trying to eat whole foods, but lunch confuses me

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I am doing my best to eat whole foods but am used to eating sandwiches for lunch. Does anyone have any suggestions on good wraps, bread or other alternatives? I have tried Ezekiel bread and don't like it at all. Thank you.
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  • littleblackcar
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    I don't do "hard-core" whole foods myself so I'm not really sure how to handle this from a bread perspective. Look at other brands at the grocery store (my mother likes Nature's Own Rounds; I'm sure they don't qualify but at least they're not Wonder Bread) and see what you think is acceptable.

    Or do salads. Basically, disassemble your sandwiches and maybe add a side of brown rice or another complex carbohydrate to complete them.
  • cheria67
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    Thank you for responding to my post no one seems interested in the info I'm requesting. I'm having a hard time not eating sandwiches, it's so ingrained in my head to eat a sandwich for lunch. I do alright with breakfast and dinner but it all falls apart for me at lunch, it feels as if I'm doing either breakfast or dinner twice.
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
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    I too used to eat sandwiches every day but have switched to a mixed salad and chunk of protein - today it was fried salmon, yesterday tuna, tomorrow hard boiled eggs. Sometimes I'll have 50g of wholewheat pasta (dry weight), sometimes if I'm really starving I'll go out and buy a plain wholemeal bread roll. The only downside is prep time - I have to do my lunch the night before or I just don't have time. If I forget, it's back down to the sandwich shop which Ive only done twice in 5 weeks and ended up starving and bloated !!
    B x
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    It's fine to eat a sandwich with regular bread even when trying to eat whole. The best way to approach any major change or dietary restriction is with the 80/20 idea. 80% of the time you can eat your perfectly clean and whole foods, the other 20% is your margin of error. So your bread can fall in that 20%.

    My local grocery store has a line that's called Open Nature that is 100% natural whole wheat, whole grain bread. But has the soft, lighter texture that many "healthy" breads lack. You could look for something like that, knowing that even though it's processed (as any bread you find in a store, in a bag, sliced up for you will be) it's at least natural ingredients. (No HFCS, weird sweeteners, stuff like that)

    Or just keep eating whatever your favorite bread is and know that it's part of your 20% and that it's just your favorite bread so you're going to keep eating it. :)
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Nothing is wrong with sandwiches.. just skip the deli meat and make them yoursef. Use leftovers or cook extra meat over the weekend and slice or shred it. I love rubens, I'm so excited for St. Patricks day because corned beef goes on sale. LOL. I make wraps out of everything or use low calorie whole grain bread. I'll often make an extra chicken breast at dinner, shred it and put it on a tortilla with all my favotire toppings. Way better for me and tasting than deli chicken breast. Lunch can be anything. breakfood, dinner food, lunch food. Food is food. Only our minds categorize it into one meal or another. Our bodies dont' care when we eat the eggs so long as it gets the protein it needs. I love no-mayo egg salad and/or tuna salad (avocado instead of mayo) on a tortilla. I've eaten salad for breakfast. My eggs this morning may as well of been a lunch. Most delis/sandwich shops have a salad option. Also ask if they have anything that's not deli meat and if htey can put it in a wrap or a bowl instead of a roll. Most of them have soups and other menu items too. Ask if it's soup they make or soup they bought and reheated. That might be a good option depending. Get creative. I've put things together that a year ago I would have balked at. And they are yummy! Just dont' get caught up in the "this is breakfast food, this is lunch food, this is dinner food" Mentality. It's just food.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
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    Wrap your sandwich ingredients in a large Romain lettuce leaf.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    I make a big batch of chili or stew and freeze individual portions and eat that for lunch.

    If I don't bring it I get a grilled chicken salad.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
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    I eat leftovers for lunch. Or homemade chicken salad (with a fork, no bread, no crackers).
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Look for whole grain breads in you grocer's bakery section.

    I just throw sandwich ingredients onto a bed of lettuce for lunch, sometimes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Thank you for responding to my post no one seems interested in the info I'm requesting. I'm having a hard time not eating sandwiches, it's so ingrained in my head to eat a sandwich for lunch. I do alright with breakfast and dinner but it all falls apart for me at lunch, it feels as if I'm doing either breakfast or dinner twice.

    It's probably not so much that no one is interested...it's probably more that there is a lot of activity so the post drops to a page further back on the "Recent Posts"...which is where a lot of people look. If you aren't getting responses, "Bump" your post...

    I used to be a big sandwich guy myself...and I also don't go all out whole foods, just a lot more of them. I still do sandwiches, just less often...mostly because bread (even my awesome 21 whole grains bread) has a lot of calories and only marginal nutritional value. It took me awhile to get away from sandwiches, but now I hardly think about it. I'll often just have left-overs from whatever I prepared the night before. If no left overs (like today)...I just throw something together. Today I'm having 5.5 oz of rotisserie chicken meat (left over from a stew I made a few days ago) with two servings of broccoli (I will steam in a microwave) and 1/2 an avocado.

    It's basically all about breaking a habit and routine...
  • koko12
    koko12 Posts: 81 Member
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    i like daves killer bread for sandwiches. just put some grilled chicken on there! yum
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,311 Member
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    Lunch occurs in the middle of the day generally between the hours of 10:30 and 1 pm.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Why are sandwiches evil?
    I have all natural PB on 15 grain bread.
    Then carrots, cukes, grapes, apples, bananas or other seasonal items to make it up. I do like a string cheese though. That's my weakness.
  • christabel6
    christabel6 Posts: 173 Member
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    Soup if you have somewhere to heat it. Then for that 'have to hold something and chew lots', veggies and dips might work with that, eg carrot sticks and cottage cheese if you do dairy, bean dip if you don't.
  • Tanja_CHH
    Tanja_CHH Posts: 216 Member
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    Everyday I have a chicken breast with 2 peppers. If I take it out I put the chicken in silver foil, cut into bites and same with peppers and eat it out of there with my hands :)
  • shano25
    shano25 Posts: 233 Member
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    I was raised on the belief that lunch is a sandwich and that's it. So I had a hard time figuring out things to do once I was an adult and bored with sandwiches, and as well once I started eating cleaner. I traded sandwiches for wraps. I went through a period where I just ate a lot of things - for example, tuna, rotisserie chicken, fruit, cheese, nuts, etc. all on their own but at the same time. Now I'm more of a salad person at lunch time - today was quinoa, lentils, celery, grape tomatoes mixed with olive oil and lemon juice and covered in feta cheese ;)
  • scress0514
    scress0514 Posts: 51 Member
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    i like the daves organic killer bread, it comes in a variety of styles and its high in fiber.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Did you mean eat at whole foods?
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I'm confused. What do you have against sandwiches?
  • AliandTrev
    AliandTrev Posts: 194 Member
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    I usually make Taco Chicken Chili or some other kind of soup and portion them out for the weeks lunches. I have sandwiches also, I use the Healthy Life 100% Soft Whole Wheat bread.