Quick lunch ideas?

BranDleeJ

I am struggling to meet my calorie goal. I have morning and snack down pat as well as dinners. I end up skipping lunch and always in a hurry to find something to grab. Usually fast options are not healthy, so I end up with a yogurt parfait… my goal is to bake up some chicken for the week to add to salads etc…, but I’ve yet to do that. So I ask, what is your go to for lunch? I’ve got to get more protein in.
Thanks for y'all's help! Hope everyone is having a good day.

ReenieHJ

A can of tuna does a lot to increase protein, I like the chicken idea. That's always a nice thing to have on hand. What about turkey from the deli to have on hand? Half a wrap filled with turkey, spinach, tomato, a little Dijon, avocado and hummus is delicious. Have boiled eggs in the fridge? Cook up a quick omelet without the cheese but with lots of veggies?

I have a hard time meeting my protein every day and will often throw a can of tuna on top a huge green salad filled with misc. veggies.

cwolfman13

My lunch is usually either leftovers from the night before or in instances where there are no leftovers, I usually have a sandwich.

perryc05

I often take soups heated and packed in a small thermos for lunch. Minestrone for example with some meat/chicken is a complete meal. As it's already hot it's fast to eat. Cooking chicken and slicing it up then freezing in portions could well help you with your salad plans. Defrost the night before in the fridge. Have some chopped veg in the fridge so you can quickly throw togther a lunchbox each day. A sprinkling of nuts or seeds is a good addition to a salad.

cosmiccurves

Leftovers and soup are my go-tos on crazy days. However, I've been prepping a few lunches a week to help such as chicken burrito bowls and butter chicken with rice. For the burrito bowls, I take some chicken (either rotisserie, canned, cooked breasts,etc.) and split it between several containers and add black beans, corn, assorted veggies, some avocado, and cheese, and sometimes rice. It's made a big difference and is quite filling! I will add salsa and Greek yogurt or the cilantro crema sauce that's pretty delightful on it. Pinterest is my best friend with lunch prep ideas!

azuki84

something you should learn to do is meal prep. unless you're busy 24-7 all days of the week (including weekends), meal-prep is an amazing way to get AWESOME, NUTRIENT DENSE, PROTEIN PACKED lunches.

elaroch05

I have a microwave available where I work, but I admit to getting healthier microwave meal options and then add in fresh fruits/veggies to my lunch box to round it out (i.e. today was saffron road chicken pad thai and I had a clementine, carrot sticks, and celery sticks). That's not how it is every day...I will also prep chicken breasts for a salad etc...but sometimes I just need something really quick in the morning and I procrastinated the weekend or night before . I also have high sodium requirements due to a medical condition, so there's that too...actually, glancing at my meal right now, it's only 28% of daily sodium requirements and I only eat 3 meals a day....so like...it's not that bad.

Go_Deskercise

I also have limited time for lunch. I go home on my lunch break, 20 min drive home, let dogs out and play for 20 min and then 20 min back to work. Not everyone's ideal situation but I love my boys

Lately I have been buying those bags of salad with all the ingredients already in them. I put everything into a tupperware container minus the dressing until I'm ready to eat it. Pop that into a insolated lunch bag and boom ... stir in dressing when ready to eat and enjoy!

springlering62

Make extra grilled, lightly seasoned chicken or low cal steak (some cuts are only 140/4 ounces) on sundays and chop. Chop and roll into low carb tortillas (45 cal each), put on salads. Especially good with a small smear of Lidl Karate teriyaki sauce on the tortilla wrap.

Lidl has great chicken sausages that are 110-120 each. Grill those, reheat in microwave, slap on a piece of low cal bread with Dijon. Lewis Bakeries has very good low cal and keto breads.

Boars Head turkey is generally 70 calories for 2 ounces. That’s a good deal of protein for not many calories. Good in a wrap with a slice of cheese and zero or low cal mayo.

I fill an old cottage cheese tub to the brim with cucumber spears, radish slices and carrot sticks, and take a tiny container of zero cal ranch. Very filling and the whole lot usually comes to about 70 calories.

Chicken and Tomato soup. Trader Joe’s or any of the boxed brands (some are much lower calorie) supplemented with a large can of diced tomatoes, some herbs, and sliced, grilled chicken sausage is delicious, and makes 3-4 generous, low cal servings.

Zartran (or we use Lidl’s brand) red beans and rice, made per package directions but with sliced andouille chicken sausage. Reheats very well. Can pad it out with cauliflower rice.

Homemade beef stew.

Amp up beef stew by making Barf: Beef stew with sour cream stirred in, topped with spoonfuls of Bisquick dumpling mix and baked. Reasonable calories and delicious, if revoltingly ugly (nicknamed”Barf “by a grossed out coworker who didn’t appreciate how yummy it is).

Husband loves pimento cheese (😬) on Lewis bread.

Leftover chicken tacos. Takes no prep other than putting frozen chicken breast in the crockpot along with the salsa and taco seasoning, and shredding it when you get home. Leftovers are very good.

Dill pickles. I always hated them, but now appreciate how filling they are for very few calories. One of those foods you learn to love counting calories.

kshama2001

At one point in my life, I spent a few hours on Sundays making four lunches and four dinners for the week ahead. On Fridays I'd get takeout for lunch and have half for dinner.

Later, I switched to making bigger dinners and having leftovers for lunch. During grilling season, we'd make extra chicken, which I'd have for lunch.

I've also had sandwiches.

You could also get a rotisserie chicken and make lunches out of that. I like rice, beans, and chicken. For the longest time it was spicy beans, but lately I've been putting baked beans into the rotation. I also throw in an ounce of spinach for some greens - it cooks enough for me in the microwave with the rest of the food.

When it is hotter, I like entrée-sized salads with chicken.

AdahGreen2022

Amy's bean or lentil soups👍

disasterman

Boring, boring, boring, but when I really get in the groove, I pre-cook chicken and my daily lunch is a bowl of black beans with grilled chicken and a couple tablespoons of salsa mixed in. ~30 grams of protein in about 300 calories. I'll eat that every day when I'm motivated.

westrich20940

Some staples that I do are:

Parcooked rice (Rice and Tasty, or similar brand) with some sort of pre-packaged protein. seasoned tuna or tofu, package of hard smoked salmon. I also buy those rotisserie chickens and pull the meat when I get home so I can throw some of that in whatever I want. You can add in whatever packaged sauce you want too. Can put in some raw veg or cooked if you can prep beforehand.

I also am quite a fan of grabbing one of those prepackaged salad packs (which for the entire bag is usually ~500 ish.....and I just add prepacked hard smoked salmon or rotisserie chicken. I know that sounds like a lot of calories but I only eat 2 meals per day...not for any particular reason other than that is what works for my schedule and hunger throughout the day so my 'meals' tend to be higher calorie.

hesn92

I always meal prep on sundays so I have a good lunch every day.

This week I did burritos. On Sunday all I had to do was brown some ground beef and season it (I also added onion and bell pepper for extra veg but you don't have to). and then each day I just had to spoon some of that into a tortilla with some cheese and pinto beans and roll it up. Top it with whatever you like. I did avocado, greek yogurt, salsa and pickled onion. not the greatest burrito ever but it was good enough and had lots of protein.

Last week I prepped korean beef, made a pot of rice in the rice cooker, boiled some eggs, and roasted a veg, and I had little korean beef bowls for lunch lol. That was a little too involved for my meal prep, I like to do as little as possible

Other times I've done salad. I prep a gain (quinoa usually) and a veg (sweet potato usually) and a protein. And then I just assemble my salads in the mornings with greens and other little salad toppings that i have lying around.

rosebarnalice

Most days, I make and pack my lunch salad while I'm making breakfast.

Typically, lunch is a salad made with a veggie protein (I typically cook beans or tofu on the weekend), a mix of lettuce, spinach, kale and/or and a crunchy cabbage (napa, bok choy, or red cabbage) with some or all of the following: carrot, tomato, cucumber, radishes, olives, pickled onions. I dress with mix of flavored vinegar and hummus (more protein :-) . Calories vary, but it's usually 300 - 360.

mikhnpaitsmum

I batch cook soups and freeze in Mason jars pro-portioned so I can't take them out the night before readyfor lunch the next day.
I do the same with Mason jar salads using roasted chickpeas for a protein boost. Salads stay fresh for a week in the jars.