Best lunch meal plans ?

sierramist9

I'm trying to make myself a week worth of lunches, but I need something healthy! I just don't know where to start. Any opinions?

Need2Exerc1se

I find the easiest thing is just to bring leftovers from my healthy dinners. When dinner is over, place leftovers in a container and lunch is ready for the next day. Easy peasy.

crawforgarten

With my limited schedule I've learned to make massive meals on the weekends and eat leftover's all week. Sure it gets repetitive, but it gets the job done. After I cook, i portion the leftovers into 4 cup pyrex dishes that I can bring to work and toss in a microwave.

Generally I eat about two cups of steamed veggies, 6-8oz of meat and a dinner roll.

And FYI pasta sauce on steamed broccoli is amazing.

Lounmoun

I have dinner leftovers, sandwich or a salad for lunch.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10270725/things-to-go-in-salads/p1

Some foods you could pop into a lunch- hard boiled eggs, fruit, vegetables, hummus, cheese, cottage cheese, muffin, gelatin, nuts, yogurt

dklibert

A pot of soup goes a long way for my lunches. You can make it all veggie or include a protein. Salads in a jar is another way to make lunches ahead of time. Stuffed baked potatoes are good too. I use things like salsa, cheese and plain yogurt or bbq chicken, or broccoli and cheese. I like shattered sushi bowls too. I make it sort of like a California roll/salad.

soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2015/09/stuffed-zucchini-soup.html
soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2015/06/lemon-chicken-orzo-soup.html
soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/06/california-roll-salad.html
soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2016/07/masonable-mondays-1-sushi-inspired.html

Check out the Domestic Geek and the Fit Couple Cooks youtube channels for meal prep ideas. I have liked every recipe I tried from the Domestic Geek. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLziprGSUFGYRTyyekMqcBiYsTJCwR6Q3X

UpEarly

It's just me and my husband, so most meals I cook for dinner give us two nights' worth of food. So, I don't have dinner leftovers for lunch. I usually do a big batch of cooking over the weekend, so I have good stuff for lunch all week. Now that the weather is cooler, soups and stews are a favorite. I make big pots that give me 6-10 servings. I freeze it in individual containers, and after a few weeks I have a good variety of frozen soup servings to choose from.

I also like cooking a batch of jasmine rice. I'll put a scoop of rice and some shredded rotisserie chicken in a freezer container. Then I mix up the toppings on the chicken and rice with different sauces/salsas, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole etc. The chicken and rice freezes beautifully and it's nice to mix the meal up with different toppers.

In warmer weather, I chop huge batches of salad ingredients and take a big salad with protein every day for lunch.

I've done this for about six years now. I used to eat Lean Cuisines and Health Choice meals, but I can't imagine going back to those.

crawforgarten

UpEarly wrote: »

I'll put a scoop of rice and some shredded rotisserie chicken in a freezer container.

I've always had a hard time freezing grains like pasta / rice. They never reheat as well as a sauce / meat / veggie. Any suggestions on prep methods?

Queenmunchy

crawforgarten wrote: »

UpEarly wrote: »

I'll put a scoop of rice and some shredded rotisserie chicken in a freezer container.

I've always had a hard time freezing grains like pasta / rice. They never reheat as well as a sauce / meat / veggie. Any suggestions on prep methods?

They freeze really well if you flash freeze them without sauces. Put the grain/pasta directly on a metal baking sheet, freeze, then scrape into a freezer bag. The kernels or individual pastas don't stick to each other, and you can scoop out what you need.
Reheating pasta, you can throw it directly into a warmed sauce. Rice reheats well when you put it into a saute pan.

ds41980

I have gotten into making a nice spaghetti and meat sauce and substituting frozen mixed vegetables for the pasta. I also make Caesar chicken wraps with chicken breast, Caesar dressing, spinach and parmesan cheese on a 10 inch wrap. You could probably add other veggies too. I have made stir fry and freeze it. A good soup is great for days when you wanna have a big dinner because homemade soup is low cal.

not_my_first_rodeo

I prefer a hot lunch so I almost always bring leftovers. Occasionally I will cut up sweet peppers, mushrooms, carrots etc. and pack those with some kind of hummus (probably also cherry tomatoes), but I don't do that often. If I forget to bring one, generally I buy a salad with some kind of protein on it.