Need lunch ideas

AWchick1286

I currently work retail and only get a 30 min. lunch break. I was good up until a little bit ago and then I started slipping. A pretzel shop visit here and a starbucks visit there topped off with a pizza delivery man. I haven't gained much weight but I know that if I don't stop I'm gonna be right back where I started. Problem is I'm having a problem trying to find new ideas for lunches that can be packed quickly or the night before and don't cost a bundle, I'm on an extremely tight budget. I need something outside of frozen dinners, we only have one microwave for several employees, and something out side of lunch meat sandwiches. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

rrrayondesoleil

I love sweet potato with peanut butter and cinnamon

sylviatx

When I used to work fulltime I would take Greek yogurt with honey and almonds. Or yogurt with fresh fruit in it, my favorite was blackberries. Also would take two apples, one for around 10 am and one for around 3 pm. OR sometimes would take one apple and one cheese stick (mozzarella) for my snacks.

As a friend of mine used to say, "it's not about LOVING the apple, it's about EATING the apple" LOL. I don't love apples. But, I'll eat them, and they serve the purpose of bringing my blood sugar up and taming my appetite.

riboid

When making your dinner the night previous, just make some extra and take it with you for lunch.
Just make sure its healthy.

lindsay2x

I feel you girl! I have the same problem, but I only get fifteen minutes. Salads (they are good because you don't have to cook anything), soups (put them in a thermos so you don't have to re-heat them), and I like yogurt because it fills me up and it's quick to eat with some fruit. If you have any magic answers let me know! I will be following this post.

megziejo

Hmm I was gonna say soup but if getting to the microwave is an issue.... How about WASA crackers, laughing cow cheese, lunch meat and lots of sliced up veggies, cucumbers are my fav, sweet peppers are great too.

I don't have mason jars but I googled mason jar salads and then premade them for the week in plastic food storage containers.

Cold pieces of cooked chicken with veggies for dipping maybe with hummus if you like it.

PeriwinklePineapple

Get a bag of salad, a couple of cans of tuna, and a light dressing. Pour some salad in bowl. Empty tuna can over salad. Put a serving of the dressing on it. ;-) Easy, fast, tastes good, and if you get a low cal dressing, probably only around 200-250 calories for the whole thing.

Or just a mix of a bunch of healthy stuff. Bring a container, stuff it with a hard-boiled egg, some baby carrots, some grapes, maybe a little babybel cheese, crackers...whatever adds up to your allotted calories for the meal. good stuff!

RunningMs

My usual working lunck would be a Spinach and Chicken salad with a side of fruit. It's quite simple to prepare in a short amount of time, travels well and no need to re-heat. I have also become a fan of rice cakes recently, they are good to top with a small can of tuna or hummus and a few veggies.

bethvandenberg

I've taken to using glass canning jars add lettuce, veggies, meat and a little cheese and then I package some dressing in a small plastic container to take with....You can make these in advance and it all keeps. Put meat and cheese on the bottom of jars. They last and last and easy to grab with a plastic fork. I bought the little plastic containers at the grocery store in the liquor isle for jello shots and that's what I use for dressing and also make little things of nuts and mini chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

I also do make extra dinner sometimes and take that....

Firefox7275

Cold salads based on canned beans or lentils, oily fish or grated cheese or hardboiled eggs plus salad veggies.

ryry_

Can't help as I always had the same problem until sandwiches and greek yogurt became a mainstay. 400 cals

Khittle123

My boss brings baked potatoes. She buys a few and bakes them in the oven when she gets home and puts all of the toppings she wants on them. She usually does, scallions, diced ham, green peas, tomatoes, and cheese. The she buys Tilamok fat free sour cream and those ranch dressing seasoning packets and mixes them together and makes ranch dressing that she puts on top of the bake potato. Of course, you don't have to put those toppings on your bake potato; you can put whatever you would like. I like to put kidney beans on mine when I do it.
Another thing I do is pick a few hours in the afternoon and make soup and takes those, or I take leftovers.

lamby284

I love sweet potato with peanut butter and cinnamon

i second this. we bake a bunch of sweet potatoes on the weekend and put them in the fridge to eat throughout the week. its probably the yummiest vegetable. mash it up in a plastic container with other stuff and take it with you for lunch!

AlwaysInMotion

Here's another suggestion…

1) Get yourself a cute insulated lunch bag, some reusable cold packs, and a box of snack-size baggies and a reusable little lidded container (cup/cube)

2) make up a bunch of the following "component" pouches for the week:
* snack baggies of protein/fat (pick from cheese sticks/cubes, deli meat, nuts, hard-boiled egg, etc.)
* snack baggies of fruit (apple wedges, grapes, berries, orange, etc)
* snack baggies of veggies (baby carrots, sugar snaps peas, pepper strips, broccoli florets, etc.)
* snack baggie of carbs (crackers, pita chips, pretzels, etc.)
* a small container of something nummy (yogurt, PB, hummus, low-fat fruit or caramel dip, low-fat ranch, cheese spread, etc)
* perhaps a treat if it's in your food budget (ex: 3 kisses)

3) mix and match the baggies/containers per day as your nutritional needs dictate.

The upsides are:
1) no cooking required
2) it can be cost effective if you buy and bag up a week's worth of bags/containers at a time
3) you can be creative and add whatever sounds good that day/week
4) you can munch on stuff all at once or your can nibble multiple times throughout the day…

It's like LEGO for lunches.

tvanhooser

Check out this thread:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/658405-35-quick-low-calorie-lunches

I've tried some of these and they are really good, IMHO and not too hard to make.

alamarana2885

I usually have half a PB&J (1 tbsp of each) or half a can of solid albacore tuna with 1 tbsp of miracle whip on one slice of whole wheat (making sure there's nothing that says 'enriched" in the ingredients) with some fruit on the side. I usually go for red grapes, peaches or pears. Fills me up pretty well and you can change the PB between crunchy and smooth and the flavor of your J so it doesn't get too boring (though I like to keep my flavor the same) and you can add various veggies to the tuna if that's what you like. If I make mine the night before I just put my tuna or PB&J in a tiny Tupperware and the bread in a sandwich baggie and make it on my lunch (I don't do soggy sandwiches).

Edit: for the tuna, I get the kind in water not oil

AWchick1286

Thanks everyone. These were quite helpful and will be added to the grocery list this wek. Especially lego for lunches, haha, that was awesome thinking. I'm not that creative when it comes lunches so I know a lot of mine was grab and go stuff. I do almonds in the 100 calorie packs, greek yogurt has been good, and usally a lot of melon in the summer. I was also doing beef jerky for awhile as far as snacks go. Thanks again for the ideas and I'll keep checking back to see if anything new pops up or if I think of anything new.

stephaniekhani

I love sweet potato with peanut butter and cinnamon

i second this. we bake a bunch of sweet potatoes on the weekend and put them in the fridge to eat throughout the week. its probably the yummiest vegetable. mash it up in a plastic container with other stuff and take it with you for lunch!

I love this idea... I've never tried sweet potatoes with pb and cinnamon... but I have a feeling I will be soon! :-)