Healthy lunchs (without pasta)??

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LauraSquidge
LauraSquidge Posts: 3
in Recipes
Morning all, I'm struggling to find healthy and filling lunches to take to work with me that don't include pasta (filling/quick and easy to cook!), does anyone have any advice?

Many thanks!
Laura

Replies

  • MissSusieQ
    MissSusieQ Posts: 533 Member
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    i've made a few batches of vegetable soup for my dinners that are really filling, huge serves, and pretty light.

    particularly good if you base them on a carb-y vegetable like pumpkin or sweet potato.
    i can give you some recipes if you like?

    or, you can make a huge salad wrap?
    or just some reheated meat and veg?
    bircher muesli?
  • linnyc1981
    linnyc1981 Posts: 21 Member
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    quiche or fritata?? wholemeal sandwiches? Salads
  • LauraSquidge
    LauraSquidge Posts: 3
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    Thank you both!

    Susie, if you could please send me some recipes that would be amazing, I'll definitely give that a go!
  • GCLyds
    GCLyds Posts: 206 Member
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    At my old job, I used to leave a loaf of bread in the freezer, and a carton of eggs in the fridge. I would scramble and nuke the eggs, and have them on toast. I did that a couple times a week.
  • charligorin
    charligorin Posts: 1
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    Quinoa
  • nisha0612
    nisha0612 Posts: 75 Member
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    Replace pasta with low GI alternates.. like Quinoa... or just veg... replace meet with soya mince.. and then you can use the pasta sauce - made at home with olive oil and fresh tomatoes..

    Think about what you like to eat and then find a healthy way to make them...
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
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    Fresh salmon and raw veggies like squash or broccoli cook up very quickly in the microwave and are delicious for lunch
  • mirthfuldragon
    mirthfuldragon Posts: 124 Member
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    I'm a big fan of soup for lunch. I usually buy the canned soup (convenience); it's a bit high on the salt, but that's not an issue for me. Depending on what you buy, soups can be filling, have a good macronutritional balance, and tasty. Campbells and Healthy Choice have good offerings.

    A typical lunch for me is a can of soup (2 sevings per can, so double it) and two slices of bread. That gives a lunch between 300 and 400 calories.
  • Flowers4Julia
    Flowers4Julia Posts: 521 Member
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    My 'go to' lunch is some sort of meat salad! could be left overs, or tuna, hard boiled egg, etc. Olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper are my only dressings as the bottled stuff is to processed and full of bad junk.

    I say - keep it simple, eat real foods, with enough dietary fats to satisfy. Then you won't need pastas and the like!

    Best of Luck!

    :smile:
  • AMHouse85
    AMHouse85 Posts: 285 Member
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    I've seen nifty salad tupperware at my local store that has a separate spot for dressings. I like to load my salad up with hard boiled eggs or roasted chicken/turkey/pork(which is essentially meat leftover from last nights dinner) and then sunflower seeds for extra crunch. Any veggies I have on hand also get tossed into the mix. Instead of dressing I have been trying things like cottage cheese, or BBQ Sauce, there are also new Yogurt Dressings in the cold produce section with lower cals and higher protein. Mix it up and you can make such a variety of things to eat. Plus it fills me up for the 6 hour haul till dinner time.
  • MsKeelah919
    MsKeelah919 Posts: 332 Member
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    My current go-to is sauteed frozen mixed veggies. I don't just buy the mixes, which are always too sparse for me. I get the frozen spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, regular mushrooms and frozen shrimp or fish and sautee them in the skillet w ith olive oil and garlic. The veggies are so low in calories that you can have cups of them without breaking the caloric bank. So I fill up with volume of good food with little caloric impact.
  • krnlcsf
    krnlcsf Posts: 310
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    i would also suggest subbing the pasta and starches for steamed veggies. then you also won't need as much of whatever sauce you normally put on the pasta because you get a lot of flavour from the veggies.

    maybe try making something like a primavera without the pasta, and just eat it straight up. :)
  • Sunset_Lady
    Sunset_Lady Posts: 1
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    Two ideas:

    1 - I have become especially fond of lettuce sandwiches. I toast two slices of double fiber bread (100 calories). Spread on some light Miracle Whip and Mustard. I cut a bread size chunk off a head of iceberg lettuce -- an inch or so thick, and slap that in the middle. Adds a wonderful crunch.

    2 - I tried the salad in a Ball Jar idea, and it worked for me. I mix a dressing of apple cider vinegar and mustard, and it goes in the bottom of a quart Ball Jar. Then I add sliced onion, raw asparagus, celery, carrots, whatever crunchy variety veggies you like, then the spinach, romaine, and other leafy stuff goes on top. Lid on, and it stays good in the refrigerator for at least a few days. Keep it more or less upright, and the dressing doesn't wilt out the lettuce. When you're ready to eat, just shake up the jar and grab a fork.
  • LadyHouse
    LadyHouse Posts: 7
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    I would love some of those recipes as well, please.:happy:
  • LauraSquidge
    LauraSquidge Posts: 3
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    Thank you all! These suggestions are all really helpful, plus I'd never heard of quinoa so thank you v much! Lovely to be on a website with such a positive and helpful group of people xxx
  • MissSusieQ
    MissSusieQ Posts: 533 Member
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    Roasted Kumara, Capsicum and Lentil Soup
    (serves 4)

    about 700g Kumara (sweet potato), peeled and cut into chunks
    2 red capsicums, seeded and cut into chunks
    4 big roma tomatoes or 1 packet mini roma totatoes, chopped roughly
    1 red onion, very roughly chopped
    2 tsp chopped garlic
    1 1/2 litres veggie stock
    400g can of lentils, drained
    olive oil

    preheat oven to 180
    toss kumara in a little bit of olive oil (or spray oil), chuck it on a baking dish, bake for 15min
    add capsicum, tomatoes, onion and garlic and a little bit more oil, and put back in the oven for another 20min
    transfer roasted veg to a big saucepan.
    add stock, bring to the boil on high, then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20min
    puree with a stick blender, then stir in lentils

    i weighed all my vegetables and calculated the calories for this recipe for the exact amounts of vegetables, and it was 327cal for each massive (almost 700ml) serve
  • SuzMcH
    SuzMcH Posts: 343 Member
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    I also struggle with lunch options, especially as there is no fridge or microwave in my workplace.

    This week I have been having cous cous with tomato, cucumber, pepper, spring onion and raw mushroom mixed through it. Or boiled rice with a little low cal mayo and curry poweder mixed through. then add salad veg as with cous cous.

    Or roast a batch of vegetables and use to mix with cous cous, quionoa or pasta.

    Also I made some sardine and horseradish pate (tin sardines drained, horseradish and mayo, only 122 cals per serving) and eat with some oatcakes.
    Grill some peppers and have oatcakes, with houmous and the grilled pepper. Lovely.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    Home made chicken soup. Boil some chicken breast In stock shred with forks. Add a little rice to the stock and boil, when the rice is cooked add back shredded chicken. Take off heat, cool, add 3\eggs to thicken and make it like cream of chicken. Lots of black pepper and lemon if you wish. Protein packed, low carb, filling and delicious! I use 2 x large chicken breast and 45g of rice for 3 portions. I use the knorr stock pots as my stock x
  • maggiezeik
    maggiezeik Posts: 5
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    Sandwich...three pieces of low fat turkey, 1/2 pare slices, mustard on Arnold 40 calorie bread.

    Homemade soups

    Salad pizza... 125 calories

    tuna, white beans salad with garlic, lemon and oil dressing.
  • Hogscliffe
    Hogscliffe Posts: 31 Member
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    Mixed salad usual greens, lettuce, cucumber, beetroot, pepper, tomatoes baby ones:) and butter beans and/or kidney beans and drizel of balsamic vinegar, grilled chicken breast I use mixed herbs or spices ( low cal). I find it more filling to add protein, fish, chicken etc and the pulses help too.

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