What to do for lunch?!?! HELP

Hello all!

I'm new to the program tonight and I find that in trying to plan meals for tomorrow, I have NO IDEA what to eat for lunch. To me it is so easy to have a light breakfast or dinner, but for lunch I have no ideas. I need things that aren't complicated and aren't overly fancy, because I don't have a ton of extra food in my budget this week. I am allotted 1200 calories a day. I have no idea what to do with 1200 calories..hahahaha...

I'm really hoping to get some guidance here. I don't want to give up before I've even gotten started :-/

I appreciate any help.

Thanks

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Is this for a lunch to pack and take with you, or is it something you'll cook and eat at home? Do you have a full kitchen (range top, oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer)? What kind of staples do you have on hand?

    There's no rule that you have to have special "lunch" food for lunch. If you have lots of ideas for breakfast and dinner, you can have another breakfast or dinner meal for lunch. Do you have leftovers from your dinners? You could eat those.

    I feel like I'm just throwing out random ideas without you're being a little more specific, but here are some easy things I've had recently:

    Avocado, tomato, and cucumber on wheat bread, with ramp mustard and mayo. And a banana.

    Fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomato aioli, basil on ciabatta. And an apple.

    Tuna salad (small can of tuna, lots of chopped onion, a tablespoon of mayo, fresh lemon juice) . Spread half of it on a small pita with sliced cucumbers; spread the other half of the tuna salad on the other half of the pita, top with a slice of tasty cheese (I used something called steakhouse onion cheddar) and microwave (or broil, but that tends to burn the edges of the bread) until cheese melts. With six ounces of orange juice diluted with seltzer water.

    Leftover peanut butter-coconut milk curry with beef and chickpeas. (Make a batch of curry, stew, hearty soup, chili, casserole etc. for dinner when you have time, and you'll have days of leftovers.)

    Cook spaghetti or other pasta (or cook extra when you have some for dinner, then reheat in microwave with a little water and drain); top with leftover or canned chili; add black beans, chopped fresh tomato or canned tomatoes, onions, and nonfat greek yogurt.
  • karinajean2388
    karinajean2388 Posts: 162 Member
    With the change in weather, I've recently gone on a soup for lunch kick :)
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
    my favoriat 130 calorieste lunch is hummus and vegetables. I cut the veggies up beforehandand feel good about what I'm eating for lunch. If I get stuck and I don't have food prepared, I have Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal in my desk. at 130 calories, its a good emergency standby. I also keep nuts and dried berries at my desk. Good luck
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    In for Loki.

    You can totally have breakfast or lunch foods for lunch. I often have soup, salad, grilled chicken and veggies... That being said, most people need more than 1200 calories. You're supposed to eat exercise calories back with that, so you should probably be able to eat more.
  • I don't know how I will survive on 1200 calories!! Today is my first day and already I have gone over :-( But I plan to exercise this evening and that should make me even for the day.


    I went out and bought some soups today so that should be good. I think I will also do the grilled chicken and salad thing. Thanks for the tips. I just want to get the hang of it. Seems like there is a lot of support on the website from everyone. :smile:
  • Thank you Freya (love that name by the way...There is a character on a show I like with the same name:-)

    I do enjoy hummus so I need to go get some of that, probably next week. Which vegetables do you use? I have the celery and carrots but I can't imagine that being my entire lunch!!! lol..Probably something I need to get used to :-)

    Thanks for the response Freya:happy:
  • Karina I JUST went out and bought soup today!!! I LOVE soup. Have to make sure I don't doctor it up with cheese though...LOL

    :ohwell:
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    1) make sure 1200 cals is really for you.

    2) rice vinegar dressing on salad with lots of veggies and some steamed chicken.

    3) double check that 1200 cals is really for you.
  • Those "random" ideas are EXACTLY what I'm looking for :-) THANK YOU! I just needed some ideas that I am not currently using. Love your suggestions, especially the tuna. Also, I love love love anything with tomatoes so those will definitely work for me.

    Thank you so much.:smile:
  • If you can stand tuna.. (which I love) that is a great lunch food... It is also really good to kick start your metabolism. Tuna mixed with slaw and a small amount of salad dressing is really yummy... :)
  • You can never go wrong with tomatoes!!! ;)
  • HA!!! The 1200 calories thing is not going to be my cup of tea. :noway:

    When I entered my info into the system that's what it gave me. I would like to lose 2 lbs a week. But I can't image surviving on 1200 calories honestly. And I'm not one of those people that is willing to starve themselves. That was part of the problem with me joining MFP initially. I found out how many calories they suggested and gave up before I even started...whomp whomp...

    Also, thanks for the lunch idea. I love ANYTHING with vinegar and it sounds like it would be filling.
  • Missycvt
    Missycvt Posts: 422 Member
    Hello, well I have been finding it quite hard myself with the food report not going over the sugar! I am okay with calories but the sugar is what gets me! Even if I do eat "healthy" foods, I still end up going over my sugar. I eat Special K with berries in the morning, sometimes a banana, then for mid-morning snack, low fat strawberry activia light, then for lunch I will have a sandwich just turkey colby jack and honey wheat bread with baked lays, granny smith apple for snack, then for dinner either a salad with grilled chicken, baked chicken with veggies, or anything in portion. But by half of my day, I will have passed my sugar intake. It is crazy! So my favorite cereal and fruits are gonna have to go! It is tough, but hang in the program. I have seen results. Good luck! --Missy
  • I LOVE TUNA!! I was actually just in my kitchen about to make some for tomorrow...HAHAHA...I was thinking tuna with lemon pepper. I usually do tuna with mayo but I wanted to try something that would be less calories.

    And yes, I love tomato everything :-)
  • Oh we have to watch our sugar intake also? I only thought we kept up with the calories. FOILED AGAIN BATMAN :sad:

    I did notice that the tracker keeps up with sodium which I am over on already. ugh...For now I better just keep up with the calories, I'll be doing good to even stay within the 1200 calorie limit. yikes...hahahaha

    The sandwich thing is good and is exactly what I did today. This evening I'm doing boneless, skinless chicken thighs-baked, with spinach. I will love that so I'm looking forward to it.
  • Chimis_Siq
    Chimis_Siq Posts: 849 Member
    I LOVE TUNA!! I was actually just in my kitchen about to make some for tomorrow...HAHAHA...I was thinking tuna with lemon pepper. I usually do tuna with mayo but I wanted to try something that would be less calories.

    And yes, I love tomato everything :-)
    Hi!
    I love tuna but hated the smell (for office at work) etc.
    I went to Target and they have tuna in bags. Starkist makes Tuna Creations (tuna thats flavored with things) . Im super in love with the Ranch flavor-only 80 cals. I then put it on a wheat sandwhich round and its 180 cals. I then do soup, or fruit, or a yogurt. Anything and its super good as is, doesnt need mayo etc. They are like $1.30 for a packet , which compared to me buying my lunch everyday or having starbucks is minimal.

    They have red pepper flavor, lemon pepper, ranch, TOMATO PESTO and others!! or plain if you like to add your own spices etc.

    11r99a1.jpg
  • YES!! These are the items that I saw that inspired me to put lemon pepper in my tuna...HA.
  • marena_kaye
    marena_kaye Posts: 6 Member
    whole wheat pitas with hummus, olives, feta, diced cucmber & tomato.

    i frequently cook 6 or 7 chicken breasts overnight in honey mustard dressing in my crock pot, it falls apart the next day then i just take some of that to work with me along with a fruit.

    chobani yogurt packs (i love pomegranate flavor) with granola.

    spinach, red onion, feta, diced cucumber & tomato with balsamic vinaigrette is a frequent salad for me.

    any type of meat with veggies, oil or lite ranch in a whole wheat tortilla.



    most importantly, DINNER leftovers! :) make extra of every meal and take the extra to lunch.

    hope this helps.
  • oogie80
    oogie80 Posts: 1 Member
    Just a note on the sugar side of MVP, my dietician told me to only look at the calories as everything else is hard to measure as some sugars are natural and some aren't. She also said the only reason to watch sugar is if you are diabetic and well if you are, you need to be seeing a dietician or diabetes specialist.

    Just focus on calories and ignore the rest.

    I have no real help for lunches as I am terrible with them but I tend to halve my dinner and have it the next day or have cruskits with ham, tomato and avo with fruit. It is hard to think of different and interesting things to have for lunch :p
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Unless you have some medical reason to watch your sugar, you can ignore the MFP sugar limit. That number seems to be drawn from American Heart Association's recommendations regarding ADDED sugar (not naturally occurring sugar in fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods). Because food labels and the MFP database don't distinguish between naturally occuring sugar and added sugar, it's all counted in your food diary together.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    You seem enthusiastic about tuna -- it's delicious mixed with a little mashed avocado and diced beets, then stuffed inside a tomato and served on a bed of greens. Other than tuna, you could season cottage cheese and either have it with fruit (if you season it sweetly, like with honey an nutmeg) or on a bed of veggies (if you went with savory, like basil and pepper). Try simmering chicken in a slow cooker with your seasoning of choice, then shredding it and stuffing it in cabbage leaves or using it to top a salad. Grab some smoked salmon, bagel thins, and Laughing Cow cheese for a delicious lunch treat; have it with some good olives and a dark green salad.