I'm getting into a rut with lunches....what's in your lunchbox every day for snacks and lunches? They have to be low point and filling because I eat breakfast and dinner with my son and husband every day. My son has some pretty severe food allergies (corn, soy, eggs, peanuts, nuts, beef, bananas, apples, maybe milk) so it's not really fair or feasible for me to make one meal for him and a whole separate meal for me so dinners tend to take up a lot of points.
My lunches are pretty wide in variety and this helps me. Since my point range is low (18-23) I try to find low-point foods that satisfy me. Here's some of the things I take for lunch:
Starkist tuna in pouch (2 pts)/mix with celery and a little mayo.
Generally I enhance what I take as my main "entree" with veggies. I've also brought in some frozen dinners like Lean Cuisine Sante Fe Style Rice & Beans (ww also has one similar), Angel Hair Pasta (Smart Ones), Spicy Penne Pasta (Smart Ones). I also like the Subway Veggie Delite sub (4 pts w/o cheese and 5 w/cheese). I steer away from the dinenrs that have meat because I'm picky about it so rather than to find a piece of "fat" I'd rather stick to the vegetarian meals. Hope this gives you some ideas!
I love making my lunch to take to work - I never used to! Here are some ideas:
I often bring a bowl of WW Garden Veggie soup and then a have a tortilla wrapped up with a slice of lowfat cheese and lots of lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and peppers.
I also have a couple of cans of Campbell's Healthy Request Soups in my office in case of emergencies - yes, they are high in sodium but you can't be perfect every day. They are filling and tasty.
I also like to make 3-bean salad at home and have half a pita with it. A serving of a high-fibre, low-fat bean salad is 3-4 points and the 1/2 pita is only 1 point.
Other ideas:
Perogies and sauerkraut - perogies 1 pt each, sauerkraut 0 point. Very filling.
Top each meal off with a big glass of water and piece of fruit.
Remember to fill yourself up a breakfast and lunch - if you deny yourself enough food to function you will tend to overindulge later in the day or evening.
Hmmm. In thewinter I always have veggie soup in my lunch. Then I usually have what I call my meatless taco salad - lots of lettuce, tomato, sometimes shredded cabbage, topped with 1/2 cup of seasoned black beans (from a can ) using salsa and ff sour cream for dressing. Total points: 1 for the beans. I usually have a warmed up 2 pt tortilla with this so 3 pts for the whole meal. End your meal with fruit or yogurt for another 1-2 pts.
I also sometimes eat the Smart ONes or Lean Cuisine, supplemented with veggies, salad or soup.
I don't care much for sandwiches, though I will sometimes have a Subway turkey sandwich if I've forgotten my lunch or have to run errands at lunchtime.
Leftovers are always a quick and easy lunch too esp if you have access to a microwave.
Not only do I eat better for me (and points wise) lunches when I bring them from home, it's cheaper.
Is it just me, or do you get a lot of people comment on the lunches that you take to work? I mean, I work at a call center and the majority of the people who work there are a bit over weight ( come on, sitting 8 hours a day really attributes to this!), and when I bring my lunch everyone feels the need to comment. For instance, if I bring say a fruit salad and a veggie burger people say " How can you eat like that every day," or " How can you eat like a rabbit everyday." It really gets aggrivating! I am constantly having to defend what I eat from those poking french fries and a big mac in their mouths. Plus, I have lost a lot of weight. When I started at this job I weighed 185 lbs, but now I am down to 135. I switched departments and now I work upstairs in my building, and people who didn't know me before when i was heavy are the worst about commenting on my lunch. THey say, " you are already thin, why eat like that?" or " you have to stop eating like a thin person because you already are." These people just don't realize how hard it is for me to maintain. I will have to watch what I eat for the ReST of my life!!! It is just aggrivating.
People are always commenting on my lunches as well. However, they are saying things like "you always eat healthy," "Wow, that really looks good...I won't take the time to fix that for myself!" How sad they don't think they are worth a healthy lunch! It helps me stay on track.
I try to buy stuff at the beginning of the week to sustain me at work.
1. mozz cheese sticks
2. light turkey meat (1 lb packages)
3. salsa
4. cottage cheese
5. fruit (right now little tilton apricots )
6. frozen vegetables: good to add to frozen meals
(usually only in winter)
on the way in to work:
I pick up salad, I'm super lazy salad maker and am willing to pay someone else to do it
From home:
left overs: pasta, enchiladas, beans and rice
all can be supplemented with cottage cheese and
salsa
I wish I liked tuna better, that would work wonderfully.
2 pt sandwich (fat free bologna, mustard on lt bread)
2 pt granol bar
1 pt grapes
1 pt apple
I do better if I eat a little here and there....a granola bar, then 1/2 a sandwich, then an hour later some grapes, then later on the rest of the sandwich then maybe the apple on the way home so I don't go home starving!
I also in the winter do lots of split pea and lentil soup. Those are super filling and low point options!