College student easy lunch?

Tuna + mayo + bread

As a rule, I take a sandwich (or rather, three half sandwiches), usually with spread cheese / other spreads (veggie here, so hummus, lentil spread...) and a side of vegetables: steamed veggies the night before with some seasoning, cherry tomatoes, carrot & cucumber sticks, whatever I feel like.

I make the sandwiches the night before and keep in the fridge until morning, then in my backpack all day until lunch time. No need for an icepack or anything like that.

I usually pack some cooked chicken, grapes to pick at and a Dunn's Nurishment extra drink.

I get about 600 calories out of it.

It makes me look like a weirdo but who gives a fudge

I try to get a few food groups in, especially a protein, for every meal I have. I try to make lunch the biggest meal because that's usually when I have the most classes back-to-back, when I go workout, and when I start to feel tired.

Some things I like to have as my proteins are boca/morning star veggie burgers or "chicken" patties, mozzarella and spinach chicken sausages, egg whites, chicken or fish that I made the night before, canned tuna, or greek yogurt. Then I usually add a veggie, either using my protein in a salad or having steamed (microwaveable) or chopped fresh vegetables (like bell peppers or carrots) on the side. You could also do a good grain like quinoa or brown rice, but limit it.

If you're finding that you don't have enough protein sources on hand or enough time to general meals, you may need to think to think about preparing your meals ahead of time. You could prepare your lunches the night before and buy your chicken/fish in bulk, make them ahead of time at the beginning of the week, and have them ready to go for you. A really good meal I like to make ahead of time is my greek yogurt chicken salad, that way I don't have to think about incorporating all my food groups because they're already in the salad. Just mix cooked chopped chicken with greek yogurt, your favorite veggies (like carrots, celery, etc.), seasonings and sliced grapes and almonds, mix it up, and you're good to go. You can make a huge batch of it to last for your entire weekday lunches.

Snacks I like to grab and go if I REALLY don't have time to eat at home or I forget to make a lunch include grab-and-go fruits (like apples, oranges, pears, etc.) whole grain goldfish, greek yogurt cups, and protein bars (just watch the sugar!).

Will you be back home/ at your dorm, or is this something you need to carry with you and eat on the go/ in the dining hall?

Consider your crockpot your new best friend. If you dont have one, I highly suggest you get one.

I make chicken tortilla soup, that is sooo good and healthy. You can take that along with half a sandwich and fruit. I make a big batch and freeze containers that way I can always have some in hand. you can also make potroast, chicken breast. I mean, your possibilities are endless. Just throw something in the pot at night and it will be ready for you the next morning.

Good luck!

Burritos! Get some already cooked chicken breast from a supermarket, throw on some cheese and spinach then you're good to go :glasses:

If you're looking to up your calories definitely include health fats like avocado, bananas and nut butters.

Bananas have little amount of fat, more or less about the amount of fat in an apple, which is not even 1g for even a large fruit. It's a very old nutrition myth to class bananas with avocados or nuts, heard it often growing up "careful, nutritionally bananas aren't really a fruit they contain more fat/calories". Well it's absolutely false, bananas are load of sugar with barely any protein and fat. Just like your typical fruit.