Protein packed cheap filling easy to make lunches

slytherinlass90

It's mine and my fiancee's anniversary and his birthday coming up. We are both trying to shake up and sort our lives out right now were in a LDR with plans for him to move in with me asap.

This isn't a cheap premise. So I want to make something to help him. Right now he's buying his lunches for work which A) Costs alot and 'ain't too healthy. So to help him and show him some support I want to make him a recipe book of ideas for lunches (and buy him lunch pots, boxes thermal bags etc) he can make easily the night before work that are packed with good things and nutreiance. So... Gimme your best ideas. Also no Pork

mcgirl2014

smoked turkey on 12 grain bread packed with spinach lettuce, avocado, and cucumber! My fave!!

cdgallagher943

Boiled chicken, canned greens, brown rice.

lapesadilla

tuna, canned salmon, or sardine salad using greek yogurt, mustard, avocado, hot sauce, and/or or lemon juice and olive oil instead of mayo is a nice proteiny lunch full of healthy fats. you can do it on while grain bread or crackers or in a lettuce wrap or just eat it with a fork. i like it with diced green onion, bell pepper, and celery for crunch.

canned salmon, sardine, or tuna patties - similar in concept to crab cakes - combine flaked fish, an egg, and a starchy binder like corn meal, oatmeal etc and then bake or brown on both sides in a skillet. i season the mix with garlic, mustard powder and dill or curry.

turkey meatballs aren't the healthiest, but they're cheap and easy and pretty high protein - i use martha stewart's recipe but change it to lean turkey and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees instead of simmering in sauce.

tinkerbellang83

Egg Salad, Tuna, Salmon, Chicken, Turkey, Cottage Cheese, Corned Beef, Beef Jerky, Greek Yohurt, Quinoa.

All of the above have a pretty decent amount of protein, and can be used in salads, pastas, sandwiches, etc.

StealthHealth

What facilities at work does he have access to - Fridge, Microwave etc? Can he batch prep and freeze at home?

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Get him to make what he normally buys. That will be cheaper and he won't feel like he's scrimping.

He could also add more protein to it as most shop bought items go light on the meat.

fightorflight12

Wow loads of great ideas on this thread! Might nab a few for myself! Great idea OP, hope he appreciates your wonderful thought!

lporter229

On the weekend, grill a few chicken breasts and salmon filets and portion them into individual servings. Cook some bacon and hard boil some eggs and do the same. You can use these to make some amazing, protein packed salads throughout the week. A few of my favorite:

Cobb salad: Bibb lettuce, grape tomatoes, grilled chicken, egg, bacon, blue or shredded colby jack cheese and avocado

Salmon with roasted veggies: Spring greens with salmon, roasted sweet potatoes and beets and goat cheese (also good with blueberries and walnuts in place of the veggies)

Pear and blue cheese: Bibb lettuce, pecans, sliced pears, blue cheese, avocado and either chicken or salmon for protein

Chef Salad: Lettuce, tomatoes,grilled chicken, deli ham, sliced swiss cheese, hard boiled eggs

Southwestern salad: Lettuce, tomatoes, grilled chicken, black beans, frozen corn, avocado, cheese

Spinach salad: Spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, hard boiled eggs and chicken. Great with warm vinegarette if he has access to a microwave.

Any combo of the following ingredients: Canned tuna, cottage cheese, avocado, hard boiled eggs, grape tomatoes

I usually make my own vinegarette with garlic, dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper or I use Litehouse ranch yogurt based dressings which are pretty good at 60 calories for 2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt and salsa go well on the southwestern salad.

enterdanger

I buy and cook like 4lbs of chicken breast every couple of weeks. Then I portion it into 4oz servings and use it for all sorts of stuff. It lasts in the freezer for 3 months. One of my favorite things is to let it partially freeze and slice super thin into lunch meat. I put that on salads or make sandwiches with it.

We also make burritos ALOT! I've got 3 kids and everyone eats a burrito. I like to use leftovers that may not get eaten. Heck, I made burritos a couple of weeks ago with corned beef and cabbage. Just roll it up and freeze. You can also make breakfast burritos with eggs.

My kids are partial to bean burritos. I'll just throw beans, corn, salsa, and some cheese in a tortilla, wrap and freeze. We keep a bag of like 20 frozen burritos on hand at all times. To heat I microwave mine at 50% power for 2 minutes and regular power for 1 minute.

Queenmunchy

I cook, portion, and freeze. Soup, stew, curry, chili, stir fry, stuffed peppers, and more. I also flash freeze burritos, meatballs, and any muffin tin recipes like meatloaf muffins or egg muffins.

TheCupcakeCounter

The burrito idea is fantastic!
Hubby tells me that pot pie also freezes really well and you can make it without the crust and then just put a slice of toasted whole grain bread on top
Also lasagna is good and you can use thin sliced zucchini for the noodles (tons of recipes on Pinterest) to up the nutrient profile

vmtama27

My absolute favorite Mushroom Provalon Grilled Chicken! It's cheap quick and delicious

cwolfman13

Today I had a huge garden salad along with about 100g quinoa and a can of Alaskan Sockeye drizzled with old fashioned grain mustard and some capers on top.