Low Cal Lunch foods?

Sigra

I've been trying my hardest to not go out to eat during lunch, which is extremely hard considering the work environment I'm in. My Co-workers always go out with each other to grab a bite to eat. I find myself wanting to go with!

Right now I'm flip flopping between bringing a Lean Pocket to work, or bringing left overs from dinner (If there are any). Lean Pocket is actually pretty high in Calories considering it's so small (250cal per), and I haven't had any left overs in a while now

I feel like I'm running out of options what to get for lunch, because I have not a clue. I have enough time to make food in the morning before I leave for work, I just don't know what I should be looking for.

Any suggestions?

Healthyby30

Salad, soup - just watch sodium, make larger batches of chili, casseroles, etc and freeze individual portions. Cook up some meat ahead of time, freeze it and get it out the night bfore in the fridge with some veggies.

dlj1970

I take a salad consisting of 8 cherry tomatoes, 1 med persian cucumber, and mushrooms. then i have some kind of protein with it: canned tuna or trout fillets, low sodium turkey lunch meat with fat free cheese. i keep an apple on hand as well... all the time comes in washing chopping and i keep the cans of tuna at work in a drawer!

carrie145

I had that problem also. I used to eat out everyday!
I started taking a sandwich. I use the Sara Lee 45 calorie whole wheat bread, some turkey breast, and a little bit of Duke's light mayo. Pack some baby carrots or some celery sticks to go along with it. You can have a very filling lunch for around 200 cals. Also remember DON"T drink your calories, opt for water or if u need a soda go diet.
Also some Progresso soup is a good option.

Christine1110

Low carb tortilla with tuna....very light on the lite mayo. or egg whites a little 2% cheese & low fat turkey are yummy on a tortilla

Suzy12

Lunches have always been a struggle for me too. So now, when I make supper I scoop out my lunch portion BEFORE putting it on the table. That way I know I have something healthy. I love soups, but I tire of salads with winter tomatoes.

Sigra

Wow! Those are some amazing suggestions Thank you!

I do love my Salads. But I'm not into it every day, so I'm glad there are some other suggestions. Tuna roll with soup sounds delicious also, especially with this cold weather.

These responses give me a great list to start putting together for when I go shopping.

NoAdditives

When I worked I found that making my lunch the night before was the easiest. Just think about the foods you like to eat. Bring a sandwich and salad one day, homemade soup with some bread the next, pasta, casseroles, etc.

msdebg

Homemade soup: In the winter I make soups on the weekend and freeze in containers I can take to work.
Cottage cheese and fruit: Lowfat cottage cheese and a really juicy diced pear are one of my favorites
Meat & cheese type rolls.: Like Boarshead turkey and lowfat cheese rolled up is very filling
Hummus with pita chips or celery
Lo-Carb wraps with diced chicken, fresh spinach, fetta cheese.

I found I had to get past the idea that I had to "eat a meal" when I sat down to lunch with my co-workers. Now I am amazed when I look at their big plates of food that are are consuming.

I have the work lunch thing figured out, now how about some help with not blowing it when I go out to eat!!! LOL

❤B☩❤

All such great ideas. I find that advance preparation is definitely the key to success. I love the idea of taking lunch portion out of supper before it's served.

You will do fine...good luck!

millerll

I don't have time during the week, so I make my lunches on the weekend. I bake a big pan of chicken or turkey breasts with Mrs. Dash seasonings on them instead of salt. I eat about 4 oz. of meat for lunch. I also take about a cup each of cauliflower, green beans, and yellow squash. I make a huge salad of about 3 cups of romaine and green leaf lettuces, about 2 cups of chopped green, yellow, red, and orange bell peppers, sliced cucumber, and about 16 grape tomatoes. I eat this with lemon juice and pepper as dressing - no cals. My dessert is a mixed fruit salad I make from some apple, orange, cantaloupe, and pineapple - about 1/2 cup of each.

I eat greek yogurt for breakfast with a banana, and I have carrot and celery sticks with Laughing Cheese as a snack in the afternoon. Sometimes I'll have some almonds or macadamias as a snack if I'm particularly hungry that day.

I eat all this at work for around 800 calories total, and I'm stuffed. I still have 400 left over for dinner - more when I work out in the afternoon.

I measure everything out Sunday afternoons while the laundry is going. I line up all the containers and my measuring cups and food scale and just go to town. All told, the whole process takes about 3 hours to cook, chop, measure, etc., but it's worth it. In the mornings, I just grab the next container out of the fridge and pack my cooler, and I'm off to work. This works for me. Good luck!