I posted this over in the food forum, but I have not gotten any responses and I really need some help. I thought I would try re-posting it here -- I hope that is okay!
I am having a hard time finding a nice variety of recipes for my lunches. I need healthy food... salad type recipes that I could fix a bunch of on Sunday and pack in individual containers for the week. I do not have easy access to a microwave during lunch so I need stuff that tastes good cold or room temperature. I pack my water for the day and a lunch container all into a 6 pack cooler. Do any of you have suggestions for these type of dishes that are both yummy and healthy?
PS - Is there anyway to prepare salads on Sunday and have them stay fresh until Friday? I have a hard time keeping salad fresh more than a couple of days in my fridge! What is the secret? Thanks
As for Salads I go to Costco and I buy a HUGE bag of romain lettuce - there is 6 in the bag. I make mine the night before or in the morning (everyday I make one small salad rather then trying to keep it fresh), I usually cut up about half a head and put it in a container, mix in my dressing and then top it off with Tuna, Chicken, Lunch Meat, Shrimp, or anything else left over in the fridge. My salad usually only has lettuce, sometimes maybe a bit of carrot of celery. Pretty borning.
Other things I like are Tuna sandwitch's made on 100% whole wheat bread, I use half a can of tuna (the smaller cans) and mix it a bit of salad dressing or mayo (1 tsp). One thing I noticed the other day is that Miracle Whip has less calories and fat then low fat mayo. They do make fat free but not everyone in my house likes it
I also make sandwitches with lunch meat, mustard, fat free kraft cheese slice, lettuce, and whatever else I can find. Another good one is mix up the tuna and bring crackers. Or sometimes I like crackers and smoaked oysters or sushi.
Anyway, the trick is to be creative. Sometimes I make some pretty weird stuff and it is not always good, hehe. Good luck
Baby spinach
Grilled chicken (no skin)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup nuts (pine nuts or almonds or any nut really)
pepper strips
baby carrots
grape tomatoes
balsalmic vinaigrette
Surimi salad
I have this for lunch sometimes, it is very good, just take lettuce, surimi, yogurt (unsweetened and fat free), onion, garlic powder, one mango or peach. Just cut the surimi in very small pieces, and the onion, mix it with the yogurt and garlic powder. In a bowl, put the lettuce, then the surimi mixture and top with the peach or mango (sliced). You can use for dressing olive oil or grape seed oil mixed with cranberry or raspberry vinager.
Tuna salad tacos
Use lettuce leaves (in spanish is called "lechuga orejona", the one used for Ceasar salads). Mix a can of tuna with 1 spoon of mayonaisse, one spoon of mustard, tomato, onion and coriander leaves. Make the "tacos" by filling the lettuce leaves with the tuna mixture. In fact you can make this kind of tacos with cooked chiken, arrachera or any kind of meat with a salsa, just substitute tortillas with lettuce leaves.
PS - Is there anyway to prepare salads on Sunday and have them stay fresh until Friday? I have a hard time keeping salad fresh more than a couple of days in my fridge! What is the secret? Thanks
I often send salad fixins with dh to work and they last all week. I chop, clean and DRY the lettuce. Drying it really helps keep it fresh longer. I put it in a tupperware-type bowl with a snap lid. If I send it in a ziploc bag it goes bad---dh has a bad habit of not closing bag well! I do the same thing with spinach if I send that.
I keep the dressing, tomatoes, mushrooms, and other toppings separate----if I put the stuff on the lettuce it becomes really soggy and gross after a few hours.
It doesn't take a minute for dh to throw a salad together. Sometimes I'll send grilled chicken strips which he uses within a day or 2. Also, he keeps canned and prepackaged chicken, salmon, and artificial crab meat to use. Those little packs are good for months!
If you're looking to not need a microwave at all, then salads and sandwiches are probably your best bets. I change up my sandwiches (I prefer sandwiches over salads)--change the bread (whole wheat, 12-grain, rye, etc.), change the cheese (I like provolone and Swiss best), change the meat (turkey, ham, turky pepperoni, chicken, etc.), change the dressing (low-fat mayo, mircale whip, fat-free thousand island dressing, butter and garlic powder, etc.), or sometimes I still act like a kid and just have peanut butter and jelly, or even peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
I'm wondering as I write this if I might try a cold stir-fry type dish instead of a salad. I don't care for many veggies, but when mixed with lots of chicken and some marinade, I really love stir-fry. A cold stir-fry wouldn't be much different from a salad, right? Just chicken, veggies, and sauce/dressing. Might be really good with that broccoli coleslaw mix I see in the produce coolers...hmm...
The others have given you some really good idea so far! I love using tortillas as a base for lots of different fillings. Faux egg salad made with Egg Beaters, mustard, a 1/2 tablespoon of regular Miracle Whip and celery is one of my favorites. Turkey slices with crunchy chopped celery, a tablespoon of lite ranch dressing and a tablespoon of walnuts is good, too. You could fix the filling ahead of time, then spread it on a tortilla the day you need it.
You can always get out of the "lettuce" salad rut and opt for other salads. Just try soy mayo instead of regular mayo, and whole wheat pasta. You can make tuna and chicken salad, pea salad, potato salad, macaroni...etc. etc. etc.
Like someone mentioned about tortillas...I get the low carb whole wheat wraps. You can turn them into about anything. One I love is to spread light garden vegetable cream cheese on one, add a slice of ham, some cucumbers, green peppers, onions and tomatoes and roll it up.
And there are always general vegetable salads without the lettuce. My favorites was a cucumber and tomato salad made with balsamic vinegar and seasonings.
for non salad and sandwich ideas, try hummus and pita bread and/or veggies, cottage cheese and crackers, yogurt and fruit... sometimes I bring a bunch of things like that to work and pick some for "snack" and others for "lunch"...
Tuna fish is always good, too! I will take a can of tuna with a little bit of low fat mayo and it is such a filling lunch. I use these low carb pitas that I found in the Publix deli that are great.. 130 cals, 9 grams fiber, 10 grams protein. Or take some leftover chicken breast and make some chicken salad.
The important thing with salads is they have to be dry completely to last the week. Store them with a dry paper towel to adsorb the moisture. I also keep the more watery ingredients-like peppers and tomatoes, separate and combine them either the morning of or the night before.
You can also make a mixed vegetable type salad that doesn't have lettuce...shredded or chopped green and red/purple cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, canned/rinsed/drained beans, chinese pea pods, and what ever else sturdy vegetable that doesn't go bad quickly-mix with a salad dressing you like.
Cheese sticks and Lowfat Laughing Cow cheese wedges and crackers are good also.
Need help with lunches please :)
