Lunch ideas

rowerdc

I am terrible at preparing my lunch at home, so buy during the day... getting tired of subway, and just realized that the potbelly wreck salad has over 570 calories... what do YOU eat for lunch?! Good recommendations?

KANGOOJUMPS

i like liquid lunches.

Yooperm35

Salad with grilled chicken - LOVE It. Turkey and swiss on Sara lee 45 calorie bread, malt o meal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, fruit and yogurt . . . it all depends on how hungry I am. Sometimes just pita chips and hummus

cutchro

I bring from home 99.9% of the time... Either homemade soups, salads or Lean Cuisines.

SonicDeathMonkey80

When I don't feel like making anything, I will have a Lean Cuisine (or similar) and add stuff to it, like chicken/vegetables (you can make a huge plate for +/- 300 cals). Same with soups. I like the Progresso vegetable soups with extras to bring it to a hearty stew-consistency.

trogalicious

I cook a ton of protein (chicken/steak/pork) every Sunday. Portion it out into 100g/3.5oz/whatever portion size ziplock bags. Grab a bag out of the fridge and roll with it.

Today? 200g of grilled chicken and a baked sweet potato. Tomorrow? Maybe the same, maybe not. It really comes down to what your preferences are... but prepping a LOT on a single day can save a ton of time and you know exactly what you're getting.

palmerar

I pack, it is just more accurate in calorie counting. If you don't have enough time in the morning do it the night before, if it's what to bring make an extra portion of dinner and bring the left overs. If I have to buy I will at least go some place that posts calories, like Panera where even if the count is off at least I'm eating vegetables, and whole grains when possible. I highly recommend giving packing another shot.....it personally saves me a ton of money. DO some serious recipe searching on cookinglight or pinterest.

chooriyah

I tend to bring leftovers from the dinner the day before. Easy to make a little extra, and heat up a small portion the next day. Means I waste less food too.

Otherwise I like to have lentil soup, salad and hummus.

cljabusc

leftovers with fresh veggies on the side and i eat out for lunch on fridays, usually go to a sandwich shop (not subway or quiznos) and get a wrap or egg salad.

After every meal when i'm cleaning up i take 5 minutes and pack a lunch for the next day. then i don't have to worry about rushing around in the morning to throw something together.

daj150

I personally make my lunches nowadays. But when I was too busy to prepare lunches, I ate lean cuisines. More carbs and sodium than I wanted, but since I was, and still am, trying to lose weight, as long as I am in a calorie deficit, I am still losing weight. But I am focusing more on the macro stuff, what goes in, so I try and make all of my meals now if I can. Tough finding the time, but I am mostly making it work.

suemar74

My favorite go-to lunch is Turkey Taco Soup (basically taco soup with ground turkey). It freezes really well, so I make up a batch or double-batch, divide it up and freeze it. Then if I'm in a time crunch in the morning, I'll grab one out of the freezer and go.

Dark_Roast

If I can make them the night before, things go much smoother for me in the morning. I ask my husband to grill extra chicken and I freeze it in 4 oz portions, and we buy lots of frozen veggies. That way if I haven't made something previously, I can grab a bag or two of frozen chicken and some frozen veggies and I'm done. It might be boring, but it's healthy and fills me up. And I'm not late!

Latona38

Campbell's Soups. I just got an entire weeks worth of soups for $10.50. Their not the same as progresso but not as pricey either! All under 100 calories per serving!

HotAshMess

I suck at packing lunches too. I always forget to take it, or leave the tupperware in a desk or the car. But I'm trying again.

Soup is good food. Try finding someplace nearby with soup and salad lunches. Or just salad....and not the kind so loaded with crap that it's a TON of calories, or order it without cheese and croutons ect. The premium ceasar salad (no chicken) at McDonalds is 90 calories. Heck...get two if you want.

We order chinese a lot. Check the "vegetables" section....or ask for something steamed. Avoid fried rice, crab rangoons and egg rolls.

Check out local soup and sandwich places. Sometimes, they deliver.

The local grocery store near my workplace has a huge deli with sandwiches and salads and sushi....is there something like that near you?

Don't prepare your lunch....keep stuff at your desk. Like....take some fruit with you and leave it there, eat by the end of the week. I keep meal replacement bars in my desk, along with some 90 calorie snack type stuff for when I crash.

Regarding subway...Italian bread has the least calories. Try eating off their healthier menu... I love their website.

Shook765

Hummus and cucmbers, salad, leftovers from night before dinner, lean cuisines, greek yogurt and fruit.

kmcintosh12

Spring salad mix with a rotisserie chicken. It lasts about 3 days and is very filling.

emmajayneduff

Recently I've been having a WW soup, salad and a WW wholemeal pitta or beans on toast or tuna in WW wholemeal pittas.

I do find lunches the hardest!

xx

rob1976

i like liquid lunches.

Same here. My wife uses our NutriBullet to stir up some kale, spinach, fruit, and flaxseed for a healthy, easy-to-transport lunch.

aepdx

Nearly every day I bring a salad for lunch. I prepare all the fixins on Sunday so it will only take me about 1 minute in the morning to put it all into a container. I usually have: Spinach, hard-boiled egg, yellow bell peppers, peas. The egg fills me up, the veggies nourish me. I like to cook bulk lentil soup and bring that to work too. Soup and salad from around 350 calories if that. I also bring a lot of fruit to work to snack on throughout the day.

ami5000psu

This is really tasty and filling. Makes for a good lunch if you make it then freeze it in portions.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/crock-pot-3-bean-turkey-chili-3125-pts.html

Velum_cado

I always bring my lunch from home. Today I had homemade vegetable soup and some grapes.

sigsby

I prepare all of my lunches at home. Mostly I eat salad. I have to have two prep sessions a week so it stays fresh. I have to be at work really early so I pack breakfast too. With my lunch salad I have something delicious with it. This week it is cabbage rolls. Last week it was stuffed shells. Next week I'm thinking about crab cakes. I do spend some time in the kitcken on Sunday and have to remember everything in the morning. I find that the more I prepare and plan the easier this whole process is.

I know this is not what you asked but it is the best answer I can give. Eating out is one of the big enemies of being healthy.

If most people really wanted to eat healthy then this would be a good business opportunity.

Trilby16

I like to make 3 days' worth of salad on Sunday to take to work along with either chicken or tuna, or just sunflower seeds. When I run out of salad, I might take a can of Prgresso soup or dinner leftovers. I can't remember the last time I bought lunch. I come to work to make money, not spend it.

hubbaLaruie

I bring different kinds of soups-all canned not homemade. They're easy and quick to heat up too. Although I am wanting to branch out a bit. Someone said taco soup-I was wondering if you had a recipe that you could share? I like the idea of leftovers and wrapping it up seperate the night before when cleaning up.

peckish_pomegranate

I pack my lunch 9/10. It's usually a wrap and some yogurt and fruit or a bento box, which is: usually 1/2 rice, 1/4 protein (and egg or some meat usually), and a little salad of a nutritious green like spinach or kale (screw iceberg lettuce, that is the vegetable of failures) with some cherry tomatoes and raisins thrown in. I'll usually also bring some instant soup along with it, just to fill me up- Kikkomon's miso is only 15 calories or something like that.

Learn more about bento boxes here:
http://justbento.com/

If I'm going out, I'll get a soup and salad lunch. If I'm in a real rush, I swing by McD's and get their grilled chicken snack wrap and fruit parfait, or Sonic's grilled chicken sandwich. Both of those are under 500 calories.

I always ALWAYS have my water bottle, some fruit, a diet coke, and a can of soup in my bag in case of super-hunger-emergency.

coleeli

Someone already posted a link to a skinnytaste.com recipe. All of the recipes there are really great!

I usually bring tuna, chicken, or shrimp. I have a few different go-to combos such as chicken, black beans, corn, and salsa on a wrap. I make the chicken mixture over the weekend and bring that to work. Or an arugula salad with sweet potato and shrimp. Sandwiches if I run out of time in the morning. I always bring fruit and yogurt with granola to snack on. I am honestly constantly eating at work, lol.

I also bought a set of tupperware with a built in ice pack and it's really helpful!

Nefetete

I pretty much eat anything for lunch, mostly its leftover dinner or will buy soup and salad at work and just grab some fruit with it.
If I am running short of time with make a PB&J sandwich or a protein bar.

namluv

I have 2 go-to lunch out meals; naked taco salad from Qdoba (hold the dairy) and a #12 Unwich from Jimmy John's. I think you would have some luck with just checking out the nutrition calculators for places near you and writing a detailed list of "approved" lunches you can grab anytime

Richie2shoes

A neighborhood deli sells frozen soups, so I stock up on the weekend and have those with a sandwich or salad.
Left-overs with a salad
Frozen veggies mixed with pre-grilled chicken (cubed).

LoosingMyLast15

i always bring my lunch. usually it's left overs from the previous night. buying lunch every day adds up and we just don't have that kind of money to throw out.

PamGeirng

A gal posted one yesterday and I tried it and it is good.
1 can black beans drained and rinsed well
1 can whole kernel corn drained
1 can diced tomatoes such as Rotel
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can fat free chicken broth.
Place all ingredients in a pan and heat completely through. The ff beans melt down and make it a nice consistency.

A two cup serving is only 78 calories 16 carbs 0 fat 4 protein

I used a tablespoon of low fat sour cream and 1/4 cup Kraft 2% Cheese to top it off and it was great!!