What do you bring to work to eat during the day?

DaniAni19

I am in need of lunch ideas! This is what my day usually looks like:

7am Vega One Protein (contains greens and probiotics), frozen banana, almond milk smoothie

Around 9:30-10am: Greek yogurt with Go Raw "granola" (no grains)

Another Snack around 1ish: carrots and hummus, or another vega shake, raw peppers

My problem is that I rarely take a "lunch", I am always busy at work and don't have a microwave or the chance to go get food. I need Lunch ideas that I can prepare in advance and that I don't need to heat up. I am making a clean version of egg salad and am going to try that. Sometimes I take a salad, but to be honest, salad takes too much time and effort to eat at my desk....Any ideas?

I usually get home around 6 and will eat dinner and then have another snack before bed. Help!

fiferize

Yes Salad does take some time, but that is exactly what I take daily. I usually use the bagged pre made salad makings and I add stuff to it. Like bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, dill pickles, avacado, spinich leaves, red onion and even some mandarin orange slices. The bagged salad already has the lettuc, cabbage and carrot shreds so that makes a pretty good salad. I usually boil up a chicken breast the night before so that I have protein to add to my salad as well I slice that up and put it on top. I do the same for my husband but he also likes hard boiled eggs in his too. I bring a bowl of fresh cut up fruit and I use wish bone balsamic spritzers on my salad instead of dressing. Makes it pretty easy. I can usually whip up two salads and two bowls of fruit in 1/2 hour in the morning. You just have to know what you want in it ahead of time and have it all ready to use and easy to get at in your fridge. Sorry I probabably am not much help I use pistachio nuts and grapefruit cups for snacks. Or some other kind of fruit.

katejkelley

I'm alone during the week (husband commutes and is home weekends), so if I prepare a meal, I usually have 4 or more servings left over. I put them into individual serving containers and bring one to work with me each day for lunch. Often I make a salad, but eating that every day gets old. When I have to grab a quick meal, a Subway salad or veggie sub is my go-to, but I don't do that too often.

claritarejoice

I take salad, similar to fiferize - sorry if this isn't helpful. If it's taking too long to eat in advance, then pre-packaged/pre-cut salad stuff might help (like they sell at Trader Joe's). My salads don't take any time or effort to eat - it's just one tupperware. Besides, in most developed countries you are required to take a lunch break.

DaniAni19

Maybe I just don't like eating salad when I feel rushed? I am salaried and nobody is forcing me to take a lunch break. I manage my own time and I'm pretty much just too busy to break away from what I'm doing. I'm on call 24/7 too.

lindaw66

I hope more people post to this as I too am looking for ideas other than just salad.

lindaw66

I'm just beginning to try and eat clean. Today I brought my left over's from dinner which was Tilapia and steamed Cauliflower and 2 cups of canteloup.

EllenC7

I usually make everything with a base of brown rice or quinoa. Most of the time I add baby spinach, half a red bell pepper and some marinated chicken fillets (lemon and herbs). Chop everything and put in a lunch box and shake it up so all the flavours mix. Lightly steamed broccoli or raw carrot is good too.

I'd love some more ideas from other people though!

claritarejoice

EllenC7 I call that a salad I guess we all have our own definitions. Today I had a Mediterranean-type pasta salad with greens and a piece of tilapia in it. I often take leftovers from the night before but add salad greens to it for more volume and nutrition. In fact I usually cook extra dinners for the week and pack up the leftovers for lunches. Maybe you can try this?

fullofwhimsy

Sometimes salad bugs me too.

I made a tuna antipasto and I take cut up veggies to kind of dip it in..
Spaghetti squash with homemade spicy meat sauce
Homemade soups that I freeze and just pull out of the freezer in the mornings

But beyond that... take a lunch. A walk, a breath.. you need it! :flowerforyou:

kellyscomeback

One of my go-to's is 1/2 cup cooked brown rice with 3-4 oz chicken breast and 1/2 cup of previously frozen veggies such as peas, carrots, corn, edamame, beans, etc. with salt, pepper and maybe some Liquid Aminos.

DaniAni19

Today I had this egg salad, I eliminated the Ricotta, and ate it over a bed of spinach. It was pretty good!

http://www.shutterbean.com/2011/mayofree-egg-salad-sandwiches/

Hlami

I do the same.. Since I'm new to this, I'm keeping it simple: I eat half cup brown rice, a chicken breast ( I prep 8 at a time in the oven and freeze them again, using thru the week, thawing out what a need a couple at a time) a tablespoon or two of salsa and two servings of steamed broccoli, or squash or some other non- starchy veggie... Keeping it simple frees up my time and mind for other pursuits...I eat my salad meal at night... Snacks include apple and 12 almonds, a yoghurt and nectarine, or an apple and a minibabybel or cottage cheese serving... Very simple, and clean. I hope that helps....

Good luck!

brookehe

Try to search the "salad in a jar" thread that's been posting the last couple weeks. There are actually a wide variety of "salads" included (not just greens/dressing). You can make them all on the weekend to take all week long. Hope this helps!

littlemiss165

Organic Greek yogurt with a few almonds, a clean chicken salad with lots of veggies and/or fruit mixed in are a few of the go-to meals when I know I'm going to have a busy day. I just recently started eating brown rice with grilled chicken breast and a little pineapple with steamed broccoli. The pineapple gives it a nice flavor hot or cold!

The ladies commenting before me are right though, it's important to take a few minutes for a lunch break... It'll keep your mind and body nourished so you can stay on top the rest of the day!

libertygirlfla

Sandwiches or wraps are great and easy to eat at your desk. A turkey or ham (without all the yucky stuff) and cheese sandwich with mustard is tasty, easy to eat and doesn't required a microwave. I used to put lettuce and tomato in a separate pkg so it wouldn't get soggy. You can also use left-over chicken breast or even meatloaf to make a sandwich.

The good old peanut butter and jelly is often forgotten, but very tasty and nutritious if you use whole grain bread, organic p-butter and all fruit jelly. A crispy apple is usually not too messy and doesn't required a lot of prep work. :bigsmile:

red0801

Im a Father of 3 who works full time & also a part time student. Between work, kids activities and my classes anything we eat has to be quick easy & healthy. Some of my favorite snack/lunch/dinner ideas are:
Wraps-simple to make. High protein sliced turkey or chicken. Low fat cheese & all the veggies you can fit rolled into a WHOLE WHEAT tortilla shell. Keeps well and doesn't leave you starved after an hour.
Cut vegies-on sunday afternoon I'll cut up carrots/cucumbers/peppers and package them in water. They carry well and I can eat them @ my desk as a snack.
Protein shakes-Whey protein isolate, bananas, mixed fruit, milk (or yogurt).

I've also found better results if I snack 3x during a work day, then if I eat 2x. So that opens up things like nuts, granola and my favorite multi grain CHEERIOS!

DaniAni19

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I don't eat meat or bread of any kind so that further limits my options. I made two different versions of cold salads to take to work for some variation.

peggymoney

plant fusion has a protein powder that is amazing (gluten, soy free. Plant based protein). I do choc protein powder, pb2, cinnamon and vanilla almond unsweetened milk. Yummy!

13suzie

Every Sunday I make a big batch of "clean eating" eggplant lasagna. I layer eggplant (not breaded; rather, I pan sear each side in a little olive oil with garlic salt) and marinara and a small bit of pure cheeses. After it's baked, I cut into small squares and freeze. I take individual sized portions to work along with apples. It's a good change when I need a salad break.

springbee56

I have been taking a chick pea salad recipe it is easy and made with hummus and chickpeas, it is also cheap, delicious, healthy and filling. I got this recipe on a website/blog called simpleveganista, there is also another one with great make ahead salads etc. called ~oh she glows. I love them both and they fit your no meat and bread choice..