Quick, Easy and Healthy Office Lunches?

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kickstart93
kickstart93 Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
I'm looking for some ideas/recipes for lunches and snacks I can make up before work, so I don't go to the local shop and get a 'healthy' 500 calorie sandwich?

Thanks

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    1 Rethink what lunch is. During the weekend cook extra dinners to bring to work during the week.

    2 I barely have time to eat, so my lunch is canned (and rinsed) garbanzo beans with some lettuce.
    Or raisins, walnuts, and some cheese.
  • squidgirl68
    squidgirl68 Posts: 15 Member
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    Mayo - Kraft Mayo With Olive Oil, 1 tbsp (15g) 35 2 3 0 95 0 
    Orrowwheat - Healtful 10 Grain Bread, 2 slice 160 34 2 10 300 4 
    Bumblebee - Premium Light Tuna Pouch / Single Serve, 2.5 oz/71 g 70 0 1 16 240 0 
    Bobs Red Mill - Chia Seeds, 0.2 Tbsp 12 1 1 1 0 0 
    Cabbage - Green - Shredded, 0.25 cup 4 1 0 0 3 1 
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    I just had a light tuna with mayo, shredded cabbage and chia seeds sandwich on 10 grain bread. This was 281 calories.

    I also had a banana and 1/4 cup of almonds.

    If you have a refrigerator that you can use, you can always stock up on quick snacks too.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    I eat a lot of salads for lunch (taco salad, chinese chicken salad, etc.). But tomorrow I am eating some rice, grilled chicken, and steamed vegetables! deeeeelicious. :)
  • EmmiDahling
    EmmiDahling Posts: 104 Member
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    1. A light Campbell's or Progresso non-dehydrated soup
    2. 1 can tuna, 1 tablespoon light miracle whip, 1 tablespoon dill relish = tuna salad; adds crackers if desired
    3. Last night's leftovers

    I typically choose one of those three options and add some fruit, light yogurt, and/or reduced fat string cheese
  • levicrouch
    levicrouch Posts: 99
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    I cook up about 5lbs of chicken on the weekend (grilled) dice it up and store in the fridge. Roast some bell peppers on the grill as well. Take the roasted bell pepper and chop it up in the food processor, then store in the fridge.

    Take about 113g Chicken and 100g Bell Pepper to work. Nuke it (1:15) and add hot sauce. Works out to ~243 calories 49g protein and 2g fat.

    Pro tip: add some water to the chicken before microwaving (to help with the dryness of the chicken).

    Not the most flavorful meal necessarily, but quick and easy.
  • venus_blue
    venus_blue Posts: 103 Member
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    I love those Mason Jar salads, you can make several at once and they keep for a few days, there are recipes all over the Internet. We make a big batch of tabbouleh and add in chicken, chickpeas or whatever needs using up. I make extra roast beef, grilled chicken or whatever for dinner on Sunday, cut it up and create a sandwich or salad around that or even just make enough leftovers of anything to take as lunch. If you have time on the weekends, make big batches of tuna, chicken or egg salad and you can, again, make sandwich or salad with that. Sometimes I just buy chicken breast or boneless thighs and broil them and keep them in the fridge to grab and stuff in a wrap or pita. Soup you make at home with whatever is in the fridge is good, I make a big batch on the weekend to clear out my veggie drawer and me and the hubs have that all week. Hummus and pita or veggies is a great office snack/quick lunch.

    A little bit of planning ahead can make a huge difference. When I worked away from home, I spent one day every other week or so making stuff that would keep well in the freezer. Portion it up, take it out the night before and you're good to go. I got a ton of great ideas and inspiration from justbento.com. She has great tips on how to pack healthy, filling and portable meals. Lots of recipes and photos, too.
  • Odinisgod
    Odinisgod Posts: 46 Member
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    My standby office lunch is a deli sliced turkey sandwich w/ a slice of cheddar on whole wheat bread, with a cup of carrots, an apple, and a banana. I toast the bread at work before assembling. Usually around 600 calories total, and gives you one veggie and two fruit servings for the day.
  • ge105
    ge105 Posts: 268 Member
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    Double the amount of whatever you usually make at dinner; eat that for lunch. Calorie counting and meal cooked all in one. Use a microwave safe dish to take it to work (in an insulated bag) and you can even nuke it easily.
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    Double the amount of whatever you usually make at dinner; eat that for lunch. Calorie counting and meal cooked all in one. Use a microwave safe dish to take it to work (in an insulated bag) and you can even nuke it easily.

    Exactly what I was going to say!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I don't mind having the same thing every day, so on Sunday I make my lunches for the week. In winter tend to have one of the following:

    Pork and bean chilli
    Chicken and Veg soup
    Tuna noodle casserole
    Pumpkin soup with shredded chicken
    Enchilada soup
    Chicken broccoli and asparagus risotto

    In summer I tend to have a lot of salads with lean meat, lots of veg and couscous/quinoa/mograhbeh...
  • Teresa_3266
    Teresa_3266 Posts: 298 Member
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    I usually work from 11:30 to 8pm so I bring enough food to count as lunch and dinner. Currently I'm doing the frozen entree thing )(WW, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, ect.). I also bring Greek yogurt, whole almonds, string cheese, applesauce, Kashi Granola bars. One diet soda and lots of bottled water.

    I am wondering if the frozen meals are OK. Or does it matter as long as it fits my calories?
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I usually work from 11:30 to 8pm so I bring enough food to count as lunch and dinner. Currently I'm doing the frozen entree thing )(WW, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, ect.). I also bring Greek yogurt, whole almonds, string cheese, applesauce, Kashi Granola bars. One diet soda and lots of bottled water.

    I am wondering if the frozen meals are OK. Or does it matter as long as it fits my calories?

    They tend be be quite high in sodium, but if you aren't bothered by that they're ok. I find that it's cheaper and so much tastier to make and freeze my own meals though!
  • 1PoisonIvy
    1PoisonIvy Posts: 889 Member
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    I eat alot of lite soups
    or
    Make a big zip bag of salad and keep it in the fridge at work, and my favorite dressing, lowest in calories, fat and sugar, is Maple Vermont fat free Balsamic Vinegar dressing, only 15 calories for a couple of tablespoons
  • mauishopgirl
    mauishopgirl Posts: 1
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    Some of the organic brands frozen foods have less sodium than say Lean Cuisine. Check out Amy's Organics and Ceder Lane.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I take pretty much the same thing every day--a bunch of cut up veggies and fruit (2-3 servings), a Kashi dark chocolate almond sea salt bar, and either a yogurt (Noosa or Chobani blueberry power flip) or a cup of cottage cheese or a can's worth of tuna.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    I like to have hummus on hand, fresh fruit, or cereal/Nutrigrain bars on hand at work as snacks.

    In regards to meals, I'll do a giant meal prep during the week or weekend, and bring those meals to work. Some recent recipes:

    - Homemade chicken salad with onion and celery- around 250cals per serving, and a ton of protein
    - Steak tips with cheddar noodles and steamed fresh broccoli- around 500-600cals for the entire thing, and it kept me full until very late that night
    - Chicken alfredo with primavera veggie blend- around 350 calories per serving, same as above

    I would definitely say to utilize the recipe builder, premake and preportion out your lunch, and bring that with you. I always find if it's already in the fridge, I want to grab it the next day and bring it in!
  • catremistrae
    catremistrae Posts: 4 Member
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    I also do Mason jar salads, and I find that it takes 5 minutes to put together a week's worth of meals.
  • alamarana2885
    alamarana2885 Posts: 91 Member
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    I got this bento box http://secure.laptoplunches.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=L600-jubilee&eq=&Tp= and I love it. It's super easy to pack. I usually do something like sugar snap peas (roughly 20 pods since that's what fits in one of the larger containers in the lunch box), a hard boiled egg and some fruit (cherries, grapes, slice up a peach) in the two smaller containers, and a tuna salad in the other large container. I usually make my tuna salad with half an avocado instead of mayo, but today I went with Miracle Whip (it got really hot all of a sudden and my avocados did not survive). The tuna salad is best when you use the snap peas as an edible spoon. :) all in all this lunch is about 381 calories, 31 carbs, 12 fat, 35 protein if you use the Miracle Whip. I just came back from a very long break and am getting back on the wagon, so I'm not sure what the count is when you use an avocado.

    Here's my tuna salad recipe (fits perfect in my lunch box):
    1 can bumblebee solid albacore tuna in water
    1/2 medium avocado (or 2 tbs Miracle Whip)
    1/2 green onion, diced
    1/3 celery stalk, diced
    3/4 mini sweet bell pepper, diced
    salt and pepper to taste
    dill to taste
    ~1 tbsp lemon juice if using avocado (helps it stay green and fresh looking if you're making it the night before. no one wants to eat brownish mush for lunch even if it still tastes good)

    I'm going to have to figure out something else to put in there as well as I'm going to get burnt out on tuna salad pretty quick. another good thing about the box is that you can just take out the little containers and use the main one on it's own. I'm thinking I might throw a salad in there. leftovers fit pretty good too. and even though the containers look small, they're perfect serving sizes. it's rare that I get hungry before dinner.
  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
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    A few of my favs...

    1. Once a week I make a big pot of something (soup, beans, lentils, etc.). The night before work in a microwave safe bowl I like to layer it with a couple ounces fresh chopped spinach, 1/2 cup from my pot of something, a chopped mushroom or 2, some other chopped veggie (broccoli, asparagus, shredded Brussel sprouts, etc), 1 ounce chopped chicken or turkey, 1 tbs raisins (I like that hint of sweet), a little chopped tomato, and a chopped string cheese or parm. Add enough water to cover. The next day heat on high in microwave for about 4-5 minutes.

    2. The night before, I like to bag separate components for a sandwich, and put it together at work (toasted bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mushroom, condiment, etc.), and have that with a serving of fruit and maybe some sweet potato chips.

    3. When they are in season, I love to bring Armenian cucumber slices and top each slice with a little tzatziki, a small piece of turkey or chicken, a little cheese and tomato. English cucumbers are my second choice, but they are no where as "meaty" and filling as the Armenians.

    4. Savory oats...Bring a cup of soup and 1/2 cup of oats. Mix together at work and microwave for a couple minutes. Side of fruit and maybe some veggie sticks.

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