Healthy packed lunch ideas

I eat a lot of pasta or rice type things for lunch, usually it is what is left over from dinner the night before. I have made all the recipes I am linking you. I don't know what your calorie intake is, so tried to stay in a 300-500 calorie range. Enjoy!

Baked Italian-Style Cauliflower
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes-00400000056656/page16.html

Spring Vegetable Couscous with Chicken
http://veryculinary.com/2011/04/21/spring-vegetable-couscous-with-chicken/

Couscous with Roasted Vegetable and Chickpeas
http://www.afetefullife.com/couscous-salad-with-roasted-vegetables-and-chickpeas/

Healthier Meat Lasagna
http://www.marthastewart.com/336865/healthier-meat-lasagna
(BTW, the serving size for this one is HUGE! 1/4 of an 8X8 dish! And only about 400 calories per serving)

i pretty much rotate thru a few select lunches

subway soup + cheese string, baby carrots, and a yogurt

subway 6in chicken breast with lite mayo and veg no cheese and baby carrots

ham and cheese sandwhich, yogurt, apple, carrot

chicken breast and bacon salad with caloriewise ranch dressing, croutons and a yogurt

oven roasted veggies (peppers, zucchini, onion) with balsamic dressing and chicken

and the lunch on the fly- 650mls of dark chocolate milk

I struggle with the same thing! Here's a post I put up a couple days ago on another thread. That one was about what to do with tofu, so there's a description of how to press it. In addition to being a kids favorite, the simply marinated tofu is a great lunch staple for me. Often I find that leftovers in the fridge would be a fine lunch if they had some protein, and I will just add some of this marinated tofu to whatever veggie/grain type leftover I already have. Also great on salads, and takes just minutes to make. Here's the tofu post:



Unless you plan to blend the tofu, to use in things like smoothies or as a sub for cream in chowders, you will do best to press it. Very simple - just cut the block into even slices about a half an inch thick, then lay on a clean dish cloth. Place another clean dish cloth on top, followed by a cutting board. Put something heavy on the cutting board and just leave it alone for a few minutes. The longer you wait, the firmer the tofu will become. After 5 or 10 mins, just cook the tofu however you like. You can dice it or cut into strips after pressing and it will maintain its shape when cooking. Sometimes, I hear that people have no success cooking tofu in stir fry or whatever cause it falls apart, but pressing solves this issue.

The kids love plain or simply marinated tofu (not cooked - tofu does not require cooking, though there are many good ways to cook it). So, for the kiddos, while the tofu presses, I take a glass storage container with a lid, and add:
A tsp or so of something tangy (rice vinegar, lemon juice, etc.)
A dash of low sodium tamari or soy sauce
A 1/2 tsp or so of toasted sesame oil
A 1/2 tsp or so of agave or honey (not to make it sweet - just for balance)
Then I just whisk the marinade together, cube the pressed tofu, throw it in the container with the lid, give it a shake, and call it done. Whole process takes less than 10 minutes and it keeps for a few days in the fridge. I modify flavors / seasonings for myself and the hubby (Sriracha, lemon pepper, italian seasoning with olive oil instead of sesame oil - many options).

Going to sound really weird...But for lunch today I took a Starkist tuna creations sweet and spicy, mixed it with a couple crushed white cheddar cheeze its and a tablespoon of mayo. 270 calories for it all, 150 of it from the cheeze its. I also dip my bananas in yoplait greek peach yogurt.

Today my lunch was:
1 spring onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
Handful of parsley, chopped
1 can tuna
1 can 4 beans

Yum!

LENTIL, BLACK BEAN, AND VEGGIE SALAD

Makes 5 2-cup servings. Lasts all week in the fridge, perfect for people with little time for daily meal prep!

*Could easily replace Greek dressing with any other oil & vinegar based dressing; beans and/or lentils could be switched out for other hearty legumes like chick peas, etc. according to your likes and dietary needs/restrictions.

Green Lentils, cooked and cooled, 2 cups
Black Beans, cooked and cooled, 1 cup
Baby Carrots, raw, chopped, 1.5 cup
Celery, raw, chopped, 1.5 cup
Red Bell Pepper, raw, chopped, 1 cup
Purple/red onion, raw, chopped, 0.5 cup
Sugar Snap Peas, raw, chopped, 1 cup
Broccoli, raw, chopped, 2 cups
Kraft - Greek Vinaigrette With Feta Cheese and Oregano Salad Dressing, 150 ml

Lightly fold all ingredients together, careful not to mush the beans and lentils. Divide equally into 5 containers for ready-to-eat meals.

Nutrition info per serving according to MFP recipe builder: 340 Calories, 49g Carbs, 11g Fat, 17g Protein, 378mg Sodium, 6g Sugar

I spend the day on Sunday and make a couple pots of healthy soup. I then portion it all out into containers and I am good to go. I have a piece of fruit with it.

Here are a few other ideas that I am sure you can find recipes for on the internet
white bean and tuna salad
Barley and black bean salad
cook an extra piece of chicken the night before and have that with some veggies


I also enjoy turkey pepperoni and have had turkey pepperoni with an ounce of cheese and a serving of crackers.

This may not help much but usually whatever I make for dinner- baked chicken breast, tuna salad, regular salads, pork chops, stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, stuffed chicken breasts, etc.- I make an extra serving or 2 so me and the hubby can have leftovers for lunch. Occasionally I just buy some frozen meals to switch it up when I don't feel like cooking the night before. For sides I usually bring fresh veggies w/hummus dip, chips/salsa, fruit cups, string cheese, or fit in a bag of chips from the office kitchen.

Some of my favorite recent creations are:
Fresh mozzarella and marinated tomato sandwich: 2 slices 40 calories bread (80 cals), 1

What kind of bread do you buy? Im looking for a low cal bread and when you say 80 cals for TWO slices I got excited!! HA!

I made lots of these and I have them on my freezer - I bring 2 for lunch twice a week, just let it unfreeze in my lunch bag until lunch time and I heat up in the microwave.
It's DELICIOUS and everybody that are around me during lunch asks me what it is because it smells so good!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-turkey-meatloaf-muffins.htm

364 calories for 2!