low cal lunch ideas?

kumf

I've been eating this everyday for lunch for a week or so and am surprised how much more filling it is than my normal PB+J sandwich and apple.

Morningstar Farms - Spicy Black Bean Burger, 1 patty: 120 calories
French's Dijon W/Chardonnay - Mustard, 1 tsp: 5 calories
Apple - Gala - Medium: 80 calories
Total: 205 calories

kindyusaf

These all sound soo good! I needed some new ideas instead of salad for lunch

mamamc03

I make a batch of soup every Sunday and eat it for lunch for the week. It's just easier @ work to have it already calculated and not scramble to find something daily.

It calls for chicken...so I normally will get out the appropriate amount in weight of chicken tenderloins and boil them.
It also calls for boullion or broth...win win...I use the water from boiling the chicken!!

YAY!! My soup is 183 cals a svg and FULL of veggies, protein and more!

liya368

Any morning star "veggie" burger and a serving or 2 of veggies.
Truth be told this week I am eating half a spicy black bean burger and 2/3 cup mixed veggies for a grand total of 120 calories.

jenniferarnold619

I make whole wheat pitas into pizza!
Slice the pita in half to make a thin disk (it trims the calories). I start toasting that while I prep my toppings. I like to saute bell pepper and onion with minced garlic and I chop up roasted chicken deli meat. I then take the pita out of the oven, spread Laughing Cow Sundried Tomato and Basil cheese wedge on the pita, top with veggies and chicken and sprinkle lowfat mozzarella on top and bake until the cheese is melted. This comes up to about 250 calories and it pretty filling!

I will also make stuffed pitas by sauteing bell pepper, onion and deli sliced chicken sprinkled w/ a tablespooon of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (the powder). I then cut the pita bread in half circles, start with lettuce, cucumbers, add the chicken veggie mix and then sprinkle about a tbs. of mozzarella cheese in each pita. This too falls in the 250/ 300 calorie range.

lhartmann1962

That sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing.

Getyourshineon

Frozen turkey meatballs... Love them... with melted cheese or parmesean! Yummy and easy!

rcc1988

Grilled chicken and veggies on a pita (or hold the pita and just use lettuce as "bread" if you're trying to go REALLY low-cal)
Tuna sandwich (light mayo in the tuna for lower cals, or no mayo at all!)
Stir-fried veggies in teriyaki sauce
Canned light soups (entire cans of soup for only about 200 cals! Yum!)
Bean or lentil salads (great for packable to work and things like that, loads of recipes online)
Curried chicken salads

tuffytuffy1

2 slices light rye (80 calories); 2 ounces lean deli meat like peppered ham (60 calories); 1 ounce Cabot 1% milk (75% reduced fat) cheddar cheese (60 calories); mustard; all the veggies you like. I do red onions, banana peppers, that sort of thing. Very low cal and yummy!

:bigsmile:

Where can I find that light rye??????-I haven't seen that in years-Oreweat used to make it???? But it disappeared here in So-Cal????

Weight Watchers makes a light rye, as does Beefsteak. Unfortunately, my grocery store stopped carrying the Beefsteak light rye, and Weight Watchers is way more expensive. Yummo

Dra57

Soup soup and more soup!!

alibur85

You could check out my diary, but i'm a fairy repetitious eater, so I can just tell you a few of them:

1.) 1-2 cup fresh spinach, 1 cup cut up strawberries, 3-4oz of meat (usually chicken or crab), top with a sweet onion vinegarette. If you want more protein add an ounce of walnuts.

2.) 1/2 acorn squash with 1tbs of butter and a pinch of stevia; cut up apple and a few slices of cheese (I prefer cheddar)

3.) THE SMOOTHIE: 1 banana, 1c of almond milk, 2tbs of almond butter, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, and ice. (<--love this smoothie!!)

There are so many things you can switch in and out of these lunches. My cals are higher now because i'm 25 weeks pregnant, but my average cal per meal is 300-400. The idea is understanding food again and loving healthy food.

Richie2shoes

Pre cook chicken breasts over the week-end and freeze them individually. Pop one in the fridge the night before and mix it with a pack of green giant frozen veggies.

MzzNkki

bump

bowser625

1/4-1/2 cup of cottage cheese with grapes (or whatever fruit you like)
yogurt (low cal or Greek low cal)
carrot, celery, red peppers with hummus

morningmud

My lunch today is Pepperidge Farm Thin-Sliced Whole Wheat bread, Boar's Head Pesto Parmesan ham, Boston lettuce, yellow mustard and a Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp bar. (Gotta get my chocolate fix.)

Cal: 250
Carb: 25
Fat: 10
Protein: 17

mxmkenney

I love pizza but the real stuff it is not low cal so I make my own version. I use pita bread for the crust, 2 tbsp fat free pizza sauce, 1/4 cup low fat mozzarella cheese and 8 slices of turkey pepperoni. You can pile on the veggies if you want. Bake it in a toaster oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. A whole pizza is 285 delicious calories!

jennmariepantoja

I usually have a boca burger on small toasted wheat bun topped with
a pinch of shredded cheese
lettuce
tomato
and today I added some homemade mango salsa (mango, red onion, cilantro, tomato)

Yum!

alibur85

http://followinginmyshoes.com/bento-2/i-heart-lunch-diet-and-bento-friendly-lunches-for-grown-ups/

Mrder37

Big mack with fries and to save calories take out the salad genius!

sjanney007

^^^^I agree.....counting calories to lose weight and disregarding health is not so smart in my book. Fake foods are, well....fake. Foods closest to their most natural state is best...creativity and learning how to cook those foods to bring out their best flavor is key....I'm still learning myself, but I try to not eat science projects

punkrockprincess23

i usually have a tuna sanwhich.its about 400 cal.
2 slices white bread, i can tuna in water and 3 tbsp low fat mayo

i hate whole grains etc i know sooo bad. anyone know of any white-or whitelike low cal bread?

pigmartianpig

These are not my original ideas - saw them somewhere but can recall exactly ---
1. Make mini pizzas with zucchini as the "crust" Very yummy, more nutrition, fewer calories, satisfies a craving
2. Make a sandwich with thin apple slices as the " bread" fill with a protein of your choice, another fruit, peanut butter, whatever .... I'm a fan of PB and sliced strawberries or sliced turkey and a slice of sharp low fat cheddar
3. One of my favorites is light bread of your choice, spicy hummus and fresh sliced tomato

Jillygal40

is it cooked celery or raw ?

KWNurse

Make your sandwich open faced so its one piece of bread instead of two and toast it!

Run4UrHealth

Toasted tomato sandwich (Multigrain bread, tomato, fat free mayo)
Toasted tuna sandwich (Multigrain bread, fat free mayo, tuna packed in water not oil)
Chunky Salsa on original rice cakes
Chicken mexican salad (lettuce, cucumbers, green peppers, chicken breast, topped with salsa and fat free sour cream)

I know some people are not big on fat free stuff, but we all have our opinions.

I always add things such as apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, berries, carrots, to my lunches as well.

I am fine with fat-free as long as I am getting in some good fats....our body needs some fat!

OP: My lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before, sandwich with Special K crackers or popcorn chips, or low calorie soup......I work full-time so I have to do easy with not a lot of cooking needed.

Run4UrHealth

i usually have a tuna sanwhich.its about 400 cal.
2 slices white bread, i can tuna in water and 3 tbsp low fat mayo

i hate whole grains etc i know sooo bad. anyone know of any white-or whitelike low cal bread?

I believe Natures Own has a 45-calorie white bread. I always get the wheat though. Sara Lee does too I believe.