vinegar at the office, which I pour generously over the top part of the bun. I then position the lettuce, tomato and pickle slices on the vinegar soaked bun and top it with meat before throwing the bottom portion of the bun away. This yummy option is only 185 calories and very filling!
Sometimes, I will also pick up either a fruit cup or a side salad with light vinagrette to have as my afternoon snack (I usually top the salad with a few hard-boiled egg whites).
If I am making a grocery run, then I will often get a tsunami summer roll (which is not fried) at the grocery store. It comes with sweet chili sauce. The whole packet (2 rolls and sauce) is 401 calories. So I usually have half for lunch and the other half for my mid-afternoon snack.
Last option is subway, where I get 6-inch sub with most of the bread removed and enjoy turkey, cheese, loads of lettuce, pickles, tomato and vinegar (no oil). Because a lot of bread is taken away, I usually count this as 250 cal.
I usually try and eat left overs from dinner the night before, so i don't get tempted to eat a greasy burger and fries ... LoL. If i have to eat out tho, i'm with luckylindy ... I eat the 6" black forest ham from subway. Low in cals and fills u up
I have had great success planning and packing two small lunches for the work day. I eat the first around 11 or so and the second around 2 or 3, depending on my schedule and appetite. Often one is a mini portion of what I've cooked for dinner the night before. Typically, I will have a lighter first lunch - almost like a second breakfast - and a heartier second lunch.
First Lunch
Strawberries with yogurt
Banana
Celery with peanut butter
Small salad
Green pepper and tomato chopped up and sprinkled with parmesan
Hummus with baby carrots
Second Lunch
Sandwich half
Small portion of left-overs, which maybe stir-fried veggies and turkey or whole-wheat pasta with garlic and chickpeas or lean pork chop and white tuscan beans - or whatever I cooked last night!
Ground turkey patty with yogurt and green peppers
Larger salad with eggs, bit of cheese, tons of veggies
Hummus with a variety of veggies and sometimes pretzels
I mix and match these depending on the day, my pantry, my hunger level.
I've found the two mini lunches keeps my diet interesting and my energy level stable throughout the day. Plus, eating in the middle of the afternoon means I am not RAVENOUS when I get home from work and am better able to make a wise dinner choice.
And when I do make dinner, I always always always divide what I make into thirds and only let myself touch one of the thirds. The other two are for lunches.
today i am having a chopped salad with edamame, egg whites, tomato, onion, red/green peppers, and cucumber with some fresh peper and fresh squeezed lemon as dressing. mmmm. (approx 150 cals)
other days, i have greek yogurt and 2 cups of grapes. (approx 350 cals)
Here are lunches I've had throughout this week thus far:
Monday:
Italian Vegetable Soup from Acme (150 cals)
Half of a Pita (in which I dipped into my soup) (80 cals)
Pink Lady Apple (60 cals)
Tuesday:
Half a serving of Reduce Fat Wheat Thins (65 cals)
1 TBSP. of All Natural Peanut Butter on Half of a Pita (160 cals)
Pink Lady Apple (60 cals)
Today:
Simple Harvest Vanilla Almond Hot Cereal (160 cals)
Pink Lady Apple (60 cals)
I'm really horrible at cooking so most of the time I have all-ready prepared or easily prepared meals.
I love a baked potato with salsa and chunks of chicken!! It fills me up and usually by dinner time I'm still not hungry. Lol, which can be a problem cause my hubby usually is I too am a SAHM and by baby keeps me busy so I eat yogurts, rice cakes, baked potatos, low cal soup, a select few frozen dinners, leftovers, apples, and I found out that I can have a full size bagel with low fat cream cheese for only 250 cals. I eat anything that I can get in a hurry. I don't have time for things that take a while to prepare.
I eat differently than most people. I have dinner food for breakfast since that's when I'm the most hungry.
Then for lunch, it depends on whether I'm working or laid off.
When I was working, I'd take raw carrots, raw celery, and a piece of fruit to work and munch those throughout the day and have 2 servings of cooked veggies and a hard boiled egg for lunch. By dinnertime I wasn't even hungry because of grazing all day so I'd fill in any nutritional voids for the day for dinner and call it a day.
Now that I'm laid off I still eat my dinner food for breakfast but instead of grazing I plan specific lunches and dinners so lunch tends to be 2-3 servings of fruit and a serving of dairy, sometimes a slice of wheat bread with that if I'm hungry.
Chicken salad and sliced grapes= crunchy chicken salad wrap
You can put ANYTHING in a wrap. I like them for portablility. I am a college student and I usually eat on the run. Next semester I will have all of 15 minutes to have dinner if I want it before 8:30 at night.
What do YOU eat for lunch? All dieters/lifestyles/plans welcome to answer not just CC
