Easy Lunches

wild_child_13_22
wild_child_13_22 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, I am lazy when it comes to packing lunches. If I dont have left overs its usually boring fruit, or junk... Any suggestions to painfully simple lunches? Thanks

Replies

  • Chester_1
    Chester_1 Posts: 26
    Hi! :happy:

    I take frozen dinners to work for lunch. I like Smart Ones, they seem to be lower in calories, fat and sodium than a lot of others, and their three cheese pizza is freaking awesome :smile:
  • taziarj
    taziarj Posts: 243 Member
    I have been taking frozen dinners for lunch. Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, etc. We actually bought a small chest freezer in order to buy a lot more in bulk. This time of year the companies are putting out coupons for these items. By watching for sales, we have been able to get these pretty cheap. The last trip to Kroger we were able to stock up on 40 Smart Ones for $1.19 each. I want to eventually get away from these because of the sodium content, but they are working for now.
  • Redapplecandie
    Redapplecandie Posts: 171 Member
    Turkey sandwich on whole grain flatbread...
    Or any meat on a sandwich....

    You can make all of your sandwiches on Sunday, portion them out into baggies, and just grab and go. I make nearly all of my weekly food on Sunday, because I am lazy and don't like cooking every single day.
  • pinthin87
    pinthin87 Posts: 296 Member
    I love those Starkist tuna pouches. I put it on top of salads or put just a bit of mayo, mustard, and relish for an easy tuna salad. You can put in on crackers or whole wheat bread.
  • JustLena75
    JustLena75 Posts: 114
    Some of my big go-tos are canned chicken breast, boiled eggs, cottage cheese, salads, fresh fruit, yogurt, string cheese. Sandwiches on whole grain sandwich thins.
  • Kellster30
    Kellster30 Posts: 63 Member
    Hi! :happy:

    I take frozen dinners to work for lunch. I like Smart Ones, they seem to be lower in calories, fat and sodium than a lot of others, and their three cheese pizza is freaking awesome :smile:


    ^^ Agreed! Smart Ones pizza is awesome!! Smart Ones also has a lot of other tasty choices too - I eat these most days for lunch. Sometimes I'll have a salad with some chicken and low-cal dressing as well, along with some fruit!
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Don't be lazy. Pack a proper lunch. Carrots, boiled eggs, sandwich (no mayo), fruit, nuts.
  • RillSoji
    RillSoji Posts: 376 Member
    Sandwiches. You can have them different ways when you get bored. And you can even switch out bread for a wrap or lettuce leaves.

    Deli - turkey, ham, beef, chicken, mushroom.... with a variety of toppings
    PB & ___ - Grape Jelly, Strawberry Jam, Peach Preserves, Honey, ect.
    Tuna - Plain tuna, tuna salad, mayo & tuna, lemon pepper tuna with pepper jack cheese, ect.
    Egg - Egg slices, egg salad, scrambled egg, over easy, sunny-side up ect.
    BLT - classic bacon lettuce tomato or deluxe it up with more toppings. Try apple! That one is yummy.

    Pair your sandwich with a salad. If you're worried about how long it takes to make a salad, try this: http://www.neatpins.com/2012/03/mason-jar-salads.html

    Classic Iceberg - iceberg lettuce, carrot, red cabbage
    Garden - romaine, spinach, tomato, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower
    Caesar - romaine, parmesan, caesar dressing
    Spinach - Spinach with strawberries, raspberries, mandarin oranges and/or almonds, walnuts, pecans & fruity dressing
    Spring - Mixed spring greens, alfalfa sprouts, cheese, carrot, green onions, bell pepper, tomato, green beans, asparagus
    Cobb - Any greens, tomato, bell pepper, celery, carrot, egg, avocado, bacon, cheese, blue cheese or ranch dressing


    Add a fruit. Find what's in season or try new things. If there's fruit in your ^salad, add some veggies to nibble on. Carrots, green beans, celery, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower.
  • Merrilies
    Merrilies Posts: 32 Member
    I have the same lunch most days - a medium banana, plums and grapes. That way I know I'm getting most of my 'five a day'.

    But as the others have suggested, sandwiches are good, or, if you don't want to eat bread, some cold meat with cherry tomatoes, a slice of light cheese and some grapes is a nice meal.

    Don't forget to drink plenty of water too :)
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
    Just bring leftovers from whatever you made for dinner the night before. I add a green salad on the side, and bring a piece of fruit and some nuts or chocolate to snack on later.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Once a week I prepare and freeze my meals. I just grab one meat, one veggie and one carb to take to work. Since they are frozen, if I don't eat it that day, they are fine left in the fridge for a few more days too.
  • mudar146
    mudar146 Posts: 146 Member
    I usually take the morning of one of my days off and make a few different things for the upcoming weeks lunches. A few examples-->

    Turkey Taco Chili Soup
    Spinach Manacotti
    Spinch Tortellini Soup
    Lighter Chicken Salad

    All of these are from Skinnytaste.com and make enough servings to get my through 5 work days. :) I love to cook so this is easy for me. If you're not a big cooker Tuna in a pita or on its own is always good and quick. You could take slices of turkey and roll them up with a slice of cucumber and cheese in the middle. Or like most are saying any kind of sandwhich can be quick and delish!!

    Good Luck!
  • rachelhohenbrink
    rachelhohenbrink Posts: 179 Member
    I enjoy imitation crab meat with a little soy sauce on the side, yogurt and fresh veggies. Or I like to cook extra food at supper and pack it for my lunch the next day. Sometimes when I don't pack I make a run to the grocery store and buy a piece of rotisserie chicken and a veggie or fruit tray.
  • CapsFan17
    CapsFan17 Posts: 198
    Most days its soup. Its quick to grab in the morning and if you are careful with what you grab most are healthy. I like the progresso soups, alot of them are less then 200cal for the can. Then I take snacks, like carot sticks, an apple or granola bar cause I will get hungry again before I get off.
  • LeslieMDoyle
    LeslieMDoyle Posts: 162 Member
    I stopped by our local grocery store this morning and picked up the following...

    mixed greens in a bag
    four bell peppers
    a cucumber
    sliced almonds
    three avocados
    a bag of oranges
    four packages of Starkist tuna

    For lunch each day this week, I'll have a little bit of each of those (along with the balsalmic vinagrette I have in the fridge at the office). I also have my Shakeology sometime during the day (chocolate and almond milk).
  • featherfun7
    featherfun7 Posts: 12
    I'm a huge lover of my leftover dinners. I bought little glass containers to help with serving size and try to eat the protein and veggies for lunch, leaving out any leftover carbs like potatos. Also, relating to an earlier reply, doing all the work for the week on Sunday has proven to be really helpful. The lazy Sundays I have really make the rest of the week more work.
  • MrsLVF
    MrsLVF Posts: 787 Member
    Tuna with: Spring Mix, cucumber, with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce (or guacamole) in a Arnold - Multigrain Pocket Thins (pita)
  • kalikelli
    kalikelli Posts: 22
    I make all my work meals on Sunday, I usually make five sandwiches wrap them in saran wrap, throw a couple pickles in a baggie and weigh out my snack, this week it's low fat pringles so I have five of each and getting ready for work takes all of 30 seconds which means no excuses to hit the drive thru!

    This week it's turkey, ham and swiss on WW pitas but you can really do anything. Tuna is my fav I think.

    Also makes it that much easier to add into MFP!
  • geri1955
    geri1955 Posts: 106
    I love canned chicken on the new special k seasalt crackers - 30 crackers are 110 calories and a serving of the chicken and mayo is less then 100 calories- tuna or eggsalad is good on them too
    :bigsmile:
  • shannalparker
    shannalparker Posts: 8 Member
    My lunch usually consists of assorted raw veggies, a piece of fruit, some precooked chicken breast (with a little hot sauce!), a couple of olives and a string cheese. Sometimes yogurt too or a few crackers.
  • yarn_nerd
    yarn_nerd Posts: 26
    I plan to make something on Sunday that I can have throughout the week. It's either something that will reheat well, or something that doesn't need to be heated. For example here are some recipes I've made in the last few months:

    Chili
    Curried Brown Rice Salad (this week's lunch)
    A BIG garden salad (then I pack whole grain crackers and a piece of fruit to go with it)
    Veggie Maki!! (complete with pickled ginger, wasabi, and Braggs Amino Acids (or soy sauce)
    Bean salads (there are a million out there)
    Dobu Jorim (Korean soy-braised tofu which can be eaten cold or warm) served with kimchi and rice
    veggie lasagna

    when in doubt, my "OMG I forgot to plan my lunch" options are PB&J with a banana, carrots/hummus, or leftovers.

    Hope this helps

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