Pratical Weekday Lunch Ideas

personally i'm low-budget but also a super-picky eater. so i'm far from perfect in my diet.

my lunches normally:
-lean pockets (check the label; i aim for under 600mg of sodium)
-individual portions of mac/cheese (same rule)
-half pbj/fruit, half a bagel with pb
-cereal (shredded wheat most recently)
-granola bar/fruit
-quesadilla w/ cheese/chicken
-or i just double-make whatever i have for dinner the night before

i've also heard of people doing greek yogurt as a meal, which is great, but personally i prefer something i can chew (it makes me think i'm more full). Also, try Pinterest; it has tons of meal ideas.

Cottage cheese with fruit, veggie side & whole wheat cackers

Broth based soup (many are high in sodium ... look for Amy's) - whole wheat cackers (or veggies if noodle soup) , fruit

Baked potato with green giant single serve broccoli & cheese - fruit side

Spinach (or romaine) salad with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, snap peas, chow mein noodles (just a few) & Newman's Light Sesame Ginger dressing

Breakfast Lean Pockets (for lunch) ....... yum!

Amy's products have a "light in sodium" line with some healthy frozen entrees and soups.
http://www.amys.com/products/product-categories/light-in-sodium

I also like to do 1 serving of tri-color rotini pasta with lots of veggies like broccoli, carrots, onion, peppers, cauliflower for a pasta salad with some light balsamic dressing. You could add grilled chicken tenders as well.

I've got a killer receipe for onion soup, low sodium, low calorie and very filling, and I'd be happy to share if you want it! See my lunch diary for today if you want specific nutritional breakdown. One batch makes 4 very substantial servings, I just have to figure out Friday's lunch, and that's usually leftovers anyways!

If you're not crazy about soup, try making a big healthy meal on Sunday and dividing it by 5. You can freeze them in indiviual portions, and then you can bring your own microwable meal to work! You have complete control of whats in it!

This sounds good, thanks!!

My typical lunch:

Tomato Sandwich, 2 serving
Special K Cracker Chips - Sour Cream & Onion, 13
Yocrunch - Lowfat Yogurt With Oreo Pieces

Calories 461, Fat 8

I like to put 5 egg whites in a microwaveable dish and then cut up 2 sclices of low sodium turkey bacon. You can also put in mushroom, cheese, spinach or whatever your want really. Microwave for 4 minutes and you have a fresh omlet! Very very yummy, high in protein and low in fat and sodium.

Instead of lunch meat, I usually buy a rotisserie chicken from the super market, and use the white meat on sandwiches or wraps. It tastes so much better than lunch meat!

If you have to eat out, try the southwest salad from McDonald's. I'm not sure about the sodium but it is low in calories (1/2 package of dressing) and REALLY tasty. Lots of different flavors so I feel more satisfied.

Also - instead of lunch meat:

Egg salad - 1 whole & 1 egg white - celery & a little bit of light mayo. Extra hard boiled egg white adds lots of protein & no fat.

Tuna salad - 1 can (5.5 oz) makes 2 days worth. 2 Tbl ea. light mayo & pickle relish

Great website for dinner items that can be taken as leftovers for lunch the next day: skinnytaste.com

I eat more frequent smaller meals throughout the day at work and bring some of these regularly:
- Greek Yogurt
- Fresh Fruit - whatever berries are on sale that week (put in yogurt depending on what I have on hand)
- Blue Diamond Almonds (24 nuts portioned out) - I like the dark chocolate and cinnamon flavors for an afternoon snack
- I bring one low carb/whole wheat wrap (Wrap-Itz brand) and a tupperware of what I have to fill it with when I am ready to eat such as: rice, black beans (rinsed to reduce sodium) corn and salsa or chicken salad made with fresh chopped chicken breast from the night before, light mayo, celery and brown mustard or immitation crab meat mixed with light mayo, brown mustard, celery, lemon juice....or really whatever you want to wrap up for lunch - I bring it in tupperware so I can portion it out and it also doesnt get soggy.

I used to buy lunch every day at work and realized how much I was spending (on top of the groceries I bought for home) as well as the unhealthy choices I was making...so I started bringing my lunch and snacks and it works great for me. What helped me the most was investing in good tupperware! Sounds kind of funny, but if you have a variety of sizes and lids that don't leak you can portion things out for each snack or meal making it much easier to pack a lunch for work. Bringing for me is much more economical and healthier than buying!

I usually make up some tuna salad, egg salad, and/or chicken salad on Sunday nights for the week ahead. I have entered each of the recipes into my profile already (including the Sara Lee 45 calorie bread) so they are easy to add each day. With Scotch tape and a Sharpie, I label the containers with the serving size & calorie count (as reminders to me) and an expiration date 7 days out. Then, in the morning, all I have to do is throw a piece of bread on the scale, set it to zero, and measure out the "filling" the each sandwich. I like to pre-measure and label snack bags of baby carrot, nuts, etc too so I can just grab and go in the morning. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in any of my really simple recipes.

Almost every day I bring a big salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber) with some grilled chicken on the top and some feta cheese. Makes a super-tasty lunch, which is usually around 300 calories or so. I bring greek yogurt and fruit for snacks.

What I do a lot of the time is I'll buy some dry cheese tortolini, cook it the night before work, then the next morning make a pasta salad with it. I put cucumbers, tomatoes, italian dressing, carrots, and sometimes I'll just mix it with a cole slaw mix/shredded carrots. It's DELICIOUS and so easy! I usually have about 3/4 of a cup of the tortolini and just mix however much else i want. p.s. the tortolini doesn't have any sodium in it, just make sure you don't add salt when you boil it and you'll be good:)

Amy's products have a "light in sodium" line with some healthy frozen entrees and soups.
http://www.amys.com/products/product-categories/light-in-sodium

I also like to do 1 serving of tri-color rotini pasta with lots of veggies like broccoli, carrots, onion, peppers, cauliflower for a pasta salad with some light balsamic dressing. You could add grilled chicken tenders as well.

Amy's products are great! Especially if you're trying to eat less processed and more natural foods. There are also gluten-free alternatives. I also buy bags of organic Spinach and baby kale for a quick salad...spaghetti squash and organic marinaras.