Lunch Ideas that don't involve salad

Try signing up for Hungry Girl newsletters. They send out recipes every week, and can be great for lunches. I make big batches during the weekend and then DH and I eat that with some fruit for work lunches.

Crock pot recipes are also great for make-ahead meals.

Sandwiches using sandwich thins are good, low calorie too.

Hey everybody! I'm looking for some healthy lunch ideas that don't involve salad. I've tried the salad thing many times and it doesn't stick with me (I'm hungry less than an hour later) and I quite honestly can't stand the texture of lettuce.

Any ideas? When I eat the same thing day after day I get bored and that's when I fall off the healthy eating wagon.

I've actually started eating fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts for snacks and lunch. I find the fibre in the fruit keeps me full and I don't feel like raiding the lolly/candy counter for a sweet fix.

Whole wheat pasta 1 cup cooked, add 2 tbsp. of hummus to pasta and stir, 1 tbsp. parmesan cheese {light} and a dash of pepper.
5 cooked ready to eat asparagus spears.
One fruit serving a plum, apple, peach, strawberries. berries.

grilled chicken wrap

For me, I pretty much have leftovers every day for lunch. It's just me at the moment (my husband is out of state for work), but I would always cook double. It worked perfectly, as there are so many recipes that are 4 servings, rather than 2. I get to be the same way, I get sick of the same foods all the time. I find that dinner's leftovers are the max of how many times in a row I can eat the same foods. If I happen to make a large dish, I save the leftovers for another day or freeze them, if possible.

If that doesn't work for you, I used to have some staples on had that would get me out of my rut. Usually, it was whole wheat couscous with mushrooms and Parmesan, or a can of tuna to eat with whole wheat crackers.

I hope you find something that works for you!

Whole grain bread with pickes, chicken or tuna paste, a few slices of boiled eggs. Very filling.

Everybody has said leftovers, for a reason. They are the best lunches! Prep-free, warm, delicious, you know the nutritional content of it (as long as you logged it the night before ).

If you don't like lettuce salads but still want to get some veggies in at lunch time, what about roasted vegetable.... salads. Heh. I know you said no salad. But this is different! Roast some vegetables, whatever you like (my favourites are pumpkin, broccoli, tomato, mushrooms, courgettes) and then throw in some other tasty bits! I add combinations of leftover meat, hardboiled eggs, olives, feta, pesto, nuts, leftover rice/pasta/quinoa, beans or lentils. It's great without dressing but a really nice one is soy sauce/balsamic/honey mixed together in equal amounts

In winter, I'll make a big pot of soup and heat that up for lunch and have it with either toast or steamed vegetables with cheese melted on top.

Or, if I'm feeling lazy/am short of time, I'll have a few of the following packed up in ziplock backs: almonds, cheese cubes, tuna cans, jerky, carrot/cucumber sticks, hardboiled eggs.

leftover dinner. muffin tin fritattas (take ten mins, taste awesome, ask if you want a recipe ), salads done with stuff you do like the texture of (a fave of mine is courgette and carrot grated together with lemon zest, mint and sunflower seeds), yoghurt and fruit, apple and cheese with a couple crackers, whatever really. I don't subscribe to the 'this is a breakfast food, thisis a dinner food'thing. eat what you want when you want it, if it fits your plan;

I like to make "salads" that are things like chickpeas, bell peppers, zucchini, avocado and chicken. In a lemony vinaigrette. Or I just eat my dinner leftovers.

If I am actually eating a salad, I like to bulk it up with beans or grains.

In the winter, I love to make lentil soups. With kale and sausage. Or curry powder and sweet potatoes and tomatoes.

Turkey sandwiches are my go-to lunch, with a salad for later snacking.
Or tuna sandwiches

Or boil up some chicken, shred it, add a bit of mayo and fresh fruit, BAM, chicken salad.

Caprese salads are yummy.

Pasta salads are cheap and easy. Get some multicolored Rotini pasta, add in some diced, steamed veggies and a can of tuna with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar drizzle.


Honestly, lunch is the easy part.

Omelettes.

I've taken to adding chopped spinach to the eggs before cooking, then piling the surface high with ham, mushrooms, caramelised onion and (gasp) grated cheese...then pop the whole thing under the grill/broiler till the cheese starts going golden brown and serve it without folding.

Voila - omelette pizza.

Also, I bought a pie maker a few months ago and it's my best investment ever. A spinach/lite ricotta/cheese filling in low fat pastry is only 152 cals and makes a FANTASTIC lunch on the run. Have done similar with cauliflower in a cheese sauce. Mmmm...pies.

psstt....that is a fritatta.

Omelettes.

I've taken to adding chopped spinach to the eggs before cooking, then piling the surface high with ham, mushrooms, caramelised onion and (gasp) grated cheese...then pop the whole thing under the grill/broiler till the cheese starts going golden brown and serve it without folding.

Voila - omelette pizza.

Also, I bought a pie maker a few months ago and it's my best investment ever. A spinach/lite ricotta/cheese filling in low fat pastry is only 152 cals and makes a FANTASTIC lunch on the run. Have done similar with cauliflower in a cheese sauce. Mmmm...pies.

psstt....that is a fritatta.

You say fritatta, I say potato...