LUNCH IDEAS

StellaBby10

I am running out of creativity for LUNCH ideas. I am on a 1200 calorie diet.

Anyone have any good ideas for a healthy, low calorie and FILLING lunch?

lunaephiliac

dude! steamed veggies are my favorite. cauliflower is awesome with salt and pepper, just chop it up, throw it in a pot with an inch of water and heat it with a lid till it's tender. broccoli too.
also: popcorn!

lind3400

I make a toasted tomato sandwich with two slices whole wheat bread, tomatos, smidge fo mayo and 2 slices turkey bacon delicious! and like 300 calories!

runningathena

My go-to lunch is the "heat and serve" brown rice (half the packet at a time), a grilled chicken breast, and a baby spinach salad with carrots/avocado/tomatoes. I think it comes out to about 400-500 calories, depending on portion size. I buy chicken breasts in a bag at Costco, grill them the night before, then cut them in half (butterfly style) to cover two meals.

The rice takes about 90 seconds to heat up, so I just put it in with the chicken, heat them together, and voila! The chicken flavors the rice a little bit, which is nice because plain brown rice gets boring after a while. You can use a salad dressing spritzer to add flavor to your salad, and the whole thing takes about 3 minutes to prep at lunchtime.

Another go-to lunch I like is the fat-free bean and rice burritos from Trader Joe's. They come two to a pack, so I eat one as my meal with a few honey wheat pretzels and some hummus, maybe a piece of light string cheese. Filling and less than 500 calories.

Hope that helps!

countrygirl_717

Something I do quite often is mix a packet of tuna with two hardboiled egg whites, a bit of cut up onion, and 1 TBSP of Miracle Whip Light, and a squirt of mild mustard. Then just mash it all up in a bowl like egg salad and eat it! Then I'll add in a cup of mixed raw veggies with some low fat ranch or something for a dip (or make your own dip with Greek yogurt and spices - waaay yummy) I'm usually very full, especially because of the raw veggies.

irisheyez718

If you're not concerned with sodium, the Campbell's Chunky soup's (most of them) are under 300 calories, for a big can. I usually have the Sirloin burger with country vegetables, its very filling.

myukniewicz

i love having smoothies for lunch

1 cup frozen fruit
1 cup fat free greek yogurt
1/2 cup light soy milk (or whatever milk you like)
1 packet Truvia (or whatever artificial sweetener you use)
Blend it all up and.....

BAM, you have an amazing smoothie packed with protein and a serving of fruit!

angiolm

I sometimes like to bring an antipasto plate

- 2 hard boiled eggs quartered
- 1 sliced red pepper - cut in finger food sizes
- 1 sliced yellow pepper - cut in finger food sizes
- 2 stalks of celery, cut into finger food size
- 10 cherry tomatoes (not sliced - whole)
- 2 slices thinly sliced turkey - rolled up
- 2 slices thinly sliced extra lean ham - rolled up
- 4 olives
- 2 ounces cubed cheese

Lay all this over 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce and eat with either Low fat crackers or bread sticks if you need some carbs in your day.

Seems like a lot of work but it isn't. Prep all the pieces individually on a Sunday and separate into different plastic baggies. Every morning, grab all the baggies, assemble in your plastic container and select what you want that day. By not adding chopped tomatoes or any dressing at all - it keeps fresh and crisp all day long.

Takes long to eat it all and it really fills you up.

lilybug13

Plain Greek yogurt with either fruit or regular flavored yogurt or apple sauce.

Queen_JessieA

I LOVE Gorton's classic grilled salmon. 100 calories per piece. I will steam some broccoli (as suggested w/ a smidge of salt) and eat it like that OR build a huge green leaf salad w/ mushrooms, tomatoes and other veggies, chop the salmon up and put it on top w/ my fave dressing. Oy, so good!!

Today I am feasting on a cup of Bear Creek Minestrone soup (I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes) and a 1/8 (1 small slice) of Freschetta pizza Yummers!

StellaBby10

all of these ideas sound great!!! thanks guys!! keep em comin!! (=

dryfli

-if i am on the run, i get a wendy's cobb salad and only use one packet of the dressing. egg, tomato, bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, and grilled chix with avacado dressing, 555 cals.
-if i am and have some time or can pack ahead, i do a salad with either cut up grilled chix, or lunchmeat, cheese of some sort, hard boiled egg, and whatever veggies i have, some LF dressing. usually i can keep it below 500 cals for the meal.
-other quick option is at home, a toasted english muffin (i use GF as i have celiac disease), one fried egg, (no oil, in nonstick), 2 slices canadian bacon (which is fairly low cal/fat) and 1oz (2 slices) of pepper jack cheese. fills me up.
-another quickie for home, 1/4 cup of dry grits, add 1 cup of water, cook in micro. add 1/2 cup of your fav spag sauce. the grits are enriched, and not as bad for you as regular pasta.
one of my favorites is buffalo salad. - lettuce, celery, carrots, diced or shredded chicken, a little shredded cheese, and for the dressing, i mix LF blue cheese or ranch with petes red hot. makes me feel like i am eating wings without the cals or fat.