What to bring to work for lunches

nwilliams36

Yes I usually take what I had from the night before and plenty of snacks like greek yogurt, fruit, peanut butter on thin whole grain sandwich rounds.

Or I will take the meat and put it on top of a salad or in a low carb multi grain wrap (about 60 calories).

sabusby

We also will make doubles of things like veggie lasagna or casserole and freeze individual portions for work lunches.

sobriquet84

call me old fashioned, i'm a big fan of sandwiches.

sara lee 45 calorie per slice multi grain sandwich bread, piled high with turkey or chicken or whatever meat i've got in the fridge at home, a slice of cheese, tomato, veg, avocado, whatever i'm feeling up to that day.

i'll usually pair it with almonds or a protein bar, which i will eat a couple hours later for an afternoon snack.

or, i'll bring some leftovers from dinner the night before.

Donnaakamagmid

I'm a big fan of homemade soups.

I do a big pot on the weekend, portion it out for 5 days and then freeze the rest.

I've eat this almost everyday since January and haven't gotten bored yet. There are countless low, cal, low sodium recipes out there. You can get creative.

nashvillern

I have been batch making my version of like a dirty quinoa.

I use a mix of tri colored quinoa and ground turkey that has been sauteed with kale, a bunch of those little sweet peppers (red, yellow and orange), green beans (fresh!), onion, garlic and zucchini. I divided it into containers for the week. I used a little sea salt when cooking and it is ultimately pretty low sodium.

I add to that a small gala apple for my terrible sweet tooth!

A lot of people like to add a sriracha or other hot sauce to it. Not me, but others...lol

Been looking for some recipes to change up lunch...getting board. All these ideas were excellent. Can't wait to try the above recipe from one of the other posts as well as some others.

ndblades

I stay away from any prepackaged and processed foods if I can -- including deli meat! I have a large family - so there are never leftovers. I go in streaks - depends what is growing in my garden this time of year!

* mixed greens with walnuts,apples, blue cheese and a light raspberry vinniagrette and chicken breast if I happen to sneak one from the dinner table the night before!
* tuna or egg salad
* Peanut butter sandwhich and an apple
* 1/2 bagel with melted cheedse, and apple
* cilantro lime rice and black beans on a tortilla

Enigmatica

My food log is open if you want to cruise through for ideas. Usually I heat frozen veggies (no sauce and minimal sodium) in a glass bowl I keep at work, and add some sort of home prepared meat or fish. I do some "cooking ahead" on the weekends - for example buy chicken breast on sale, bake it up with assorted Mrs Dash (no salt) spices, slice and weigh out 3 oz portions which go into snack size ziplock bags and into the freezer. Can do with any meat. Sometimes I buy packaged tuna or salmon servings to have if I don't feel like cooking fish. And sometimes I bring a salad or change things up one way or another. But I'm not a fan of eating out and want nothing to do with most commercially prepared frozen meals because they're usually very unhealthy. And heating food in plastic is a great way to get all kinds of plastic toxins into your body. I used to think it didn't matter until I developed nasty endocrine system problems. Now I know. =\

m16shane

I'm a big fan of homemade soups.

I do a big pot on the weekend, portion it out for 5 days and then freeze the rest.

I've eat this almost everyday since January and haven't gotten bored yet. There are countless low, cal, low sodium recipes out there. You can get creative.

What's your favorite? I would like to try some healthy soups!

msudaisy28

I also bring my lunch almost every day. Most weeks I bring salads 3 days of the week - I have 3 containers that I use for them and I make all 3 salads at the same time to save on prep time/work.

The off days, or weeks like this where i just didn't feel like buying salad stuff, I do things like sandwiches (this week it's been PB&J on 100% whole wheat sandwich thins), egg salad with crackers (I make egg salad with greek yogurt instead of mayo), leftovers from dinner, or soup or a freezer meal (probably wouldn't solve the sodium issue). I aim for 350-500 cals in my lunch so if I'm not getting there with just a main dish, I add greek yogurt, fruit, crackers or something else to get me to a lunch that I think will keep me full long enough!

sobriquet84

I'm a big fan of homemade soups.

I do a big pot on the weekend, portion it out for 5 days and then freeze the rest.

I've eat this almost everyday since January and haven't gotten bored yet. There are countless low, cal, low sodium recipes out there. You can get creative.

What's your favorite? I would like to try some healthy soups!

i do a super easy and quick chili--

1 packet reduced sodium McCormick chili seasoning
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey-- browned
1 medium sized chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 can kidney beans

sprinkle with some reduced fat mild cheddar cheese if you like.

super easy and delicious.

i realize its in the middle of summer and all, but i actually have this on the menu for tomorrow night.

ann162

My lunches for work are pretty much the same thing just try not to take the same thing 2 days in a row
Salad sometimes I add shredded cheese or grilled chicken or salmon.
sandwich made with sandwich thin roll, low sodium turkey or ham, mustard or mayo and low fat american cheese slice
special K chips
or left overs

Kebby83

I'm a big fan of homemade soups.

I do a big pot on the weekend, portion it out for 5 days and then freeze the rest.

I've eat this almost everyday since January and haven't gotten bored yet. There are countless low, cal, low sodium recipes out there. You can get creative.

I love chilli in the summer. Any time, really.

What's your favorite? I would like to try some healthy soups!

i do a super easy and quick chili--

1 packet reduced sodium McCormick chili seasoning
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey-- browned
1 medium sized chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 can kidney beans

sprinkle with some reduced fat mild cheddar cheese if you like.

super easy and delicious.

i realize its in the middle of summer and all, but i actually have this on the menu for tomorrow night.

camrunner

I usually just bring a couple of Clif bars to work. I'm super lazy.

sabusby

I also bring my lunch almost every day. Most weeks I bring salads 3 days of the week - I have 3 containers that I use for them and I make all 3 salads at the same time to save on prep time/work.

The off days, or weeks like this where i just didn't feel like buying salad stuff, I do things like sandwiches (this week it's been PB&J on 100% whole wheat sandwich thins), egg salad with crackers (I make egg salad with greek yogurt instead of mayo), leftovers from dinner, or soup or a freezer meal (probably wouldn't solve the sodium issue). I aim for 350-500 cals in my lunch so if I'm not getting there with just a main dish, I add greek yogurt, fruit, crackers or something else to get me to a lunch that I think will keep me full long enough!

Keep in mind that canned beans are very high in sodium--some containing around 1170mg. Keep in mind that rinsing the beans only reduces the sodium by about 41% (Shadix, 2010). I know it's a huge pain to cook them yourself but toss them in a crock pot over night and voila! You've saved substantial amounts of sodium!

Shadix, K. (2010). Reducing sodium in canned beans. Toda'ys Dietician, 12(1), 62. Retrieved from http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/011110p62.shtml