Desperate for workday lunch ideas!!

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beejelblor
beejelblor Posts: 123 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Lunch is where I am finding I struggle the most! I get board of the same ol’ light sandwich or find I really don’t want to eat that super healthy no excitement lunch I have waiting in the fridge so find myself down the street ordering a deli sandwich which is NOT on my lunch MFP agenda. I would really appreciate some ideas on lunches that are healthy, filling, and actually make me look forward to eating them… as much as I love cucumber that does not satisfy my board at the desk self. Ideally I want a lunch that is less than 400 calories and is realistic to make/take to work with me. Any ideas would help so much!!! Thanks so much!!!

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  • Aequitas503
    Aequitas503 Posts: 62
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    I've been bringing frozen veggies and nuking them in the microwave in a 'Decor Steam Fresh' container (not sure if they're on in Aus or not). Basically, it's a tupperware type container with a vent at the top you open when you're cooking it to let the steam out and it steam cooks the veggies. Then I put in a small tin or salmon or tuna and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top. It's pretty good because you can mix/match veggies or veggie mixes to change things up a bit.
  • beejelblor
    beejelblor Posts: 123 Member
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    oh that sounds like a great way to spice up tuna and eat it without bread or crackers! thanks!
  • Elen_Sia
    Elen_Sia Posts: 638 Member
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    Feel free to browse my food diary for ideas. I rarely eat under 400 calories per meal but maybe you will find stuff that you can mix and match to your liking.

    One thing I made recently that came up to only 350 calories was pita pizza (Sunday's dinner). I used Joseph's Bakery's reduced carb pita bread as the pizza crust. My toppings: organic baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, goat's milk cheese, Swiss cheese and shredded chicken breast. My base sauce was made with tomato paste, ground basil, ground oregano, ground black pepper and garlic powder. I had two of these pizzas and promptly regretted it because I got too full. Despite that, though, I was under my calorie goal for the day. :laugh:

    I will be making pita pizza again tonight for my dinner but with mozzarella cheese, pineapple, bacon, baby spinach and cherry tomatoes (already logged in today's diary).

    Hope this helps. :smile:
  • Saezimmerman
    Saezimmerman Posts: 93 Member
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    This weekend, when my hubby was grilling our supper, he grilled some extra chicken breast (cut in half and lightly seasoned with a ginger sesame dressing).
    I stuck a few in the freezer for "emergency" lunches and had one yesterday for lunch. It'll take a few weeks to build up a variety of pre-grilled entrees, but it's much better than anything else I've tried.
  • ketchup38
    ketchup38 Posts: 112 Member
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    Feel free to browse my food diary for ideas. I rarely eat under 400 calories per meal but maybe you will find stuff that you can mix and match to your liking.

    One thing I made recently that came up to only 350 calories was pita pizza (Sunday's dinner). I used Joseph's Bakery's reduced carb pita bread as the pizza crust. My toppings: organic baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, goat's milk cheese, Swiss cheese and shredded chicken breast. My base sauce was made with tomato paste, ground basil, ground oregano, ground black pepper and garlic powder. I had two of these pizzas and promptly regretted it because I got too full. Despite that, though, I was under my calorie goal for the day. :laugh:

    I will be making pita pizza again tonight for my dinner but with mozzarella cheese, pineapple, bacon, baby spinach and cherry tomatoes (already logged in today's diary).

    Hope this helps. :smile:

    I love this idea of pita pizza! I can't wait to try that!
  • k4evans1
    k4evans1 Posts: 145 Member
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    I was just going to post a similar thread for educators getting ready to go back to school however, I think you are asking the same thing I wanted ideas on! Below are some ideas but I also like to make 1 pot meals in the crockpot or casserole for dinner and leftover lunches.

    Grandma Salad:
    3 cups lettuce
    1 tomato
    1/2 cucumber
    chopped onions
    dressing: 1 T vegetable oil, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T sugar, 1/4 teas. salt. SO good!


    Mediterranean Salad:
    Romaine, chickpeas, cucumber, scallion, tomatoes, feta, dressing (3 T. lemon juice, 2 T. EVOO)


    Buffalo Chicken Salad:
    4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    1 bottle of Frank’s Hot Sauce (I used buffalo wing flavor)
    1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

    Put chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle the dry ranch mix on the chicken breasts. Pour the entire bottle of hot sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low on 6 hours. Shred the chicken and put it in a salad.


    Veggie Lentil Soup:
    Ingredients:
    1 teaspoon olive oil
    1 medium onion
    3 garlic cloves
    2 teaspoons dried thyme
    1 teaspoon dried tarragon
    pepper
    1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    2 ribs celery
    3 carrots
    1 sweet potato
    1 zucchini
    1 cup lentils
    6 cups broth
    6 oz tomato sauce
    two handfuls of spinach chopped

    Directions:
    Put olive oil in soup pot and heat it up. Then add onions and garlic. Saute until they are translucent. Add the spices and cook another minute.
    Add veggies, broth, and lentils. Bring to a boil with lid on, then reduce to low and cook for 45 minutes.
    Add spinach and tomato sauce. Serve :)
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Cous Cous or rice based salad?
    It's about 190 calories or something, but the pre-packaged cous cous we get here is pretty tasty.
    Add meat and more salad.

    Or the above without the carb base for really low calories.

    I like subway if I'm "eating out" on a calorie control - 6' Turkey breast and ham with a load of salad and a little sweat onion sauce is only just over 300 calories.
    Making my own sandwhiches I'll put a whole load of stuff in, using low calorie bread:
    Ham, Turkey, Chicken and beef, along with sweetcorn, carrors, onions, peppers, peas lettuce and tomato. Then a teeny bit of dressing of some kind. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and some other spices.

    Cook up some chicken and bacon (no or low fat - think you'd call it 'Canadian bacon' in the US?) on a health grill with some added spices for taste.
  • asmallermeplz
    asmallermeplz Posts: 125 Member
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    Friend me, I have a bump twords the bottom of my stuff. called 30 lunches it is really good and lots of others have added to it so many great ideas. :happy:
  • asmallermeplz
    asmallermeplz Posts: 125 Member
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    bump yummy thanks :flowerforyou:
  • Trutra
    Trutra Posts: 131 Member
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    It is winter here now, so I am really not into the salad thing at the moment! Somebody posted this for a breakfast idea at home in a mug, but I have taken it to lunch at work and it worked fine. It is winter here now, so I dont feel like eating salad at lunch time and this is great.
    In one lunch container I take chopped up ham, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, with seasoning. Then I take 2 raw eggs cracked into another container. At lunch time I beat the eggs up a bit, pour over the ham etc and then pop into the microwave for 2-3 minutes. I took it out, stirred it for a bit and popped it back after a minute or so. It is just like having scrambled eggs or an omelette. Obviously, only works if you have a microwave at work, lol. You could probably use any mix, might just need to cook some of the bits a bit longer before adding the eggs.
    I tend to freeze left overs so that I have a variety of meals in the freezer, then just take them out and take them to work. That way I get a different meal to what I had the night before.
    The other thing I do is quickly stirfry some veggies in the morning at home, (whatever I have available, tomorrow is cabbage, zucchini, mushroom, onion and tomato), then add some cold meat to it, pop it in the micro at work and I have my meal.
  • jesspi68
    jesspi68 Posts: 292
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    I eat a lot of canned soup, lots of different varieties and if you are careful checking the labels you can get ones that aren't bad for you sodium-wise. Campbells has a Select Harvest Natural's variety now that has lower sodium and all the ingredients are things you can recognize. And a lot of the healthy soups are less than 300 calories for the whole can!
  • maranatha777
    maranatha777 Posts: 145
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    I was just going to post a topic about this also! I have breakfast and supper down it's just lunches that seem to give me a problem. I don't like tuna or cottage cheese and salads don't typically fill me up for very long. Any ideas? I would like something that doesn't take to long to prepare and that is tasty.

    Wow, when I read it laid out like that I sound so picky :laugh:
  • LisaDunn01
    LisaDunn01 Posts: 173 Member
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    2 minutes to prepare:

    2 handfuls mixed baby greens
    3 medium strawberries sliced
    1/4 walnuts (or other nuts)
    2 tbsp. lemon tahini dressing
    sliced chicken

    YUM!
  • beejelblor
    beejelblor Posts: 123 Member
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    Those pita pizzas sound amazing!!! thank you so much for the recommendation!! It is so hard to believe something so yummy with so many toppings can be so low is cal, I can not wait to try it :)
  • beejelblor
    beejelblor Posts: 123 Member
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    there are some GREAT ideas here, thank you all so much for the help!!! I will be trying many of them :) I am currently on a Sandwich thin kick that spices it up enough for a week and is super filling

    Oroweat - Honey Oat Sandwich Thins, 1 roll
    Safeway - Dijon Mustard, 1.75 tsp
    Oscar Mayer - Deli Fresh Mesquite Turkey Breast, 6 slices
    Sargentino - Colby-Jack Ultra Thin Sliced, 1 slice
    Green Giant - Sweet Fixin's Julienne-Cut Carrots or Fresh Express - Shredded Lettuce, 0.5 cups
    202 Calories, 6 Fat, 2 Sat Fat, 5 Calcium, 943 Sodium, 25 Carbs
    I would typically get fresh deli turkey which is lower is sodium and higher in quality but only had time to go to target

    Oroweat - Honey Oat Sandwich Thins, 1 roll
    Archer Farms - Spicy Three Pepper Hummus, 2.3 Tbsp
    Green Giant - Sweet Fixin's Julienne-Cut Carrots, 0.5 oz
    174 Calories, 6 Fat, 1 Sat Fat, 4 Calcium, 338 Sodium, 30 Carbs
    I LOVE this sami!!!

    these are both great with small sides such as light babybel minis, light yogart, an apple or a bananna
  • LPCoder
    LPCoder Posts: 404 Member
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    Grill a portobello mushroom cap the night before and put in a microwave dish. Combine your favorite cheese, meat and veggies in a baggie for toppings. In my work fridge I keep a jar of salsa. When you are ready to eat, put salsa on top of the cap, and cover with your toppings, microwave until all melty! I like to use blue cheese or asiago for a strong flavor!
  • graced111
    graced111 Posts: 69 Member
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    bump

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