Office lunch ideas at 300 calories or less?

_lyndseybrooke_

I need some simple ideas as to what I can bring to the office for lunch. I'm looking for ideas under 300 calories that will keep me satisfied until my 3:30 snack. I'm willing to cook ahead of time on Sunday and microwave leftovers (as long as it'll stay good for 5-6 days) or have a grab-and-go type of meal.

I used to do natural peanut butter and sugar free jam sandwiches, but I needed a change. I did soup for a week and got absolutely sick of it, plus the sodium content was way too high. Then I got weak and did those three cheese and spinach Lean Pockets for a week, but gained two pounds so I learned my lesson there. I really don't want to do frozen pre-packaged meals like SmartOnes because of sodium and ridiculously small serving sizes. This week I'm taking a plain bagel thin (110 calories) and putting lean ham slices and Swiss cheese on it, but it's not as good as I expected. I do like to eat the same thing for the entire week and switch it up week-to-week because it saves me from having to spend money on 5 separate recipes each week. I don't want to take dinner leftovers because we normally eat leftovers the following night and eating the same thing for four meals is sure to cause me to order lunch out, which is no bueno.

I DON'T do salad, so no salad suggestions please. Veggie-heavy meals probably aren't going to work for me either. It doesn't have to be 100% clean, just a decently healthy meal that won't set me back. I just need something convenient for the office.

natalkaa

have you considered wraps?
dempsters has whole wheat or whole grain for 100kcal per wrap
then add an eggwhite, mustard, and a few pickle slices OR you can do a slice of turkey breast, mustard, tomato, and bit of lettuce
=150kcal so you can make 2 and that leaves me more than satisfied

jkwolly

Hey, provide me options but not this this this this or this. Seriously? :grumble:
Why don't you go for the foods you enjoy, and cut down the portion sizes to fit for your meal size!?!

Lean meats like chicken or fish are awesome choices, and consider some kind of healthy carb. The protein is what will keep you fuller longer, so use most of your allotment for your meal on that!

MichelleLee1978

bump for more suggestions as well. Thanks OP!

lauren3101

Turkey or chicken wraps:
2 tbsp light mayo
2 tbsp pesto
250g cooked turkey or chicken, shredded
lettuce
spring onions
4 tortillas

Mix together the mayo and pesto. Divide the rest of the ingredients between the tortillas and drizzle the sauce over.

Per tortilla:
Cals - 267
Carbs - 25
Protein - 24
Fat - 9


Tuna pasta

1 medium chopped red onion
2 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cans of tuna in spring water or brine
200g cooked pasta
6 cherry tomatoes

Mix all ingredients together and divide into 4 portions.

Cals - approx 200
Carbs - 12
Protein - 19
Fat - 7

just4nessa

I love this recipe for Cuban Pork & Rice; I don't add the shrimp but I do add extra veggies because I love them. This makes a large batch that freezes well (I wouldn't eat any food that's been in the fridge for 4+ days). I portion it into single serving containers and put it in the freezer. Pop one in the fridge the night before and microwave to reheat.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/cuban-style-pork-rice

kbmnurse

Wow. That's a lot of restrictions. Stick to your PB/jam sandwiches.

kshadows

Chili! I made chili in the slow cooker with ground turkey and it's perfect to bring with (assuming you have a microwave/fridge at work). And it's under 250 cals.

melaniecheeks

I batch cook at weekends and freeze individual portions of stew-type things that will microwave well.

Mushroom quinoa pilaff
Pork and barley stew
Ratatouille
Chorizo and chickpea
Chilli

I'd find eating the same thing every day for 5 days very odd.

What is it about salads you dont like?

cwolfman13

1/2 cup of pinto beans, 1/2 an avocado, 1 corn tortilla. That clocks in around 280 or so.

pojinx

Don't listen to the "lots of restrictions" comments, they have just as many themselves. I am fairly similar to you in that I rather eat less of something good than a giant bowl of veggies/salads.

Chicken will get you really far at lunch time. I make crockpot salsa chicken on Sundays and it lasts all week. I can eat it plain, on a wrap, or mixed with veggies.

Wraps in general are good, there's some healthier options for the shells. Try to stay away from lunch meat and come up with some fun mixes of what you like. I do a lot of black bean, cheese, corn and avocado wraps. They taste good microwaved into quesadillas too.

tamzinb10

I know you said no soup, but this is amazing, low cal, low fat and low sodium. Really easy to make in advance and it almost more stewy than soupy:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1499/moroccan-chickpea-soup

Acg67

Hey, provide me options but not this this this this or this. Seriously? :grumble:
Why don't you go for the foods you enjoy, and cut down the portion sizes to fit for your meal size!?!

Lean meats like chicken or fish are awesome choices, and consider some kind of healthy carb. The protein is what will keep you fuller longer, so use most of your allotment for your meal on that!

Get outta here with that kind of logic

tinglesby

Don't listen to the "lots of restrictions" comments, they have just as many themselves. I am fairly similar to you in that I rather eat less of something good than a giant bowl of veggies/salads.

Chicken will get you really far at lunch time. I make crockpot salsa chicken on Sundays and it lasts all week. I can eat it plain, on a wrap, or mixed with veggies.

Wraps in general are good, there's some healthier options for the shells. Try to stay away from lunch meat and come up with some fun mixes of what you like. I do a lot of black bean, cheese, corn and avocado wraps. They taste good microwaved into quesadillas too.

]



OOH!!! What is salsa chicken? is it just chicken with Salsa? Sounds heavenly!!!

judykat7

I like to buy Morningstar products. Microwave them and put them on an Healthy Life or Thomas English muffin. Then I have a Dannon Light and Fit greek yogurt or a Fiber One 90 calorie bar and it comes in under 300. I feel like I had a hot sandwich and dessert. My diary is open and your goals are similar to mine other than I do have to get out of the office a couple times a week.

FindMyInnerAthlete

I like to have 4 ounces of ground turkey (160 calories) with half of a cup of brown rice (75 calories) with half of a cup to a cup of diced tomatoes (30-60 calories) with 2 spoonfuls of sauteed onions (15-30 calories). That's 280 - 325 calories. It's almost like a spaghetti to me. I love it!

JessicaElliott5292

I bring in Stir-Fries a lot - chicken/ turkey with lots of veggies: peppers, mushrooms, onions, cabbage, mangetout (usual stir fry veg) - make at home the night and they can be eaten cold or warm and you can make them different by the sauces you use
They can be frozen too which always means you have a meal in the freezer.

dawnmcneil10

One of the things I make and love to have for lunches is spinach lasagna made with fresh spinach and whole grain noodles, lots of cheese and if you need meat use ground turkey breast.

Breakfast casserole is another option, you can put all kinds of goodies in that and you don't have to eat it for breakfast.

If you're looking to avoid sodium you'll really want to avoid processed meats as well as many of the bread/wraps you'd use to make sandwiches.

_lyndseybrooke_

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

As for those of you getting on my case about the restrictions - I did that to avoid wasting the time of people that were planning on answering with "bring a salad!" Are there not foods you don't like? Excuse me for trying to narrow down the search and tailor it so the answers would actually be useful to me. If you don't have anything helpful to say, feel free to move on without posting a reply.

pojinx

It's just chicken, lots of salsa, and a packet of taco seasoning, cooked for 6 hours in the crockpot. We've omitted the seasoning before and it was still good!

train_01

What do you usually eat in the evening for dinner? What I usually do is make two extra servings of whatever I made and bring them for lunch for myself and my hubby. I don't have a problem eating the same thing two meals in a row but I understand how eating the same thing for a week gets boring. Sometimes when I make soups, I make a lot then freeze it in individual servings. That way I can eat them whenever and i'm not getting burnt out on other stuff. I never eat frozen meals or canned soup (or salad for that matter) so I totally get your point. I like just tuna (no mayo or anything) on crackers with baybel or laughing cow cheese and a cherry tomato on top. Pretty filling and it covers most of your food groups and it's easy to make at lunchtime.

Ashly744

292 calories
Caesar Chicken Salad (not the salad, more like egg salad, etc)
3 Multigrain Flax Seed Fladbread crackers
.25 cup of blueberries

I love to grill up pork chop, steak or chicken (weighed) and toss it on a bed of lettuce. This can easily be under 300 calories if you weigh your meat and use no dressing.

Leftovers from dinner

Sandwiches (can vary, whatever you like) I use 1 slice of bread, no cheese.

Turkey Sausage & rice

Turkey Burger (Jennie-O) no bread. 1 slice of 2% kraft cheese single, lettuce & tomato

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I have at the moment.

hellsbells3272

a small container with Ainsley Harriot couscous and a heap of salad Nowadays I can eat salad without dressing, I have somehow adapted my taste. Sometimes it takes time to adapt to liking things.

I also take soups because I have access to a microwave.

csk0018

Sometimes I'll just have crackers, a 70 calorie brie cheese wheel and a bowl of fruit. I'm not a big fan of salads either.

kcrxgirl

One of my favorite meals is a chicken wrap. I have found low carb tortillas for ~60 calories that I use for wraps, tacos, quesadillas, etc. I'm not anti-carb, I just like that they have 1/2 the calories of a regular tortilla. You can really put anything you want in a wrap but mine is usually 2oz of chicken, spinach, feta and honey dijon mustard. I also have it with 1/2 cup reduced fat cottage cheese and a Cutie. My lunch "allowance" is 400 calories so I also have a 90 calorie Fiber One brownie.

hkristine1

*Two pieces of 40-calorie bread (I like the Franz brand, but there are others) - TOASTED
*Spread a small amount of light mayonnaise on top of toasted bread.
*Cut up one hard boiled egg onto each piece of toast (so, two eggs total).
*Salt as desired (or not).
*Enjoy

Approx 250-275 calories depending on how much mayo used, and how large the eggs are etc.

SassyCalyGirl

I love to make these individual chicken packets in foil. Way under 300 calories.


chicken breast 4 to 6 oz
black beans 1/4 cup
diced tomatoes (Mexican style) 1/4 cup
corn 1/4 cup
sprinkle of cumin
fresh cilantro

wrap in foil and bake at 350° 35-40 minutes. Delish

haliebest

Almost every day for lunch, I eat chicken (boneless-skinless breasts cut up and cooked in a skillet with cayenne pepper and garlic powder), quinoa or brown rice, and green beans or broccoli (I buy the big Kroger Value frozen bags).

On Sundays, I make 8-10 lunches for my fiancé and I and we eat it all week.

4 oz. of chicken, 1 serving of quinoa, and 1 serving of green beans comes to: 325 calories, 220 sodium, 6 fat, 31 protein, 2 sugar, 36 carbs.

Swap the quinoa out for Minute brown rice and it comes to: 295 calories, 230 sodium, 5 fat, 27 protein, 2 sugar, 39 carbs

beamer0821

honestly i just bring my dinner from the night before so i dont have to prep two meals. when im cleaning up dinner i pack up a portion for lunch the next day.

today was greek chicken breast, tzatziki (homemade), pita bread. you could pair this with a greek salad i did not.

Wandering_1

You are getting a lot of great stuff up there. I'm not sure why you are only doing 300 cal. for lunch but have you thought about eating more calories at lunch and less at dinner unless you eat the same at dinner? You can google meals for 300 or less calories if you have the time. If you have a microwave at work you can bring a hamburger patty and some condiments. Here's my calorie count for today having a burger:

Ballpark - Flame Grilled Beef Patty, 1 patty 85g 230 0 19 15 470 0
Village Hearth - 100 % Whole Wheat Bread, 1 Slice 70 13 1 3 160 2
Heinz - Ketchup, 0.33 Tbsp (17g) 7 2 0 0 53 1
Helman's - Mayo, 0.33 tbsp 30 0 3 0 30 0
Vlasic - Kosher Dill Baby Wholes, 1 oz (pickle) 0 0 0 0 280 0

If you omit the mayo it will be even lower. I'm not sure if it's less calories using your own ground beef but I like the convenience and the burgers are so tasty. It was so yummy and very filling. Did you know pickles are 0 calories? I didn't know and I am so happy because I can snack on them!

Pinterest is another great place to get ideas. Skinnytaste.com has great stuff too! have you been to the recipe board here? I could go on. If you want add me and I can give you more ideas. I'm lazy and don't want to do a lot of preparing and I am getting better at planning.

77tes

Sandwiches? Your ham and Swiss probably just needs a large dose of mustard. I also love avocado on my sandwiches instead of mayo. Try turkey, chicken, roast beef, pastrami. Your cheese and bread will be the varibles that make it 300 calories or more.

Good Luck.:flowerforyou: