Do you pack a lunch?

tldust

I usually pack an Amy's frozen meal or Kashi frozen meal, luna bar, some type of fruit. Left overs if I have any. Those cute little boxes of soy milk.

brogersnhod

I normally buy the big container of Cabot Vanilla Greek Yogurt and a different flavor of granola that is not to high in calories. I combine one cup of the granola to one cup of the yogurt and eat that for lunch. Being that I am a guy and my calorie intake is more than most ladies this might not seem worth while for you but most times it equals about 500 - 700 calories again depending on the granola I choose. 1 cup of the yogurt is only 220 calories 4 grams of fat and 18g of protein. This will fill me up for a short while but I am trying to get into the habit of 6 small meals a day instead of 3 big meals.

10acity

I'm also about to get on a quinoa salad kick... quinoa + veggies of choice + fresh cilantro or basil + lemon/lime juice and a little olive oil = very filling and delicious! And a bowl of the stuff will last me a week.

herownkindofwonderfull

Like many others, I tend to way overcook when I make meals so I can bring them the next day. These include homemade stews, soups, spaghetti squash lasagna (so good! i have a recipe if you'd like - all veggies (although I add meat) and no starches! Also, lots of potassium!), etc.

I am also a fan of protein shakes and fruits/veggies. if you have or can invest in one of those mini blenders (like the bullet)... you can bring the things you need to make a shake at work.

lets see... otherwise, i love sandwiches and salads. baked potato / kettle chips. popcorn. zone bars (their double dark chocolate is to die for - and it's good for you! not too high in sugar, high in protein and other vitamins!).

i'm sure there's more.. but i'm tired... lol

99clmsntgr

I pack a lunch almost every day. Usually it's a portion of whatever is left over from dinner the night before. On days like today, where we didn't have left-overs (last night was grilled cheese sammiches and a serving of bbq chips! Yum!), I scrounge whatever I can out of the pantry.

I've also made crock-pots full of chili or soup on Sundays and portioned that out for a week's worth of lunches. That works well, too.

The only days I don't pack a lunch are the days where I know I have a lunch meeting and some food will be provided AND I know I have enough calories to give.

designkid78

I have to pack my lunch every day. I work nights, our cafeteria is not open, I can't leave the building (the only thing open during the night is White Castle and McDonalds anyway), and my only other option is the vending machines. I usually try and pack myself a healthy lunch with a piece of fruit, a vegetable, and a protein source. I will use my crock pot to make soup and I can usually get enough from one batch to last a week and a half. I'll also take wraps or sandwiches. If I'm feeling lazy or I'm only working a couple of days, I'll get frozen dinners. If I get salad, it's only one day a week. I just can't eat salads everyday for a week. Baby carrots, celery, and apples are pretty much staples of my lunches. The rest varies.

rc630

A snack bag with 2 large sticks of celery (broken up) and a serving of baby carrots, then a divided tupperware with hummus and mustard in 2 of the small sections, then either a sandwich or a baby spinach salad with fish (you can use the individual packets of tuna and salmon that are about 80 calories and don't need to be refrigerated if sealed) and some light dressing.
I do this on the 2-3 days a week that I have to pack lunch (I'm a student, so the other days I have time to go home)

EDIT: I also bring a small bar, like a chewy granola bar or half of a Clif Builder's Bar for a snack that I eat about 2.5-3 hours after lunch.

mem1086

bumping for ideas! I normally get a salad from our cafeteria. So I don't pack a lunch, but I pack my breakfast and 2 snacks. I want to start packing my lunch.

shar140

This-

When I make dinner the night before I always make enough for the next day lunch. I also occasionally have a sandwich or salad.

And this-

I try to grill or bake several meats (chicken, pork, tilapia) on Sunday and then bring leftovers for lunch during the week. Sometimes will throw together a salad and then reheat some chicken to put on top.

When in a crunch, I'll make a quick tuna or chicken salad. Eat it with a fork (heated sometimes, even), or put over a salad. (I'm gluten intolerant, so I don't do the bread anyways)

I'll also make bacon/sausage/boiled eggs ahead, so I can just grab breakfast on days I'm not up in time to make something. It's all about planning ahead! :flowerforyou:

Michele7091

When I make dinner the night before I always make enough for the next day lunch. I also occasionally have a sandwich or salad.

Same here...I always make enough dinner so that I have something for lunch the next day. No way in hell could I eat a sammich every day.

sara1923

Yep same.. take a food prep day.. portion everything out. I will literally have 3 different marinades/seasonings for chicken and then usually make rice/veggies to go with. My lazy meals are baked potatoes with salsa. I also like bringing sweet potatoes for lunch. Soups/salads. Yogurt with . cottage cheese. My diaries are public. I pack my lunch everyday but as a forewarning I had upped my calories to try to get over a plateau so you might get sick of reading

monicaroozo

I like to make variations of the same thing. Lots of the ingredients are repeats so its easy to shop for & plan a week. All of these lunches are between 350-400 calories:

Salads - I like to mix lettuces & spinach and add the following ingredients to them.:

1. Sliced almonds, light feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, & dried cranberries
2. Sliced almonds, light feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, & sliced granny smith apple
3. Light mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and either chicken or steak (cooked from the dinner before)
4. Morning star veggie burger (can microwave and break up on top of salad), salsa
5. "Summer salad" made with cucumbers & tomatoes instead of lettuce (can use toppings listed above)


Open face sandwhiches (which I make with light bread):

1. Tuna, light mayo, chopped celery, laughing cow cheese
2. PB2 (powdered peanutbutter), sliced banana or sliced granny smith apple
3. Sliced deli meats, veggies, light mayo or laughing cow cheese
4. Homemade pizza slice (can make with less & light cheese and healthier toppings for 300 cals a slice)

Snacks:
Clementines, granny smith apples with PB2 or laughing cow cheese, bananas, nuts, tazo teas, sparkling water, greek yogurt, berries, pineapple chunks, unsweetened apple sauce, veggies with hummus

monicaroozo

Also, you can do crock pot recipes at the beginning of the week... like a chili... but it kills me to eat that all week long.... haha

UpToTheChallenge

I usually just make extra dinner from the night before and pack it for dinner. If not, I usually make chicken and salad or chicken and rice or soemthing along those lines. Something I can throw in the oven and get some school work done. It reheats nicely the next day.

NovemberJune

I bring my lunch almost everyday and it's usually leftovers. Or I make a big pot of something just for work. So over the weekend I made a big thing of bean chili and split it into 7 servings, put half in the freezer for in a couple of weeks and half to eat this week.

buzzcogs

can of soup (if you have a microwave). Leftovers from the night before, boiled eggs, boiled egg sliced in a tuna pack (really yummy and really high in protein), crackers, cheese, and sliced tomatos, hummus and veggies for dipping. Granola, blueberries, and greek yoghurt (more like a dessert!)
I tend to be a sort of "boring, same" person so I often end up eating the same thing everyday and liking it! ;-)

maieranne77

If there are no leftovers from dinner I sometimes will take some chicken breast and mix it in with cottage cheese, avocado and tomato.
OR
Canned Tuna with corn, cottage cheese and tomato

These are two of my go to lunches.

blgerig

Here are my standbys for lunch:

Soup (sometimes with a side of veggies or crackers and cheese)
Cottage cheese or hummus with a side of veggies and pita chips
Beans! Find they fill me up well - black beans and salsa with a half serving of tortilla chips or half a container of chick peas with frozen veggies
Leftovers

I find if I get fruits and veggies prepped (clean, cut, individually portioned) at the beginning of the week I am MUCH better about eating them all week long. I am also one of those people who will eat the same thing for weeks at a time if it sounds good, if you look at my diary I get on kicks of eating the same breakfast or same lunch for several days in a row sometimes lol.

Il_DaniD_lI

I always pack my lunches. Sandwhich, turkey wrap, soup, salad, grilled cheese from the cafeteria (sometimes). Those started getting really boring so I sometimes will make extra supper in the evening so I have left overs for work.

majordlite

I make a large bean burrito that has less than 200 calories. I take a La Tortilla factory whole wheat or white tortilla (100), spread on 1/2 cup of fat-free refried beans (23), 2 tbsp shredded 2% colby cheese (40), 2 tbsp of chunky salsa (10), and 1 tbsp light sour cream (20), for a total of 193 calories. You can also add lettuce and tomatoes for less than 10 calories. It totally fills me up.

MandaJean83

I love the Amy's brand organic burritos. They are huge, relatively healthy, and taste delicious!

kpwatson

I keep starkist tuna packed in water pouches and keebler multigrain crakers at work to grab. I also keep a few low cal progresso soups around, but not many as they contain quite a bit of sodium. I usually add raw veggies or fruit like an apple or pear. the large amt of protein keeps me fuller.

kpwatson

yum!

Meant for the 193 calorie bean burrito.

hesn92

I'm no help. I bring a sandwich every. single. day.

It's getting old.

Although I've recently switched from turkey to pb&j lol

10KEyes

I bring my lunch with me everyday to work, I've noticed I bring quick things that are high in calories and all of that. I'm sick of eating a sandwich everyday, it get's old!

Does anyone have any ideas on what I could bring for lunch that is easy to make and not high in calories, yet filling?

I bring my lunch from home as well, every day. Usually, I use left over food from dinner and add other things if it is a little short.

Today's line up (I am sure higher calorie than you are looking for):

4oz of baked wild salmon
about .5 cup of green beans
1 med sized banana
1 medium avocado - Guacamole (garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, chopped onion and a dash of salt)
1 oz mixed nuts

I usually take left overs as my wife will make a little extra for me to take. Some times I will freeze left overs if there is much, to use at a later date for lunch. Really I just kind of throw stuff together.

If I don't have anything to bring, it is my intermittent fasting day, so lunch gets skipped. LOL

19danno77

SMALL portions of dinner leftovers...or as my 2 year old told me once: rightovers. Soups. Slice and a half of pizza is ~400 calories. Sandwiches are tough to beat though...and they can be almost anything. Expand the definition of a sandwich...have you tried the PB&J with nuts and/or chocolate chips? Or sliced bananas? I literally could eat those for every meal. Lot's of meat/bean/grain leftovers can go on a bed of greens with some nuts/seeds + cheese for a good salad with a vinagrette. Keep avacados, a bag of nuts in the freezer, frozen corn, shredded carrots, diced peppers and onions to church up everything from soups to sandwiches, to frozen pizzas to stir fries.

Something else I've done more of lately is taking any old hot leftover and throwing some leaf spinach in with it and heat them up together sneaking some low-flavor/texture-impact nutrients in anything. Cooked greens aren't what I thought they'd be and they work out well for me.

manderann

Most days I try to have leftovers from the night before. Maybe it's just because I'm a single mom, but I think it would be pain to try to cook dinner and still have to whip something up for lunch, or worse yet, trying to put something together before work in the morning. Knowing that I can't chow down everything that night because I need a lunch the following day helps keep my dinner portion size under control, too. The rest of my lunch typically consists of fresh fruits and veggies, string cheese, yogurt, nuts and crackers. I also keep soup in my desk drawer at work, so that I'm not tempted to hit the drive thru if I forget to pack a lunch one day.

10KEyes

When in a crunch, I'll make a quick tuna or chicken salad. Eat it with a fork (heated sometimes, even), or put over a salad. (I'm gluten intolerant, so I don't do the bread anyways)

I'll also make bacon/sausage/boiled eggs ahead, so I can just grab breakfast on days I'm not up in time to make something. It's all about planning ahead! :flowerforyou:

I usually keep a carton of hard boiled eggs for breakfast with some fresh slices of tomato and cucumber. Sometimes I will alternate and saute onions and peppers and scramble a couple of eggs for breakfast. Depends on time. Weekends I almost always make scrambled eggs, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and either bacon or sausage for the family.

shar140

I bring my lunch with me everyday to work, I've noticed I bring quick things that are high in calories and all of that. I'm sick of eating a sandwich everyday, it get's old!

Does anyone have any ideas on what I could bring for lunch that is easy to make and not high in calories, yet filling?

I bring my lunch from home as well, every day. Usually, I use left over food from dinner and add other things if it is a little short.

Today's line up (I am sure higher calorie than you are looking for):

4oz of baked wild salmon
about .5 cup of green beans
1 med sized banana
1 medium avocado - Guacamole (garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, chopped onion and a dash of salt)
1 oz mixed nuts

I usually take left overs as my wife will make a little extra for me to take. Some times I will freeze left overs if there is much, to use at a later date for lunch. Really I just kind of throw stuff together.

If I don't have anything to bring, it is my intermittent fasting day, so lunch gets skipped. LOL

I actually used to make my own frozen dinners, when I lived alone. I'd make 3-4 servings at dinner, then save some for lunches, and freeze the rest, already-portioned. I'd get tired of the same thing after a couple times!

RillSoji

You're welcome to my lunch box ideas... I've just started doing them again. ^_^ I've found that variety is an awesome way to not get bored.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/RillSoji