I'm stuck in a rut re: my office lunches. I've been rotating chopped salads (with varying ingredients and dressings), veggie platters with (healthy) dip (i.e. low cal ranch, hummus, and/or pico de gallo), and frozen diet meals, and I'm getting a little bored. What is quick and easy for you all to bring to your office jobs for lunch?
I'm a SAHM right now, but when I was working I always took leftovers from the night before. That's still what I eat, actually. I just eat it at home. I always make enough of a healthy dinner to have enough left for two lunches (one for DH and mine.)
One good thing about cooking dinner for 1 person is that you can make a bunch and then during clean up you portion it appropriately into tupperwear so you can grab a bowl the next morning, throw it into your lunchbag and have leftovers for lunch. Anything that can be made, say, on a sunday afternoon or evening and portioned into containers to grab in the morning is great! Easy means you stick to it.
I have also fallen in love with Flat Out flatbreads. lots of spinach, tomatoes, whatever veggies you like and some lunch meat and dijonnaise and you have a hearty lunch. Just portion the meat and measure the dressing. My friend loves Ezekial (spelling?) breads. She says they are in the frozen section. They have lots of good ingredients.
Nonfat yogurt. Laughing Cow Cheese wedges, fresh fruit, sugar free jello. sugar free pudding, hard boiled eggs, these are all things you can add to your lunch, all low calorie and will add a little variety.If you have access to a microwave you could take Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice frozen meals.
I'm a calorie counter and here are some of my quick lunches:
1) Turkey Sandwich (Sara Lee Honey Whole Wheat Bread (45 calories per slice), turkey, honey mustard and a slice of cheese) Under 250 calories. At times, I add a slice of turkey bacon. The Honey Wheat Bread is WONDERFUL!!!
2) Chicken Salad (Canned Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, 1/2 small container of greek yogurt & a few cranberries or raisins. I don't eat the whole mixture because it's a lot. I've tried it with a few crackers and even with a slice of low-cal bread. I love to eat it solo however- 250 calories)
3) Rotisserie Chicken (I purchase a good sized rotisserie chicken at the beginning of the week (Wal-Mart- $5.00). I slice the chicken throughout the week- mainly the breast/white meat portions. It makes for a great QUICK lunch, I may pair it with fruit or a vegetable for lunch).
4) Soup- I love the Campbell's soups. I have to watch the sodium but I have a new love for Chicken Noodle. So filling (Under 250 calories)
5) Rice Medley- Green Giant has a steamed rice, peas and corn medley that is really good and only 190 calories per serving (which is half of the bag). You place the entire bag in the microwave for 4 minutes and it's done. I add in a little chicken from the rotisserie I bought (see prior comment) and salt to taste. Great!!! I've also added soy sauce- sodium killer but it is soooo good and stops my craving for chinese food.
6) PIZZA: Di'Giorno has a 290 calorie pizza slice that is really good. It's plain tomato-basil pizza but good none the less.
Yes, cans of soup are a good one. I've just re-discovered those now that it's getting colder and I needed some comfort food. You can find many yummy varieties of canned soup for under 250cals for the whole can. I ate a delicious can of veggie and noodle soup for 160cals for lunch yesterday. The sodium really sneaks up on you though, but there are several low sodium varieties also that help a bit.
And on the subject of soup, I'm going to start making my own soups. That way I can control what's in it (quality/amount of every ingredient including salt). I generally like canned soup, but let's be honest, homemade is yummier. And you can make a ridiculously huge amount of soup at one time that isn't much more effort than any other meal. Pre-portion some out for the week, freeze the rest, use as needed.
Wraps or sandwiches with low carb/low cal bread or wraps. You can find bread or wraps at about 90-100cal/wraps or sammich, and then plus whatever you add on it. Load that bad boy up with veggies, some low cal but high taste mustard, and some chicken or turkey.
I've found that frozen diet meals just don't cut it for me. I lost a lot of weight eating diet meals when I first started, so I'm not going to knock them. But for 300 cals or so, you get that weenie little blob of salty subpar food. It just never filled me up or satisfied me, lol. I can eat a LOT of food for 300cal, and I will take volume over convenience any day of the week.
Frozen diet meals in the freezer, while not the best choice can save you a trip to McDonald's or some other quick but calorie laden place. I aalways have some on hand. Some are better than others.
Mkendrick, the way you feel about frozen meals is the way I feel about Campbell's canned soup. Yuck.
I pretty much make soup every Sunday and freeze it for that week (sometimes for more, depending on how big the batch is) in 1-cup servings. The night before, I pack my mid morning fruit, my soup lunch, and my mid afternoon snack (carrots/tomatoes w/hummus).
I'm a big fan of lean cuisines...good for quick and easy. The one I'm eating right now has 290 cals, 11 gr protein and 440 mg sodium. Not bad for a box meal.
I also pack an apple or fruit and a sweet snack (90 calorie chocolate chip granola bar)
I've also been making my own soups, or I grab a can of Progresso Light when I'm in a pinch. (170-200 cals for the entire can isn't bad, but the sodium kills me.)
I'm a big fan of the Kashi Go Lean Crunch protein and fiber bars, paired with a piece of fruit or a yogurt.
My coworker is always microwaving Boca burgers, and eating them with spinach or some other green vegetable. Quick, easy, and very low cal and high protein.
Finally (again, sodium is an issue here) I buy these nitrite-free 40 calorie turkey dogs (I think the brand is Applegate?) and eat them with Joseph's 60 calorie pita bread. Not bad at all!
I crave peanut butter, so on occasion I will make myself a PBJ on low-cal bread (Double fiber wheat-50 cal/ slice) with 1 Tbsp pb and a couple Tbsp sugar free jam, plus a piece of fruit, a baggie of baby carrots, and a granola bar for later.
I also have taken those individual servings of pb (150 cal) with apple and carrots for dipping, plus granola bar and usually another piece of fruit, but that usually leaves me a little hungry the rest of the day (though I'm willing to sacrifice a little to scarf up that much PB!).
I second turkey sandwiches. Usually I make mine on the low-cal bread or a pita, with a wedge of laughing cow light rather than mayo and some Grey Poupon creamy dijon, lots of veggies. Yummmm. Especially with some crunchy Klaussen pickle.
Have you seen the little Pringles single servings? They're 110 calories each, and it's a good serving of chips (or "crisps" I guess they're called now). Easy to grab and throw in with whatever else for the day.
I also really like those 100 cal bagels. They have one that's blueberry now, and if I feel like a sweet lunch, I'll do one of those with some FF cream cheese plus a salad.
Also lean pockets plus a salad is pretty good and feels junky.
I'm a fan of Kashi frozen meals. They don't have all unhealthy stuff that other frozen dinners have (like HFCS) and are full of wholesome goodness. My favorite is the Mayan Harvest Bake, but I like most of their dishes. I eat my lunch with a protein shake I make from powder that I also toss some vitamins into, and between the 330 cal meal and the 110 cal shake, that's plenty for lunch.
I don't know if a ton of you will like this, but I just put this one together a few days ago and it's SO GOOD! It's an excellent Shrimp Salad lettuce wrap or sandwich. You have to try it and see if you like it. It might not seem all too tasty just by looking at what's in it, but the taste is WONDERFUL!
This is for one serving:
*5 oz of cooked shrimp (either fresh raw or fresh frozen raw) I cook mine in a WOK on the stove with a little bit of pam and that's it. Allow shrimp to cool, remove tails and chop finely. I chop one shrimp into 4 smaller bits. Makes a nice amount.
*1 Vine tomato diced (make sure to pat dry the slices before dicing.)
*3 raw green onions chopped
*Dill seasoning (I use dried organic dill)
*Black peppercorn pepper (to taste, doesn't take much)
*1 to 1 1/2 tablspoon of lite mayo or fat free miracle whip (I use miracle whip)
Mix all together and allow it to chill in the fridge for a couple hours or for overnight. To me, it tastes better the next day once everything has blended together nicely. Then it's time to enjoy! Spread on a big leafy piece of romaine lettuce and roll lettuce. You have a tasty wonderful lettuce wrap! Or use for a sandwich! Toast 1 piece of 40-45 calorie bread, spread shrimp salad on toast, cut in half and enjoy!
I love some of these ideas! I don't typically need to make my lunch too much, but I will keep them in mind!
Aishah: The shrimp salad sounds delicious! I think I might have to try this! It seems like it would beat tuna out of the water! HA!!
As for me, it depends on what I need for the day. I try to have 2 servings of veggies with lunch, some good protein and some fat and some carbs.
Sometimes it's cottage cheese or yogurt. I too enjoy making homemade soups.
A quick "dinner" that could be a lunch:
1 small onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans of any kind
2T flour
8ounces water
spices such as: chipotle, chili powder, dried hot peppers, paprika, ground cloves, etc.
1T EVOO
Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic. Saute for another few minutes on medium heat.
Add the flour and some water. Keep stirring to make a paste.
Then add the tomatoes. Don't drain the excess fluid, add it in.
Drain and rinse the beans. Add this to the mixture.
Cook for another 5-20minutes, depending on how soon you want to eat!
This made 2 large servings or 4 smaller ones. But, it is very quick. It takes me less than 20minutes to make.
If I have the room I eat it with whole wheat pasta such as elbows. It's a thick stew/chilli. You can use other spices to make it more Italian style. The possibilities are endless with it.
But, it's high in protein and fiber. Low in fat, quick and tasty!
Office Lunch Ideas
