packed lunches

redbristol

as a non meat eater who only occasionally eats fish I struggle for variety of packed lunches for work and normally end up taking cheese sandwiches after a run of boring salads. Cheese and bread are my downfalls to losing weight so any advice will be greatly appreciated. Having woke up struggling to breathe the other night I MUST get this diet to work this time Thank you

melonaulait

Make something with
tofu
chick peas
kidney beans
white beans
broccoli
veggie patties
soy sausages
avocado
nuts

Like any of these? Definitely more variation than plain old bread n cheese! I'm the same as you, I only occasionally eat fish and no other meat.

Also one of my staple foods is... bread and cheese.

Sued0nim

Have you got a microwave? If not invest in a wide necked meal thermos ...some you can pop in the microwave in the morning and it will be hot hours later

Then I'd suggest stews and soups Eric


Edit: oh heheheh.. Eric is my crapPad's autocorrect for etc

KeepingFit4Me

How about a chickpea salad - chickpeas with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion, lettuce etc.. dressed in a tahini sauce, Humus and Falafel balls baked in the oven with 1cal spray oil? You would need to wrap the falafel separate to stop them going soggy but all this could be done the night before!

I've only been doing this for 14 days so not sure about the caloric value but it must be better than a cheese sandwich!

Sued0nim

KeepingFit4Me wrote: »

How about a chickpea salad - chickpeas with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion, lettuce etc.. dressed in a tahini sauce, Humus and Falafel balls baked in the oven with 1cal spray oil? You would need to wrap the falafel separate to stop them going soggy but all this could be done the night before!

I've only been doing this for 14 days so not sure about the caloric value but it must be better than a cheese sandwich!

Nope, not necessarily

AMSmit88

Do you have a microwave at work? I'm an omnivore but love a veggie lunch every now and then. At the weekend I made my own cream of tomato soup and ratatouille which are seeing me through the beginning of the week. Then I'm looking at making a lentil dahl for the rest of the week. I like hot lunch

redbristol

Thanks for all the replies so far seems to be a good community good luck to you all on your weight loss paths

Monklady123

I usually take what my kids call a "little bits" lunch. This is my basic list, then I take three or four things from the list making sure I have enough protein....

-- hard boiled egg
-- beans
-- cheese -- I like to buy the light Baby Bel cheeses from Costco and then I can just toss one into my lunch box
-- lunch meat (I know you said you don't eat meat, I'm just listing what I bring sometimes)
-- salad
-- cut up veggies
-- hummus or guacamole to dip veggies in (I buy the individual servings of both at Costco)
-- yogurt
-- fruit -- fresh or canned, depending on what it is and what season it is
-- crackers
-- rice cakes
-- dried fruit (figs and dates especially, neither of which are usually available fresh)
-- leftovers
-- something frozen that I can heat in the microwave -- for example, I recently bought some low-fat burritos from Costco. They're okay. I probably won't buy them again unless my kids ask for them but they make an okay lunch.
-- soup

redbristol

been on this site a few times but the lost the motivation the fact that I have now started talking to others on here seems to be a good driver how often do you all get on the scales to check your progress

Sued0nim

redbristol wrote: »

been on this site a few times but the lost the motivation the fact that I have now started talking to others on here seems to be a good driver how often do you all get on the scales to check your progress

That's personal choice really and depends on your psyche

I like to weigh daily, but then I have no issue with natural fluctuations and I map my weights in trendweight com so I get a trend line and extrapolation

I'm in maintenance, have been since feb and still log every day

veganbaum

http://happyherbivore.com/

That site has some good, simple recipes. I like the "Tuna" Salad - very simple to make. Hawaiian Chickpea Teriyaki is also very good (can use hot sauce in place of szechuan). The chickpeas alone from the Hawaiian recipe are good if you don't want to do the entire recipe. She does low fat with her recipes, but that's easily tweaked if you need more calories or need to up your fat intake.

Scrambled tofu alone or as a burrito is easy. I add lots of veggie to mine. You can try adding black salt (it's actually pink and smells like sulfur) to make it a little egg-y tasting if you want.

Gidgitgoescrazy

Have you tried chopping your salads ? I have found that if you chop them really well, they seem to be more substantial, and much more flavorful. I make mine with lettuce, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cucumbers, onions, then I also add Hemp seed, sunflower seeds, almonds, and sometimes cheese. I have an Ulu I use, and it makes chopping the salads super easy and fast. I find I also need less dressing when I chop it to bits.

janejellyroll

KeepingFit4Me wrote: »

How about a chickpea salad - chickpeas with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion, lettuce etc.. dressed in a tahini sauce, Humus and Falafel balls baked in the oven with 1cal spray oil? You would need to wrap the falafel separate to stop them going soggy but all this could be done the night before!

I've only been doing this for 14 days so not sure about the caloric value but it must be better than a cheese sandwich!

If you have a recipe for tahini, hummus, and falafel that is much lower in calories than a cheese sandwich, please share.

threadmad

redbristol wrote: »

been on this site a few times but the lost the motivation the fact that I have now started talking to others on here seems to be a good driver how often do you all get on the scales to check your progress

I weight every day, because weighing once a week sent me into a tizzy if I didn't lose. After 5 weeks of daily weighing, I seem to be on a 10-day cycle - fluctuate 2 or 3 lbs up or down, then a 3 or 4 lb drop for a day, sometimes 2. Then the fluctuation begins again. As long as the Trendweight range keeps going down, I'm happy, and no more tizzy fits.

jeepinshawn

garden burgers? Pasta?

Kimegatron

I have found that bringing the same exact lunch (repetition doesn't get boring when it's something I find delicious) to work helps. I make a falafel sandwich with 2 falafels, sometimes 1 depending on my calories for the day, 3 servings of hummus, chopped onion, and tabouleh in a whole wheat pita pocket. I LOVE FALAFEL. On Mondays, I will usually bring a leftover dinner dish from the weekend, as I hate to waste food.

UncaToddly

I work 10 hour days driving forklift in a printing company and rarely take breaks or lunch (in the sense that I go sit in a breakroom.... I mean, I sit for a living). Since the bariatric center recommended a low carb/high protein diet since I am Insulin Resistant and was 368# at 6' too I started packing lunches I can keep on my lift and just eat while I am working. I am also supposed to eat every 2 or so (supposed to be the optimum for the way the body cycles).

Within an hour of getting up I have breakfast that is typically either 2-3 ounces of lean ham or a 2/3 egg white omelette with varying stuff in it but always colby-jack cheese. Other times it is greek yogurt and piece of string cheese. I start work at 4am and my packed lunch/snacks look like the following:

6am Break - 1 piece of String Cheese

8am Break - 1 hard boiled egg (I make & peel them ahead of time so they're ready-to-eat - 2 per snack size bag)

10am Lunch - Occasionally I will take a single portion of leftovers from dinner but more typically it is either Fruity Greek Yogurt, 1 Hard Boiled Egg and 1 piece of string cheese or I will swap one of the Pure Protein bars in rather than the yogurt.

12pm Break - 1 piece of String Cheese.

It isn't exciting, but it is working. The hardest part is getting used to the idea of eating simply to keep my body working optimally rather than "OMG, someone brought donuts!!! EAT 1 and don't let anyone see you horde 2 more when everyone leaves!"

I have to admit though, that chickpea salad sounds good.

And as for weighing? I weigh myself every weekday morning on the same scale at work. I would weigh myself on it during the weekends but they are being evil and not letting me get any overtime. <grrrrrrrr>

kshama2001

redbristol wrote: »

as a non meat eater who only occasionally eats fish I struggle for variety of packed lunches for work and normally end up taking cheese sandwiches after a run of boring salads. Cheese and bread are my downfalls to losing weight so any advice will be greatly appreciated. Having woke up struggling to breathe the other night I MUST get this diet to work this time Thank you

What do you have for kitchen facilities at work?

Veggie burgers
Leftovers
Tuna fish sandwiches on your fish days.

krithsai

Chickpea and spinach stew, rice and lentils with vegetables, whole grain pasta with vegetables and homemade sauce, hard boiled eggs, steamed edamame and vegetables, tofu scramble with veggies and kale, black bean and vegetable burrito with salsa and avocado,quinoa pancakes are some of my lunches. I'm a vegetarian, btw.

ASKyle

Gidgitgoescrazy wrote: »

Have you tried chopping your salads ? I have found that if you chop them really well, they seem to be more substantial, and much more flavorful. I make mine with lettuce, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cucumbers, onions, then I also add Hemp seed, sunflower seeds, almonds, and sometimes cheese. I have an Ulu I use, and it makes chopping the salads super easy and fast. I find I also need less dressing when I chop it to bits.

This is a great tip- I enjoy my salads so much more when they are chopped, it's almost like I'm not eating a big leafy salad.

OP, where do you live? Do you have a Whole Bowl or a Cafe Yum? I go to Whole Bowl here in PDX for lunch sometimes, it's just brown rice, black and red beans, olives, salsa, sour cream, sprinkle of cheese, cilantro and a garlic sauce. The big bowl is 597 calories.

melonaulait

krithsai wrote: »

Chickpea and spinach stew, rice and lentils with vegetables, whole grain pasta with vegetables and homemade sauce, hard boiled eggs, steamed edamame and vegetables, tofu scramble with veggies and kale, black bean and vegetable burrito with salsa and avocado,quinoa pancakes are some of my lunches. I'm a vegetarian, btw.

Give me all of it! Sounds amazing...

brb2008

redbristol wrote: »

been on this site a few times but the lost the motivation the fact that I have now started talking to others on here seems to be a good driver how often do you all get on the scales to check your progress

I feel like joining in the community discussions is really helping me too! I bet your lunch problem can be solved with pre-planning on evenings or a weekend. Make a big batch version of something that fits your tastes and needs (I am an omnivore and honestly dont know a ton of vegetarian options to give ideas). This weekend I made a huge pot of a vegetable soup for example, and I portioned out 2oz servings of chicken to go with it. Idk if a soup could fill you up but maybe if you can add in some beans or tofu you might have a good option! Another thing I used to do actually that is vegetarian is a kind of coconut curry stir fry, I never really had a recipe just some minced ginger, coconut milk, red curry paste, and soy sauce in a sauce form cooked with broccoli, carrots, and lentils!

Basically anything you can cook once and transport to work is a great option to reduce scrambling for something on your way out the door or settling for boring options.

jeremynotsofat

Lately my go-to has been something I logged on MFP as "Lunch Sandwich." It's always about 500 calories. I supplement that with a simple salad of spring mix. The dressing varies depending on my calories that day: if I need a more substantial lunch I throw in some olives or cheese. But I have to be careful with the cheese: I spent 25 years not knowing what a reasonable serving size looks like!

redbristol

thank you all for your suggestions and it has certainly kept me away from the dreaded cheese sandwich because like others I can not judge a portion size of cheese normally the bigger the better. This community has motivated me I have now religiously logged my diet for 5 days and not touched cheese today on the scales I was 3 lb lighter Thank you all

choppie70

One of my favorite quick lunches is to take a garlic/quinoa veggie burger and some of the steam in the bag rice with mixed veggies in it and throw it in a microwavable container.

I also like taking a slice of turkey and putting it between a lick slice of swiss. I use the swiss as the "bread". I am not low carb, but it reduces the calories and I don't have the urge to put mayo on it without the bread!

I take a fancy lettuce blend and then I add one of the Sargento Balanced Breaks snack packs to it for flavor and crunch. The dried fruit helps give it flavor so I don't need much, if any salad dressing.

I also try to have a serving of fruit, and a light cheese stick.

I do take the occasional left over and reheat it in the microwave.

Looncove_Farm

Egg salad sandwich or Tuna sandwich.
Salad with walnuts, cheese, and raisins,,,I personally like this.
Leftovers from the night before.
Baked potatoes, fried onions with a bit of sour cream (if you have a microwave) and a chunk of hard cheese.
Fruit salad with cream.
Nuts, nuts nuts. I love nuts, lol.
Soup and crackers with a little cheese.
Cheese and crackers and a bowl of grapes.
These are some of my lunches on a normal day. I live and work on a farm so im home a lot but very very busy, so im not in the house a lot for extended periods of time.

Happy day to ya!

Becca

TrickyDisco

Hello and congrats on your 3lb loss, a great result in a few days! In the UK too, trying to lose a few more pounds after a 2 stone weight loss followed by a small gain. I don't eat meat or dairy, my lunches could easily be packed up the night before if no time in the mornings. I have a wholemeal sandwich with either peanut butter, yeast extract, home-made lentil or lemon chickpea spread, then have a few of each of the following - dried apricots, almonds, walnut halves, prunes, pumpkin seeds (I have about 10g of these), a few slices of sweet pepper and celery and an apple or banana. Nuts and seeds are small but calorie-dense and a source of protein and unsaturated fats, fruits a source of fibre, vitamins and natural sugars. Could wrap things like these up in foil and leave in fridge overnight, could add a carton of natural fruit juice or a yoghurt too maybe?

katie1318

Shirataki noodles, stir fry veggies, and soy sauce. Prep the night before!

Homemade Kale chips, Greek yogurt, and reduced calorie bread with vegan cheese sandwich (satisfies my bread/cheese craving)

Can of light sodium soup, side salad (watch the dressing!)

Cauliflower rice (lots of recipes on Google!), black beans, spinach, salsa in a burrito bowl.

Hope this helps

Need2Exerc1se

beans and rice
vegetarian chili
tofu stir fry
greek yogurt with fruit
hummus with veggie strips or crackers
bean burrito
avocado and black bean taco
fish taco

Kuruschka

Soya sausages
Quorn fillets
Halloumi salad
veg stir fry
Fish cakes and salad
Soup

Kullerva

I need to eat fast at work (I usually work over lunch) so I need my lunch no-mess and no-fuss. Here's what I usually eat:

Peanut butter wrap (I don't eat much meat)
Cheese stick (50 cal.)
Low-sugar yogurt
piece of fruit (apple, strawberry, pear, etc.)