Lunch at work ideas

Options
skinniestminniest
skinniestminniest Posts: 26
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone -

I've been at this lifestyle change since August and I have to say, I've grown really tired of the salad-for-lunch-everyday thing. I occasionally bring a turkey sandwich or leftovers, but I mostly bring salad because it's easy to make and fast.

What does everyone else bring to work for lunch?

Thanks!!
«1

Replies

  • Marcia315
    Marcia315 Posts: 460 Member
    Options
    Yogurt and fruit.
  • aem135
    aem135 Posts: 44
    Options
    I pack ingredients the night before to make myself a healthy wrap or cook couscous with steamed veggies, lite soups, fruit salad, yogurt with granola, veggie platter, etc.
  • Shell_1384
    Shell_1384 Posts: 80 Member
    Options
    I make this about twice per month. Change up the veggies to whatever I have on hand - radishes, carrots, celery, peppers, onion, etc.

    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
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    Today is cottage cheese, fruit, and a veggie side.

    Soup, whole wheat crackers, fruit

    Snacky type things - hard boiled egg, string cheese, veggies & dip, fruit.

    Wraps (like a sandwich) but it changes things up with different veggies added. Wrap turkey, cheese, romaine, shredded carrot, a dill pickle spear..... and smear on dill spread (greek yogurt & dill weed).....or reduced fat cream cheese.

    Instead of just turkey.....tuna salad or egg salad

    You can do so many things with salad.....I grill up a bunch of chicken (put in ziplock sandwich bags)....have a southwest chicken salad, or an oriental chicken salad. Spinach salad with feta, strawberries, almonds & raspberry vinaigrette
  • bsoxluvr
    bsoxluvr Posts: 183 Member
    Options
    I tried something new this week that I'm enjoying. I cooked a bunch of whole wheat pasta on Sunday night and pack a container each night. I use 1 cup of pasta and add grilled chicken (2 oz), frozen veggies (fresh mushrooms, frozen broccoli, frozen sprouts....whatever I have) and a 1/2 of Prego light pasta sauce. It tastes great and it's a salad or sandwich! Comes to about 350 calories for a hot, home-made lunch.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Options
    A few of my lunches for the past few days:

    1. Vegan jerkey + Dr. Mcdougall's Vegan Split Pea Soup With Barley + Seasoned Croutons

    2. Portable single serve hummus + baby carrots + stuffed grape leaves

    3. Vegetarian Chick'n patty + bag microwavable vegetables in light sauce (Fave: Birds Eye Steam Fresh Tuscan Vegetables With Marinara Sauce)

    4. Cedar Lane - Spinach Quinoa Cake + jalapeno greek yoghurt + salsa + tortilla chips
  • maz504
    maz504 Posts: 450
    Options
    I'm a horrible morning person and I'm always either super lazy or running really late, so a lot of times it's a lean cuisine or something. If you're more picky about your nutrition, if I have time or think about it ahead of time, I like doing a half of a whole wheat pita with hummus, fat free feta and turkey or chicken and lettuce. And I always have snacks like string cheese, fruit snacks, granola bars, boiled eggs, almonds, etc. on hand.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
    Options
    I never eat salads for lunch, or sandwiches but I have access to a kitchen to heat my food. My normal practice is to plan to have leftovers from dinner. I also make dishes and freeze them in lunch size portions. They defrost on my desk by lunch time.

    Suggestions for lunches:
    Lentil Stews/Soups
    Curry stews/soups
    Kale Lasagne
    Left-over rotisserie chicken and steamed veggies
    Twice Baked potatoes & mini meatloaves
    Chickpeas over rice
    Chili (or White Chili)

    I had homemade Curry Chicken Corn Chowder (from my freezer) for lunch today with Chocolate Squash pudding.
  • kea9f
    kea9f Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    I'm big on whole wheat pasta, partly because I love pasta, but mostly because I can't make it all day without a carb. I just can't get my calories high enough without a serving of carbs for lunch. This week I have pasta with kale and pasta with brussel sprouts. The kale one is amazing, the brussel spouts one is only ok.

    http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/whole-grain-spaghetti-with-garlicky-kale-and-tomatoes-00000000051131/
    http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/whole-grain-spaghetti-with-garlicky-kale-and-tomatoes-00000000051131/)
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    Options
    Today I had a steak wrap with lean steak, feta, spinach, and beets in a whole wheat wrap.
  • melissat888250
    melissat888250 Posts: 79 Member
    Options
    Last night I attempted to make hard boiled eggs to eat for lunch the rest of the week... but they turned out to be soft boiled eggs when I cracked one this morning. I think I'm going to make it into egg salad (mash egg with mustard) instead of just taking eggs for lunch.
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
    Options
    I bring leftovers as I prefer hot food...lasagna, quinoa with kale and sweet potato, curry chicken are a few recent ones.
  • katro111
    katro111 Posts: 632 Member
    Options
    My lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Options
    Today I packaged up 3 oz lean low-sodium roast beef slices, .25 oz shaved Parmesan, .5 oz arugula/spinach mix, and 2.75 oz French bread and made myself a sandwich. I'll be doing that all week.

    Last week was Caesar salad with grilled shrimp. Week before that was chicken tacos - two corn tortillas with 3 oz chicken (seasoned with homemade taco seasoning and shredded), a bit of an avocado, and fat free refried beans. A few weeks before that was red beans and rice. I haven't decided next week's lunch quite yet.

    My lunches are usually only about 250-300 calories because I like to have a snack around 3:30. Lately this has consisted of a boiled egg, light string cheese, and flavored Greek yogurt. That's another 208 calories.
  • allbarrett
    allbarrett Posts: 159 Member
    Options
    I make extra dinner and just package some of it up for lunch the next day.

    Tuna in sandwiches or on crackers.

    Chicken/beef and vegetables (a stir-fry, curry or whatever).

    Sometimes I'll make up a big batch of something and just portion it out all week (pulled pork, lasagna, tourtiere, roast beef, ham, roasted chicken, quiche, you get the idea).

    I'm not a salad-for-lunch type, that can get old pretty fast. Lunch is just food so I don't really have special lunch meals but I always pull something together the night before...I'm too slow getting going in the morning to try to figure out lunch on the fly.
  • redsoxmj
    redsoxmj Posts: 31
    Options
    I've been bringing an apple everyday for lunch, usually with whatever leftovers I have from the night before. I eat the apple first and then the leftovers, and I usually get full before I finish the rest of the food. For a while, I would bring an apple but it would just sit there in my lunch bag for days because I would eat everything else first and forget about it, but now I'm making it a habit to eat it first!
  • easjer
    easjer Posts: 219 Member
    Options
    An easy one for me is paleo meatballs over spinach. I have a great crockpot recipe I do, with fabulous sauce and it's yummy and lasts me 3-5 days, depending on the size of the meatballs and what else I eat.

    Sometimes I double a recipe for dinner to ensure I have leftovers. Sometimes I make an entire casserole and portion it out for my lunches.

    I mean, there are tons of options, you know? You're only limited by cooking skills and imagination.
  • JesiDM
    JesiDM Posts: 268 Member
    Options
    bump for ideas :)
  • skinniestminniest
    skinniestminniest Posts: 26
    Options
    thanks everyone! there are a lot of really great ideas in here that i'll be snagging!!
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
    Options
    I made Quiche Lorraine (bacon and swiss cheese) for dinner last night - my wife and I each had a quarter. Today's lunch is the other quarter each and a few slices of cucumber and grape tomatoes. Dessert was a segmented navel orange and 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese.

    For snacks I have a couple of schneiders pepperoni sticks and if I'm still hungry I have a choice between green grapes, almonds and trail mix or a penguin bar.

Categories