Easy, fast but nutritious Lunches

jaabee11

okay, need help with this.
As I said in my other post I'm struggling with a plateau, a very long one.
I need to change a lot of my eating habits. Eating in my calorie range isn't enough it seems.
Before MFP I never thought too much about lunch, it's always been reheated leftovers , or a really quick sandwich.
Sometimes just a cuppa and a few biscuits, anything to just eat something and then move on with my day.
Obviously one of my problems leading to my weight gain in the first place.

What sort of lunches do you eat?
I do not like salads and will not spend time chopping and dicing just for lunch.
I did try making mountain bread wraps with salads for a while but I just couldn't keep it up.
I wasn't enjoying them at all.
I have baked beans on toast sometimes, a quick sandwich with wholemeal grain bread.
Mostly now because I'm trying to get carbs down and protein up i end up having water crackers and cottage cheese.
Gets boring after a while but quick and easy.
Just after some idea.
Thanks

xlolitabandita

I usually have a chicken breast(sometimes seasoned or with sauce for flavor) and I keep lots of frozen vegies around. I usually pick a day and portion out meals. I will cook the chicken and the vegetables, and portion them into containers. Some of them have brown rice or a servinging of mashed sweet potatoes, for if I'm extra hungry or if it's a main meal for the day. It only takes about 30 minutes to do this, and easily stores in the fridge. It's really easy to play around with different combinations of meat and vegeatbles, too. This is the only thing that works me, if I didn't plan a ahead I would just eat frozen pizza everyday. I work a lot of go to school, so if you're busy during the week, planning and portioning might be worth a try!

Pebble321

Almost always leftovers... I'm cooking for dinner anyway so its no big deal to make twice the amount and serve out two serves into lunchboxes (for husband and I). Sometimes I make salads and very occasionally sandwiches, but leftovers are usually the simplest. Or I might cook something on the weekend that I will have just for lunches, or for snacks - like vegge muffins or fritatta or zucchini slice or tuna patties... then they are ready to go during the week, I just need to add something like cherry tomatoes or some left over veggies.

Koshkaxo

I usually eat either 2 pieces of chicken thighs or a breast, a small serving of white rice and steamed veggies.

I throw the rice in a rice cooker and the veggies in the steambowl that came with it and while that cooks i pan fry my chicken with a dab of light olive oil and spices.

In total this takes me 25 mins (if even), and you could always make a few days of food in one go for the same amount of time

jaabee11

I like the idea of having a zucchini slice or similar ready in portions, great idea. Same with the previous nights dinner. Planning is the key , something I haven't been doing.

Pebble321

I like the idea of having a zucchini slice or similar ready in portions, great idea. Same with the previous nights dinner. Planning is the key , something I haven't been doing.

Yup, planning really does make a difference. I usually plan out a bunch of meals for the week ahead and then grocery shop according to what we're going to eat. This saves me heaps of money and means I don't have to think too much about meals during the week. I use an app called Mealboard on my iPhone to plan meals and create a shopping list and that works really well.

rrgrove

bump

Amoravy

Man that app sounds awesome! I cant wait til I can upgrade to a smartphone and have an app for myfitnesspal and for that too!

Sagefemme76

My favourite lunchtime meal at the moment is a bean quesadilla.
I get a tortilla, chapati or mountain bread.....spread it with Old El Paso refried beans (it's kinda like a bean paste), add some salsa and/or jalapenos and 35g of grated cheese. Then I fold it in half and put it in the george foreman grill for about 3-5 mins (any kind of grill/sanwich press would work....or you can put it in a non-stick frypan and turn half way through)
Top it with a dollop of lite sour cream and maybe a couple of thin slices of avacado, if you have enough cals allowed, and it's a yummy mexican meal! Really doesn't take any longer than making any kind of toasted sandwich.
Another mainstay at lunchtime is the good 'ol soup.....and, now we're going into winter, this is a good 'un. I'll make big pots and freeze portions, then they're ready to go whenever. Alongside the bowl of soup, I'll have a couple of cruskits with cottage cheese and cherry tomatoes. All in all, a very hearty and satisfying meal which can be very low on cals, depending on kind of soup

Matt_Wild

The trick is to pre-cook a load of the meats and carbs you like. Stick them in the fridge or freezer and pull them out as required. Each night I precook one kilo of chicken and beef for the next day. 5 mins in the micro or less, bang on.

LJA8608

My favourite lunchtime meal at the moment is a bean quesadilla.
I get a tortilla, chapati or mountain bread.....spread it with Old El Paso refried beans (it's kinda like a bean paste), add some salsa and/or jalapenos and 35g of grated cheese. Then I fold it in half and put it in the george foreman grill for about 3-5 mins (any kind of grill/sanwich press would work....or you can put it in a non-stick frypan and turn half way through)
Top it with a dollop of lite sour cream and maybe a couple of thin slices of avacado, if you have enough cals allowed, and it's a yummy mexican meal! Really doesn't take any longer than making any kind of toasted sandwich.
Another mainstay at lunchtime is the good 'ol soup.....and, now we're going into winter, this is a good 'un. I'll make big pots and freeze portions, then they're ready to go whenever. Alongside the bowl of soup, I'll have a couple of cruskits with cottage cheese and cherry tomatoes. All in all, a very hearty and satisfying meal which can be very low on cals, depending on kind of soup

I love doing quesadillas... never thought to cook it on my george! I am going to try this tomorrow

tashaa1992

I either have a sandwich with 50/50 bread, with a few pieces of quorn chicken in to get my protein up or soup. You can easily make soup yourself if you wanted:) Urm you could make a wrap, a big fruit salad, the list is endless lol. I always have a yoghurt and a piece of fruit with my sandwich or soup too.

Tasha
xxx

sshetland

Great ideas here! My usual lunch involves a bit of planning - I invested in a soup flask and make a big pot of soup on Sunday to get me through most of my weekday lunches. After the initial making, all that's required is a spot of heating up in the morning. Nutritious, controllable. It'll be good to switch it up with some of these ideas too

twisted88

bump

MissNations

Are you opposed to breakfast for lunch? Scrambled eggs are fast, easy, and have protein. Add in veggies and a little cheese...