Low Calorie "easy to make" Lunch Ideas

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Replies

  • LGrill27
    LGrill27 Posts: 337 Member
    If you love buffalo chicken, I highly recommend this recipe. I doesn't take that long to make, you can make a ton of it, and it heats up really well. It's on my blog :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/gingerfitness/view/buffalo-chicken-quinoa-495759

    Thanks for posting this!
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I get frozen turkey burgers at Trader Joe's (could make your own) and cook one each morning while I'm packing my lunch. Stick it in the freezer for a couple minutes to cool down, pack it up and bring a pack of guacamole (the Wholly Guacamole 100 calorie packs or homemade). I heat the burger in the microwave, top with the guac and it's super tasty for 280 calories. I usually add some roasted veggies on the side because I shoot for about 350 for lunch.
  • cpiton
    cpiton Posts: 380 Member
    If you love buffalo chicken, I highly recommend this recipe. I doesn't take that long to make, you can make a ton of it, and it heats up really well. It's on my blog :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/gingerfitness/view/buffalo-chicken-quinoa-495759

    Will be trying this immediately. Yum! Lots of great ideas here. Thanks :drinker:
  • Mrc1974
    Mrc1974 Posts: 75 Member
    Bump for later
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  • Today is my first day but I had chicken breast left over from dinner last night and I stir fried it with asparagus, mushrooms and boc choy and added a few sprouts
  • NikkiSixGuns
    NikkiSixGuns Posts: 630 Member
    Salads: my absolute favorite lunch. I vary them up with different types of meat (deli meat, chopped ham/turkey, rotisserie chicken, fajita meat), lots of veggies & toppings (carrots, pickles, pepperoncinis, apple slices, boiled egg, mushrooms, green & red onions, olives, garbanzo beans, kidney beans) and keep them as cold as possible until lunch.

    Meat & veggie wraps: I spread Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese on a few slices of deli meat, then wrap up grilled asparagus spears in them.

    Leftovers: casseroles work best for me. I have a recipe for twice-baked spaghetti squash & it makes enormous portions, so I always have tons of leftovers. It's high in fiber, low in calories, and really good when it's cold outside.
  • grecogab90
    grecogab90 Posts: 77 Member
    bump
  • tldillard3
    tldillard3 Posts: 14 Member
    Bump
  • fevre
    fevre Posts: 60 Member
    When I'm at work there's a Whole Foods around the corner, so I like to pop over to their salad bar and make a salad that's a whooole lot of arugula (I love arugula, though many people may want to use spinach instead!), a big dollop of pico de gallo salsa, a scoop of quinoa and some red onions!! Then I mix some balsamic vinegar & olive oil for dressing. The quinoa makes it filling and the rest is all vegetables so it stays very low-cal; I make a pretty big salad and it's about 250 kcal! I choose arugula and red onions because they're my favorites but of course a salad bar has lots of options for customization. (And of course if you know what you like you can save money by just keeping all these ingredients at home instead of paying by the pound)
  • A lunch that I like to make is zucchini pizzas. There 155-175 calories.
    preheat over to 400 degrees
    cut a zucchini into slices (9-12)
    and place on a foiled pan
    next spread some marinara sauce on them (1/2 cup)
    add fat free or reduced fat cheese
    bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on how burnt you like your cheese
    let it sit for about 1-2 minutes to cool.
    Its very filling, and if your watching your calories its a great option, because your replacing the bread for zucchini.
  • graciesmomma0209
    graciesmomma0209 Posts: 36 Member
    I love to make some chicken and then throw a bunch of veggies in with it to make my own sort of stir fry. Also salads are good and easy to make
  • RAREBIRDART
    RAREBIRDART Posts: 100 Member
    My boyfriend and I plan out our lunches in advance. Like, last night -- I cooked up two 6 oz pork steaks, cut them into very small pieces, cut up 4 large celery stocks, added buffalo sauce, mixed it up -- in the morning I put it in a mission 120 cal wrap total lunch: 309 calories. I usually grab a 80 cal yogurt, and small amount of veggies. Total lunch: 450. Not bad, and keeps me full on my 10 hr days! :)
  • I make lettuce wraps.
    1 lb ground turkey breast
    3 cups shredded cabbage
    1/2 cup Krafts Asian Sesame Lite Salad dressing
    2 cloves garlic
    3 green onion chopped.

    Fry the turkey and and the other ingredients and heat. I bought butter lettuce for the wraps. I came out to about 138 cals per wrap dividing the recipe into 6.

    *This recipe originated from the BOCA website but I used ground turkey instead.
  • Have you ever tried Frittata's??????? they are good hot or cold with salad and can be made low cal :-)
    http://www.yummly.com/recipes/low-calorie-frittata
  • Querian
    Querian Posts: 419 Member
    Have you ever tried Frittata's??????? they are good hot or cold with salad and can be made low cal :-)
    http://www.yummly.com/recipes/low-calorie-frittata

    I second frittatas, I make them a lot and they reheat at work very well or are good cold, too.
  • SaLandrum
    SaLandrum Posts: 141 Member
    If you love buffalo chicken, I highly recommend this recipe. I doesn't take that long to make, you can make a ton of it, and it heats up really well. It's on my blog :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/gingerfitness/view/buffalo-chicken-quinoa-495759

    Great recipe!! Cant wait to try it!

    Can't wait to try this one!
  • sjacks14
    sjacks14 Posts: 68 Member
    I've been eating a lot of Lean Cuisine Salad additions. You just heat it up and add your lettuce. I've using about 2 cups of spinach plus the Salad additions for a lunch under 300 calories.
  • Bootjockey
    Bootjockey Posts: 208 Member
    I use those too, they are quite tasty. Though I mostly use (now) Pepperidge Farm's 15-grain bread. It's so dense, it's like eating a brick. Which I like. :-) More nutrtion in a small space! :-)

    -BootJockey
  • Terrific salad I had last night for dinner was easy and about 400 calories:
    2-3 cups baby spinach
    1 ounce reduced fat feta
    2 tblsp litehouse balsamic viniagrette
    2 slices center cut bacon, ground into bacon bits
    1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

    By easy, I mean you can easily have all the stuff ready to go :)
  • longin2bsexy
    longin2bsexy Posts: 42 Member
    Salads: my absolute favorite lunch. I vary them up with different types of meat (deli meat, chopped ham/turkey, rotisserie chicken, fajita meat), lots of veggies & toppings (carrots, pickles, pepperoncinis, apple slices, boiled egg, mushrooms, green & red onions, olives, garbanzo beans, kidney beans) and keep them as cold as possible until lunch.

    Meat & veggie wraps: I spread Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese on a few slices of deli meat, then wrap up grilled asparagus spears in them.

    Leftovers: casseroles work best for me. I have a recipe for twice-baked spaghetti squash & it makes enormous portions, so I always have tons of leftovers. It's high in fiber, low in calories, and really good when it's cold outside.

    Can I get the recipe for the twice baked spaghetti squash please? That sounds good!
  • tadlana
    tadlana Posts: 27 Member
    bump