Easy lunch ideas to take to work that don't have bread?

Cazzerrr_xo

Hi All,

I am finding it really hard to find things to take to work for lunch that do not involve bread. I need things to take that are simple to throw together using the kitchen at work. The kind of things I usually have are salads (lettuces, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers) with some leftover chicken or beef. At the moment I have been having bio yogurt with a little maple syrup and some muesli or granola sprinkled on top.

The problem I am having is I get sooo bored of having the same thing day in day out so I need some variety, otherwise I'll just give in when the sandwich van turns up at the office!! I usually buy something to make for the whole week.

I usually try to keep lunches under 300 calories.

eldamiano

300 calories? Mega small....

AddieOverhaul

I often make a big batch of lentil and vegetable soup on Sundays to bring to work for lunches. Chili also reheats well. You could also bring stir frys and curries.

TashTag

I try to deconstruct the sandwhich. So ham cheese and cucumber. Add lettuce and make a salad, or replace with thin crackers.
I found it really hard too because I love bread but in the end the best way to cut out bread is to physically leave it out. LOL. I feel your pain.

winyin

Does the work place have a microwave? If so you can take just about anythng if you cook it ahead then just warm it up. I don't eat bread unless I'm dinning out and even then not much. I take roast beef, chicken, pork, and Taco Soup (which I really love). I don't cook every day. When I start running low on food I take a weekend day and do major cooking. Use the crockpot, over and Stove. Then I portion it up and freeze it for meals later. Works well for me but I am also single and don't have to worry about feeding anyone else, but you can still do the same for your lunches.

judyde

I really like this bread, it's only 40 calories a slice - http://www.naturesownbread.com/products/ReducedCalorieBreads/40CalorieWheatBread/

Other ideas are:

Yogurt - I get Dannon Light & Fit Greek 2X protein that's only 80 calories.
Carrot sticks with hummus
Light crackers with Peanut butter (I keep crackers and PB in my desk at work. Helps if I forget lunch!)

HealthyEscape

I like to make tuna or chicken salad and instead of eating on bread, I use carrots, celery, and/or cucumber to scoop it up. Very yummy and extra veggies is always good!

Jesea

I try to make enough dinner to feed my family, with one serving left over, that way I can freeze one for work days. I get a lot of variety that way, and I don't have to think about it if I don't have time for a salad.

Sunbrooke

I heat up about a half cup of lentil/rice mixture and add it to a huge salad. I use shredded cabbage instead of lettuce and add either ground cooked turkey, or a serving of soft tofu. I eat this with green leaf lettuce like tacos.

Another suggestion is having a sweet potato with your salad.

Lentils with cooked sliced baby potatoes and oil and vinegar dressing. Really good.

Extra thin corn tortillas as wraps for salad. Add some guacamole.

GBO323

Soup, salad, low carb options. Grilled veggies are filling. Cook your meat/veggies the night before and enjoy the salad dressing.

AnikaP81

Cottage cheese, canned beans, greek yogurt and fruit (i also put flax seed on mine), raw vegetables and hummus... I' sure I could come up with more, but that's just at the top of my head.

ottermotorcycle

A microwave will greatly expand your options with everything from a baked potato to a teriyaki chicken bowl. You can think of absolutely anything you like and you can find a way to make or reheat it in the microwave.

A 300-calorie lunch is not heavy so your options include most snacks as well, like celery and peanut butter or a few slices of cheese with grapes or an apple. Protein shakes and bars are good go-tos for these situations as well, if you find the right one (not too much sugar, filling, tasty, natural, etc.)

cchew686

I like to make tuna or chicken salad and instead of eating on bread, I use carrots, celery, and/or cucumber to scoop it up. Very yummy and extra veggies is always good!

I like that idea a lot. I don't usually care for raw veggies, but adding tuna or chicken salad is an awesome idea. Thanks!

As for the question, I like to make slowcooker recipes, chicken or beef stir frys, and chili as well. My mother replaces her bread with leaf lettuce...but I can't quite get into that one.

canadjineh

As for the question, I like to make slowcooker recipes, chicken or beef stir frys, and chili as well. My mother replaces her bread with leaf lettuce...but I can't quite get into that one.

Make enough for leftovers for lunch the next day or skip a day if you don't want the same 2x in a row. Just think of your Mum's lunch as North American version of sushi - use the leaves for roll-ups - also works well if you don't have quite enough leftover from last night - roll it into the leaves

Josalinn

soup and an apple?

Cazzerrr_xo

I don't like soup much - I find it really boring. I think it's just the fact that it's a liquid.

We do have a microwave & a toaster. I want to keep my breakfast & lunches lower in cals so that then my dinner's aren't so limited as I have to cook for me and my partner and he's going to get bored of cod steaks or fishcake salad every day!!

ChampCrucial

1.Favorite or leftover meat wrapped in lettuce with a slice of cheese.
2.Oatmeal with a bottle of low fat or skim milk
3.Special K bar and yogurt
4.Protein Shake
5. Self made trail mix

Harrisonsauntie2005

My go to lunch is a bell pepper, hummus and prepacked chicken breast peices

krennie8

I made a pretty decent ham/shrimp/egg "fried" rice. Lots of veggies, some soy sauce, siracha, and housin sauce along w/brown rice (just boiled in water) and each serving was around 350. You could always leave out the rice though and add a side-salad instead to save a few calories. I generally just use vinegar, salt & pepper. And if straight vinegar is too potent for you, just water it down.

Ham & Lentil stew is also very good. Trust me I'm not big on having soup for lunch either b/c I don't feel like it fills me up, but this is super filling, super-low cal, and delicious. Add some veggies as a side.

Also a chicken/veggie couscous is easy and about 400 calories for a good sized serving. I've eaten half a serving plus salads/steamed veggies for meals and feel full after.

LeanButNotMean44

I have a great turkey meatloaf recipe; if you want it send me a PM.

Another suggestion is to make an egg casserole. I use egg whites, a couple of whole eggs, and throw in what I have on hand - frozen veggies, chicken sausage, cheese, etc. Combine, put into a glass casserole dish, bake, cut into the desired number of pieces. You can control the calorie amount really easily, too.

pizzajoy

I enjoy wasa's thin and crispy flatbread, so much tastier than their original crackers. 2 crackers are just 70 calories. Perfect for delivering hummus / avocado / et al into your mouth!

AmykinsCatfood

I just bought stuff and containers for this very thing! What I bought was:

Variety pack of ultra thin, low sodium deli meats for lettuce wraps or ham rolls
Low sodium Turkey pepperoni sticks (50 cals for one stick)
Large block of marble cheddar that I cut into cubes
Baby carrots and celery sticks
100 calorie hummus packs (Garden Fresh brand from costco)
Wildroots 100% Natural Coastal Berry trail mix


Weigh and portion everything, put it in the fridge and you've got lunches for a whole week you can grab and go. Very high protein and low carb. If you don't want the fat from the trail mix, just substitute with more veggies or a piece of fruit.

Bounce4

I take a variety of fruits and veggies, salads with spinach, and for the other part of lunch I take one of the following on non-bread days, tuna salad, deli meats and cheese, baked chicken, boiled eggs, black bean salsa with extra black beans, nuts and/or seeds. I try to keep my lunches at 400 or lower but i think they'd work for 300 and lower - just smaller portions. I like quantity so eat large amounts, haha.

markja

I get tired of sandwiches for lunch too and I've done some experimenting in this area. Besides, bread can sometime be a "waste" of calories.

One of my faves for lunch at work is a bag of microwavable vegetables and some left over meat, tuna or any kind of lunch meat. Broccoli and cauliflower with some tuna or chicken is good, mixed veg is good with most anything. You can throw in a little low fat margarine and some seasonings.

Try this: Nuke a bag of green beans, then add some real bacon bits and onion salt. close the bag up and let it sit for a minute. It's very good, not quite southern style but quite good none-the-less.

If you not trying to avoid starches and can eat a 500 cal lunch: Nuke mixed veg than add to ramen soup, which you can also nuke.

I sometimes buy fresh vegetables in the nuke bag in the produce department. Broccoli is particularly good when it's cooked from fresh rather than frozen.

Starches: Oatmeal is very good when made savory instead of sweet and also easy to make in a microwave. you can use oatmeal or rolled oats, depending on your preference for texture. Note: Use a bigger bowl because it's prone to boil-overs! Instant cereals such as oatmeal, cream-o-wheat and grits are good in the same way. Use salt and pepper or seasoned salt to start then, if you like the way it tastes, you can get really adventurous. My Indian friends make this stuff with curry!

Ball Park makes these turkey hot dogs that are very high in protein, 45 calories and 98% fat free. They are also a good thing to have with vegetables.

I don't mean to prattle on and I hope this helps you.

waramara

Low carb wraps or lettuce slices are what I use to replace bread when I'm craving a sandwich. We also keep Sarah Lee 45 calorie a slice bread in the house for my fiance. Watching the carbs aren't as big of a deal for him and it's a nice treat for me. I also like to make mini sandwiches with strips of zucchini or summer squash when it is in season. I've been on a chicken breast and cheese kick lately. I just chunk it up and put it in a big container together.

Serah87

Looking at your diary. 700 calories is never a good ideal. Eat. The. Bread.

TwirleySlims

Why cut it out? Bread can be eaten just fine! and if you like there are lower calorie versions too. or have half a sarnie!

techgal128

I like to make tuna or chicken salad and instead of eating on bread, I use carrots, celery, and/or cucumber to scoop it up. Very yummy and extra veggies is always good!

I do the same thing but with egg salad.

GBrady43068

You might consider swapping standard bread for whole-wheat flatouts or the "thinwich" type bread (where the sandwich is about 1/3 the amount of dough). You can also do the "make it a salad" option where you just omit the bread and pack the fixings into a container.

Not liking soup reduces your options a lot for hot stuff but you might consider taking your George Foreman grill if you have one. You can heat up a frozen fish filet (I love tilapia for this) along with a bit of lemon juice and some spice..really nutritious and low-cal hot meal. Just add some veggies and a piece of fruit on the side and you're hitting a lot of your food groups.

GBrady43068

Looking at your diary. 700 calories is never a good ideal. Eat. The. Bread.

EDITED TO CORRECT:
I looked at the OP's diary as well. It looks like her usual allotment is 1200 calories and she tends to eat them so I don't want to get overharsh on this one day.

That being said, if the calories are remaining...particularly if you pre-plan the whole day and you know you have some extra calories still,....EAT THE BREAD

greytniki

What kind of "appliances" do you have access to? In our "break room" we have a microwave, toaster oven and a hotdog toaster. One of the things I do a lot is pre grill steaks and season them and slice them up and I will "re grill" them in the toaster oven. I bake b/s chicken breasts in a variety of styles all at one time in a large pan seperating the types by tin foil and then I freeze them individually. I thaw them the day before I'm going to eat them and again cook them in the toaster oven. I will cook lean beef hotdogs in the toaster oven and eat them with no bun. You could do the same with lean pork as I do with the chicken or steak. The key is really pre preperation at home and then heating it up at work.