Easy, Cheap, & Under 300 Calorie Lunch Ideas/Recipes

bellamiagalleria

I need them...NOW...
1,2,3...GO!

(Can be a little over 300 calories)

freakoutadams

BUMP.

KeepOnMoving

whole wheat bread with lean deli meat and veggies like spinach, cumber, mustard (less calories than mayo.) May or may not have low fat cheese on sandwich. Low fat yogurt & apple for desert. If you need something else? Add raw baby carrots.

yeseneah

Easy, quick and cheap!! Smart ones frozen meals, Healthy choice steamers and Lean cuisines:) ALL under 300...Or Get the 100 calorie thin bagels or sandwich flats...add 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter or sliced turkey...

btor

I am in desperate need of these as well... bump!

maryestephens

Romaine lettuce, mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, and a little olive oil, use seasoned salt or salt and pepper to add taste. (add deli meat or fish if you please)

Try cottage cheese with fresh fruit or cottage cheese with cut veggies.

BBQ salad: Romaine lettuce, chicken breast, bar b q sauce (instead of salad dressing)... add tomatoes, onions or whatever else you like; add gold fish or crushed tortilla chips for a little crunch

drained canned tuna over lettuce - skip the mayo and relish!!!

activia yogurt with bear naked granola add blueberries and strawberries - i always buy the low-sugar activia

These are easy ways to cut out extra carbs like bread or pasta.

Zombielicious

Black Pepper Chicken

vegetable oil
1 lb chicken thighs, diced into 1/2 - 3/4 inch cubes
2 cups celery, sliced on the bias
1 medium onion sliced
1 chopped cup green onions

marinade
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp rice vinegar/sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp of water
1 tbsp rice vinegar/sherry
2 tsp ground black pepper

1. heat up a pan over medium high heat. combine all the ingredients under marinade and soak the diced chicken in it for about 15 minutes.
2. cook the chicken until it's white, drain and put aside. Wipe the pan clean (this is to make sure nothing gets burned when you heat up the pan again) and heat up to medium high. combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside.
3. drizzle oil on the pan again, saute onions, celery and green onions for about 1 minute. you want to keep the vegetables crunchy.
4. add the already cooked chicken and the sauce mixture into the pan and cook until the sauce thickens. serve over steamed or fried rice.


Makes approx four 7 oz servings. Per Serving: Calories: 281 Carbs: 17 Fat: 11 Protein: 29

bellamiagalleria

Easy, quick and cheap!! Smart ones frozen meals, Healthy choice steamers and Lean cuisines:) ALL under 300...Or Get the 100 calorie thin bagels or sandwich flats...add 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter or sliced turkey...

I do Lean Cuisines and other frozen lunches as well and they are kinda boring me. I love the thin bagel flatbread idea! Thank you so much!

Jorra

BUMP Please!

Lately I've been packing an assortment of snacking foods with a dip. I usually pack some almonds, peapods, cherry tomatoes, cheese stick, crackers, and maybe a hot dog or deli meat slices.

soifua

lettuce tossed in a bit of dressing, chopped chicken breast or some turkey (deli meats work) ... stuff it in a whole wheat pita

OR

salad: lettuce, black beans, cooked chicken breast, salsa, a little greek yogurt and maybe a bit of shredded cheese

peacestar84

My favourite is peanut butter banana sandwhich
2 slices whole wheat bread that come to 120 cal
On one slice put 1/2 tablespoon of low fat peanut butter 40 cal
On the other slice put 1 teaspoon of reduce calorie margarine 18 cal
Then a medium banana 105 cal
Yummy and filling for 283 cals.

bellamiagalleria

Gosh y'all, thanks for all of the amazing ideas and recipes! Keep them coming! Evidently I'm not the only one needing them!

Suzannejl

My easiest, and most frequent is: 1 piece jewish rye toasted, cut in half and made into a sandwich with 2 healthy slices of turkey breast lunch meat, 1 slice muenster cheese, cut in half and placed like two slices, 1 lg green leafly lettuce, 1 tsp mayo and 1 tsp butter. 225 calories!

Today I had 1 mini croissant with sam's rotisserrie(sp?0 chicken salad, 1 lg green leaf lettuce, 325 cal

Homemade chili is good too and full of fiber! 315 cal

Brandicaloriecountess

La tortilla factory wheat tortillas (High fiber/low carb) 80 calories
Trader Joe's 1 ingredient PB - I use 1/2 serving for around 90 calories
Sugarfree Strawberry preserves 10 cal!

I eat this a few times a week, or more

soifua

hummus sandwich ... low cal bread, spread hummus (they come in lots of flavors now), top with your choice of lettuce, sprouts or cucumber slices

bjam1234

some of my absolute favourites:

Turkey sandwich - 260cals - 2 slices tip top mini loaf bread, 25g 97% fat free sliced turkey, cucumber, 20g extra light cream cheese, tsp jam (strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, whatever), 1/2tsp horseradish sauce (can mix this in with the jam) - the horseradish really enhances this one!! Most of the cals are in the two slices of bread :P

Pumpernickel with toppings - 200cals - 1 slice pumpernickel bread, 3-4 cherry tomatoes sliced, 1tsp pesto or tomato pesto dabbed across the tomato, cheddar cheese (I use 15g full fat or 20g low fat) - delicious like this or throw it under the grill to melt and brown the cheese!

1c cooked buckwheat (155cal) - then I have played with combinations of awesome additions to this
#1 - 1tsp pesto, 25-50g sliced chicken, celery and spinach (I like to add the spinach while the buckwheat is cooking to wilt it a bit
#2 - roasted beetroot, 20-40g hummus, a dill pickle, spinach wilted in again - soo tasty!
with the toppings it tends to come out around 250-300cals - but you can really change this depending on what you add - you can also start with 1/2c buckwheat instead and have more veggies or whatever!
tried a dinner with 1c buckwheat, 20g grated cheese, 125g mixed frozen veg, 100g tomato puree mixed in with italian herbs and 1/4c natural yogurt drizzled on top - quick to throw together, baked in the over for 40-50mins and had awesome buckwheat bake

JennaLee1486

Betty Crocker 300 meals under 300 calories cookbook!!! They are easy and cheap and I haven't found one I didn't like yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maryestephens

caprice salad: sliced up tomatoes, mozzarella cheese slices, olive oil and seasoned salt or salt and pepper to taste

just put the slices of cheese over the tomatoes and pour the olive oil on - you can eat it cold or microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese. I also like to add capers to add some flavor

mldoiron1

these are AMAZING http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/healthy-baked-chicken-nuggets.html

i made them today for lunch, i swear they took me 4 minutes to make and then just cooking time.

Plus they're easily reheatable!

Eliza1980

bump

monkeybuttsmommy

Betty Crocker 300 meals under 300 calories cookbook!!! They are easy and cheap and I haven't found one I didn't like yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOOOOO! Gonna have to get that!

monkeybuttsmommy

Found this on line... try a few before you get the book!
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/health-and-diet/healthier-eating-recipes/300-calories-or-less-recipes

healthyjen342

great ideas..

How about a steamed vegetable medley...Wayyy less than 300 calories...LOTS of good stuff...

mariposa326

There is also the Hungry Girl 300 Under 300 cookbook by Lisa Lillien... it just came out not too long ago and is full of great ideas! I love this thing!

skmolove

bump

irisia99

bump

rbn_held

I eat soup alot and sometimes a lean cuisine dinner. I watch the sodium because sometimes it can be really high in soups and frozen dinners. I am on a budget so I have to find cheap ideas for lunch.