I've only recently started packing a lunch for work. Up until I started trying to lose weight, it was far easier for me to go to the store and buy whatever to eat (whatever usually resulted in something bad).
I try now to eat something that I've made, so I know what's in it and I know how many calories are in it. I like a filling lunch, because I find that I get really hungry around 3-3:30pm; with a bigger lunch, this usually becomes less of a problem.
I just wanted to know what people like to pack for lunches.
My favourite, for about the past month, has been a spicy ranch salad:
- your basic garden salad with whatever you want in it (I make a HUGE amount of salad. HUGE)
- 1 tablespoon of fat free ranch dressing
- Frank's Red Hot Sauce (I tend to be EXTREMELY liberal with this. I'm a big fan of spice!)
- 2 tablespoons of salsa
- I like to add soy meatballs that have been cut up. It makes it like a taco salad, plus the protein helps get me through the afternoon.
Then I usually have something sweet to go with it, like a 100 cal chocolate bar or something. You've got to treat yourself, right?
As much as I like this salad, I know if I have it every day it's going to get boring. Any delicious lunch suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Try a good sandwich. Wrap it individually and then put it together when you're ready to eat it though (it tastes better that way). Pack some whole wheat bread and some type of fresh cut deli meat and PILE ON THE VEGGIES!! Lettuce, tomatoes, avocados... the list of possibilities is endless and you can mix and match so you'll never be bored! ^_^ You could try a whole wheat pasta with some type of sauce with herbs too, just heat it up in the microwave or something near lunchtime. You could take bananas or apples, any type of fruit. There's lots of things. ^_^
Egg salad with chopped onion, chopped celery and grated carrots (easy to grate rather than chop. A little bit of mayo and lemon juice. I eat it usually with 100% whole grain trisquits.
Also a big fan of tuna salad. Pretty much the same as the egg salad! Mostly eaten with melba toast though.
I also like to make the tuna salad with zesty italian dressing instead of mayo sometimes. Usually adding in chopped up pickles. This is really good with lettuce, like use the lettuce like you would pita bread
My lunches are usually around 400 calories. I LOVE the 45 calorie bread and usually have a big sandwich made with deli chicken or turkey, a slice of cheese, spicy brown mustard, tomato, lettuce and onion. The whole sandwich is around 210 calories. About once a week I make a huge batch of stir-fried veggies, (squash, cabbage, onion, tomato, thinly sliced carrots, garlic, olive oil, seasonings) It's around 50 calories for a cup. I'll have 2 cups of that with my sandwich and I'll be stuffed, so my last 90ish calories I save for around 2 or 3 pm and have a big apple or other fruit in season.
I mix it up a lot, but like you mentioned, I eat a big serving of veggies at lunch. I think I invented the "volumetrics" thing long before it became popular...LOL
Wow, Lori Bell, it sounds like you and I have the same lunch!
I also eat around 400 calories for lunch, consisting of a sandwich (which I vary each week) and 6 oz. of broth-based soup. At 3pm everyday I have an apple and a small yogurt.
My favorite sandwich is thinly sliced chicken breast on a small whole wheat pita, with cucumber, tomato, red pepper hummus, and baby spinach. yum!
I usually make a sandwich: whole grain bread (90-110 calories per slice), 4 slices turkey/ham, 1 slice cheese. I add tomato, lettuce, and avocado sometimes. I eat a piece of fruit with it. Maybe pasta salad: whole wheat pasta with zesty italian dressing.
Or I'll have soup with a roll on the side and a salad. I'm usually working during lunch so I need something quick and easy.
I normally take leftovers as my lunch (waste not want not!) If there happen to not be any leftovers, I'll make a sandwich or something that is quick to put together. Sometimes, if I know there won't be any leftovers, I'll put a few potatoes in the oven while making dinner. Then I'll pack a baked potato and pour chili on it to reheat at work.
I also pack snacks. I can't go from lunch until dinner without getting hungry or from breakfast to lunch for that matter. I typically eat breakfast at 7am, have a snack at 10am-ish, eat lunch between 12 and 1pm, have another snack around 3pm-ish, and then dinner around 6pm. I like to pack things that are around 100-150 calories for snacks like: peanut butter on whole grain crackers, a boiled egg, a small handful of nuts, fruit, veggies and hummus, etc. There is nothing wrong with eating between meals as long as it's healthy and planned well.
Last edited by zenor77; 01-18-2009 at 12:48 PM.
Reason: grammar
I've made sandwiches on past weight loss attempts, using lite bread (1 WW point for 2 slices), the Healthy Choice deli meats, which you can use lots of, tomato, lettuce - sometimes lite mayo, sometimes not. It's a filling sandwich. But I LOVE the Lean Cuisine meals, and there are alot of them worth 4-7 points. Maybe I should post somewhere else with, but I'm new - please forgive me if I've posted incorrectly.
Oh, I knew you guys would have great ideas! Thank you so much (I have to say, the more I think of egg salad and avocado, the more excited for lunch I become!).
I'm a big fan of lunch time soup as well. Tomato is my hands down favourite.
Quote:
But I LOVE the Lean Cuisine meals, and there are alot of them worth 4-7 points.
NaidaPatata, you actually raised a good point: I was VERY big on frozen dinners, and I know some are obviously worse than others, but I never really had a clear idea of which ones were seriously good. It's nice to know that Lean Cuisine actually lives up to their name.
My favorite lunches are leftovers! Stir fry with protein and brown rice. A nice hearty soup like Minestrone, an occasional Lean Cuisne or Weight Watchers Smart One. Or something from the slow cooker. Tomorrow nights dinner is gonna be a Southwestern Chicken recipe with steamed brown rice with plenty of leftovers since I'm single! I found a magazine in the supermarket the other week and had to buy it. It's all about healthy recipes and it gives nutritional info as well!! It had a web site that may be helpful tasteofhome.com (I'd post it as a link but I don't have enough posts yet.) There are so many recipes that I want to try!
My favorite is a whole wheat tortilla roll up with hummus, baby spinach, vegetables, and sometimes turkey or ham added. Then I crumble 1 square inch of feta cheese throughout filling.
Another favorite combo is a green Granny Smith apple with a slice of swiss cheese. These two flavors are wonderful eaten together for some reason.
I too enjoy the Lean Cuisines when I want a hot meal.
I pack my lunch every day for school, and I find that soup will keep me full! Anything low-sodium from Campbell's is usually good with me. Also some carrot sticks and fat free ranch, as well as applesauce or fat-free, sugar-free Jello! What really keeps me full is a plain, salt-free rice cake with lowfat peanut butter!
Favourite Lunch ideas
