trying to eat whole foods, but lunch confuses me

It's fairly easy to make substitutions, though they are usually more expensive.

When speaking strictly of a whole foods diet (my disclaimer against nay-sayers), uncured meats are better, as they don't have the nitrates, and are usually much lower in sodium. They're usually a better cut of meat, too, and aren't so processed. fresh, organic veggies make excellent companions. You can make your own mayo (pretty simple--blend olive oil, white vinegar, and egg... you can google for exact recipes), and get some all-natural mustard. Or you can skip the mayo and mustard and just use olive oil and a sprinkle of vinegar (if you like). Raw cheeses are super yummy, and much better for digestion than the pasteurized ones (and the nutrients in them, like calcium, are easier to absorb and utilize). There are a lot of good breads out there that will fit into a whole foods diet. Dave's or Ezekiel are good, though you may have to try different varieties until you find one you really like. Udi's is good, too, though it can be pricey for the size of the slice. Or you can just make your own bread... It's pretty easy if you have a breadmaker, and use a mix from Bob's Red Mill.

Or you can skip the sandwich altogether and go for a salad with your favorite sandwich toppings, plus a few more veggies.

I like to make a little stir-fry sorta thing for lunch. I roast squash at night and keep it in the fridge for later use. So for lunch, I'll take roasted squash, chicken sausage (I like Al Fresco, as it's gluten and nitrate free), and maybe a few other veggies, and sautee them in my cast iron skillet. Sometimes I'll put the squash and sausage over a bed of lettuce, and sprinkle it with my homemade vinaigrette. VERY delicious, and quite filling for just under 400 cals!

Lunchtime - I love sandwiches too! I don't know where you are located but Silver Hills Little Big Bread has made me so much happier in my weight loss journey! It's essentially one piece of sprouted grain bread cut in half so you can put your fillings in between and it's like having a whole sandwich with the bread of half!

Trying to eat only whole foods, but want a sandwich for lunch? Eat the WHOLE sandwich. Problem solved.

I'm cool with lunch but 'fourth meal' bakes my noodle. I mean does it have to be eaten at Taco Bell?

I like this sorta stuff: big salads with lots of veggies and some sort of protein, leftovers from the previous night's dinner, sandwich fillings or burgers wrapped in big leaves of lettuce (romaine, as someone suggested), sweet potatoes with all sorts of stuff on top, eggs and bacon, eggs and sausage, some sort of frittata and a green salad, etc.

What I do is to put in my sandwiches what I would eat in my salad: Chicken/Salmon/Turkey, with spinach/lettuce, tomato and avocado for healthy fat, a slice of cheese, and mustard. All this in whole grain bread. May not seem like a big sandwich but it's incredibly filling.

I'm confused. What do you have against sandwiches?

She says he's trying to eat "whole foods", so I think what she's trying to avoid is the bread since that's a pretty classically processed food.

There are some very wholesome breads out there. Dave's Killer Bread comes to mind. Unless one is avoiding processed foods just for the sport of making this whole weight loss or fitness thing more complicated than it should be, there really is no point.

This may have already been mentioned, but one thing you can do is to use bib lettuce or large lettuce leaves as a wrap for your meat, cheese, veggies, or whatever you normally like in your sandwiches. It is absolutely delicious and one of my favorites, though I haven't had it in awhile. Very filling when you do that too.

You can take peanut butter (we eat sunflower butter in our house, but I know a lot of people who eat almond butter), put it in a bowl, and dip it out with apple slices. That's pretty yummy. It also works well with hummus.

You can take your ham or turkey and wrap it around apple slices. That's also pretty yummy. I personally like ham wrapped around honeydew slices. A nice mix of sweet n salty. I do try to buy ham n turkey without nitrites. It's not easy to find, but worth the hunt.

You could take your sandwich fixin's and mix them in with some pre-cooked and cooled quinoa or brown rice, a little salad dressing, and make yourself a rice n sammie salad. So to speak. I make this for my kids' lunch boxes sometimes.

Enjoy!

I try to keep my lunch lighter so I can eat a bigger dinner. (keeps me from snacking more at night) I usually have a large mixed green salad with mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes. Will sometimes cook up and add some turkey breast, shrimp, or grilled chicken for added protein.

It's boring, but I love salads, so it keeps me content.

If I was too lazy or my gf didnt make me one, I'll just cut up a bell pepper and eat it with a variety of delicious hummus. Maybe an apple or strawberries with that.