Go-to lunch?

tinaonmove

What is your favorite go-to lunch that keeps the calories, fat and carbs low so you can have more at your evening meal. I am looking for easy to prepare or maybe make ahead meals that I can grab and go. Vegetables are a must to help me get my daily quota. I try to eat plenty at lunch but finding it hard because I don't have any good recipes that work. If it starts to get too hard, I will give up and I have done well so far. 8 pounds down and actually walking and doing strength exercises at least 4 days a week. I am really afraid I will give up. Any and all suggestions are welcome and thanks for your help and support.

riffraff2112

Things that work for me, in the following combinations
1. fruit with yogurt and/or cottage cheese
2. protein bar or protein shake
3. leftovers from dinner in a very small portion
4. salad with some protein (things I add are things like chicken, turkey, eggs, artificial crab meat)

springlering62

A bag of mixed greens, 3oz each carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes, and whatever leftover meat I have, with either a zero calorie Walden Farms honey Dijon or a fruity balsamic dressing.

If I’m feeling “rich” in calories I add a couple slices crumbled bacon, feta or halloumi cheese, and fresh strawberries or freeze dried fruit.

Fills a whole mixing bowl, fools my eye into thinking I’ve got a massive meal, and filling.

stephie_nyc

Boiled egg whites with a (big) side of chicken broth with mushrooms and spinach. I need to start doing that again. Otherwise I just eat a protein bar.

ridiculous59

Are you working M-F? I'm retired now but when I was working I made a huge salad every Sunday (in the warmer months) or a big pot of soup (in the colder months). All I had to do was fill a container every morning and grab some type of protein i.e. can of tuna, leftover chicken breast from the night before, a couple of "egg bites" (pre-made on Sunday), etc. It was a big part of my 90 pound loss because it didn't require too much effort. I've been retired now for almost 2 years but I still eat basically the same way for lunch.

goal06082021

I meal-prep lunches for the week and last week we had kielbasa and vegetables over pearl barley. I chopped up all the vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, onion, bell pepper, mushroom) and the kielbasa, dressed the veg with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and a splash of white balsamic vinegar, and baked it all on sheet pans in the oven, about 45 minutes at 350F or so, rotating the pans periodically. I made ten servings, but you can do less. I considered topping it with shredded parmesan cheese but ultimately decided not to do that; the vinegar really brought that tangy flavor in without adding more calories. Whatever vegetables you like will do - I think in the fall/winter I'm going to try it with some roasted winter squash and beets, maybe served over brussels sprouts or sautéed cabbage. I bet in summer it would be delightful cold, sort of pasta-salad style, with black olives, chickpeas, roasted bell peppers, and maybe some crumbled feta cheese.

rainingribbons

I'm also a mealprepper. If I'm doing something warm for lunches for the week, I'll cook it on Sunday and pre-portion it. My favorite is sweet potato and turkey chili! I usually add a ton of veggies, and top it with a little cheese and plain greek yogurt.
If I'm feeling something cold, then lately it's been Greek salads with grilled chicken and loaded with veggies. Both are usually 400 calories or less, which is reasonable for lunch for me.

Rh1aB1a

egg salad in pepper boats!

cwolfman13

I don't really have a "go-to"...when I make dinner I usually make extra and that is my lunch for the following day...possibly a couple of days depending on what it is. I grilled pork chops last night with rice pilaf and roasted asparagus...so that's my lunch today.

If it doesn't work out that I've made extra stuff at dinner for my lunch I usually take a sandwich or make tuna salad.

kshama2001

Another vote for making extra for dinner or otherwise ahead of time and eating leftovers for lunch.

rosebarnalice

I pack a big salad almost every day at the same time I'm making breakfast.
I typically build my salad with +- 600 grams of raw veg and a low-fat homemade protein-based dressing based on hummus, silken tofu or pureed beans. Silken tofu doesn't have a lot of its own flavor so I tend to spice it with a fairly heavy hand of garlic powder, onion powder, and something salty like soy sauce or miso.

Veggies vary depending on what's good and in season, but +- 100 g X any six of the following: tomatoes, celery, carrots, cucumber, radishes, kimchi, napa cabbage, bell pepper, fennel, turnips, beets, and/or sweet onions. Plenty of fiber!

Breakkie and lunch together usually total between about 600 and 650 calories. Sometimes, I'll add a 100-150 cal carby snack in the afternoon (pretzels or wheat crackers). So depending on if I have that snack or not, I've usually got somewhere between 650-750 calories for dinner (and even more if I go swimming and earn some exercise calories :-)

tinaonmove

Thanks everyone for your input. I will def be trying some of your ideas.

ladyoftherocks

I mostly do salads and crockpot soups, I rotate them frequently because I get bored. This week I did a pretty simple salad - just a blend of spring mix and butter lettuce, sauteed chicken breast, tomatoes (they were the star since I got amazing fresh tomatoes from someone who grows their own) a few croutons and a homemade basil vinaigrette. Another go-to is romaine/butter lettuce, chicken, slivered almonds, shredded carrots and miso carrot ginger dressing, and a mexi salad - romaine, black beans, corn, chicken, red peppers and sometimes those little tortilla strips with either a cilantro lime vinaigrette or a sundried tomato vinaigrette (kinda based on https://www.food.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-vinaigrette-131432https://food.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-vinaigrette-131432 but I swapped out a lot. I skip the cheese, swap sugar for honey (to taste), skip the basil & rosemary and instead add smoked paprika and cayenne pepper, I use a lot more vinegar because IMO the recipe calls for an awful lot of oil plus it makes a bigger batch.) When I don't want to do anything complicated I do a simple salad with a dressing that's either balsamic or red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and some herbs and spices and a little honey (even though I like it without it, the vinegar is too intense for my husband, annoying! lol)

Sometimes I make what I just call "grandma salad" because she always made it growing up lol. Cooked cauliflower, asparagus, or both with cucumber and tomato with a dressing of a small amount of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and maggi seasoning. Also good with a bean salad.

Some of my go-to soups are: Cocounut Curry lentils (more of a stew, but you can add broth to make it a soup), Sausage Spinach Tomato Soup (also good with spicy turkey sausage), and Peruvian Chicken Soup (not crockpot - but seriously the best chicken soup you'll ever have).

I will add that I usually do food shopping on Saturday, then do prep on Sunday. When doing salad though I prep the dressing and two days of salads but then make the rest on Wednesday since I feel like they aren't as good the longer they sit (the lettuce). I put dressing in a separate container as well as anything crunchy like croutons, or heavy and watery like artichoke hearts.

westrich20940

My go-to lunch is:

1/2 pack of Veetee Jasmine rice (it's easy bc you can just put it in the microwave), 4-5 ounces or either chicken thigh or salmon, some hot sauce, honey, teriyaki/soy sauce, a little vinegar, and 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil (which you can nix if you want to save the cals but it tastes so good).

It's quick, the only prep time is cooking the proteins that I stick in it. And you could bulk that up with tons of veg that you want - like a quasi-stir fry. You could use cauliflower rice (or cut the rice more with something else) if you wanted to save some cals there too --- not sure what calorie goal you're going for for the whole lunch.

NC_Girl

I eat a can of Progresso Soup and save my calories for dinner. This works for me.

wunderkindking

I'm another 'light lunch/bigger dinner' person. My go to lunch is either tuna with some light mayo and sugar free relish, or cottage cheese with some berries and deli meat.

overeater1

Cheddar cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich, a pot of protein yoghurt and a few carrot sticks. Makes me feel like I’ve loads to eat when I open my lunch box, plus it’s filling and low calories. I’ve lost 32 lbs since January and now at goal weight. I don’t believe in no bread or carbs.