Office Worker - Healthy, Easy lunch ideas

Precooked chicken breast pieces are available in most supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsburys in UK). Where you are located, check the supermarkets for these. You could eat this with any salad bowl. For carbs, you can buy a tin of cooked chickpeas / any beans and add in the salad. Top up with a sauce of your choice.

+1 for the salad/chicken idea. I prepare salad boxes for a few days at a time then roast chicken breasts and slice to add but if you buy the mixed salad bags and precooked chicken you will have no prep to do and a healthy fast lunch & you can just switch between different dressings or different salad mixes for variety. You could also make your own sandwiches which takes barely a few minutes again using precooked chicken or if you have a microwave soup is a cheap and easy option to buy, just watch out for high sodium contents.

Without meaning to offend, you say you have no time to prepare anything due to being a very busy mum & I get that with hectic routines it can be hard but this is about your health and your body so surely you can make time to make lunch? Even if that means going to bed 15minutes later or deciding to go cook something instead of watching a 30minute tv show...There are hundreds of things you could cook the night before in well under 20minutes, just google 10/15minute meals and there are loads of options & most recipes serve 4, so that's potentially 4 lunches that you can box up for the week by just cooking once.

I think its a matter of prioritising to be honest, my sister has two young kids, works full time and is also part time helper (evening & weekend visits) to her husbands ill mother, on top of being a taxi service for her husband who doesn't drive. She is by no means a superwoman, and yes she gets hacked off with how hectic things are but she finds time to cook simple but healthy meals for herself and her family because it is important to her. No doubt people will disagree with me but "I don't have time to cook" is a kind of lazy attitude.

*edit spelling

Without meaning to offend, you say you have no time to prepare anything due to being a very busy mum & I get that with hectic routines it can be hard but this is about your health and your body so surely you can make time to make lunch? Even if that means going to bed 15minutes later or deciding to go cook something instead of watching a 30minute tv show...There are hundreds of things you could cook the night before in well under 20minutes, just google 10/15minute meals and there are loads of options & most recipes serve 4, so that's potentially 4 lunches that you can box up for the week by just cooking once.

Just to back this up, I'm the breadwinner in my house and typically work 50+ hour weeks - yet I still find the time to cook. It starts with careful planning. I make a meal plan every Saturday and order groceries online for pick-up so I avoid impulse shopping. I also try to maximize for left-overs. For example, this week I'm making grilled chicken parmesan with home made tomato sauce and spaghetti squash. When I make this meal, I'll cook a couple extra chicken breasts for lunch salads, and I'll make extra tomato sauce for meatball sub sandwiches later in the week. My "sandwich" will be without bread; my boys get the good stuff. :-) Speaking of my boys, I get them involved too. They know how to do basic prep, they help clean the kitchen as I cook, and much of the time they clean up after dinner without my help.

Here's my evening meal plan for the week to give an example. This one doesn't maximize left-overs as much as I typically would, but these are typical things I can cook given forward planning. (Note that SV = sous vide describing the way I'll cook at least one of the meals.) You'll see I LOVE cooking on my grill/smoker.

Sunday
- tri tip steak
- baked potato
- pan seared asparagus
- fresh guacamole

Monday
- cedar plank grilled salmon w/ spice rub
- jasmine rice
- salad with home made ginger dressing

Tuesday
- grilled chicken parmesan (SV) with home made tomato sauce
- pan seared asparagus
- spaghetti squash

Wednesday
dinner
- left over chicken parmesan
**make salsa for Thursday

Thursday
- mexican style shrimp
- mexican rice
- guajillo salsa
- nachos (not for Sam)
- fresh guacamole

Friday
- meatball subs
- hoagie roll (not for Sam)
- italian meatballs
- tomato sauce (left overs)
- provolone cheese

Saturday
- smoked baby back ribs w/ sugar-free dry rub and low-sugar BBQ sauce
- corn on the cob
- corn muffins (not for Sam)

One other thought as I don't want you to feel I'm bashing your time management.

I've only been cooking seriously since November 2013. My stove died, so I bought a new one and with it some cookware. I had a little time on my hands over the holidays, so I set out to learn how to cook something better than the typical crock-pot or microwave fare. My early adventures weren't at all healthy - my first target was to learn how to make a good crème brûlée. After that, I moved onto figuring out my grandmother's egg custard pie, and then soufflés. I'm pleased to say I can whip up a sweet vanilla or chocolate soufflé on command now.

As time progressed, I started learning other basics - like how to properly pan sear meat and vegetables, how to cook to temperature (vs cooking to time), and seasoning food. I'm pleased to say I buy more fresh produce than I do packaged foods now. Recipes are great but I think technique is half the battle. To that end, YouTube is a great resource. I never could get soufflés right in the beginning and many ended up in the trash - but after watching a ton of videos on YouTube, I figured it out. I try to learn something new - whether simple or complex - each weekend. Yesterday, it was fresh guacamole. And I've found that moving about the kitchen is great exercise.

I have a LONG way to go towards becoming a proficient cook but am building "muscle memory" in the kitchen through repetition. I can do dishes like lemony-garlic pan seared asparagus, creamy truffle mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, blackberry-lemon brûlée, bacon wrapped pan seared pork chops, burgundy mushrooms, and honey glazed sweet and sour wings practically off the top of my head now. :-)

But I digress... I enjoy my cooking hobby and started the fitness journey a few weeks ago. I feel very passionate and hopeful that my hobby is compatible with a significant life goal - to lose weight, exercise and eat better - and I love to read and share experiences. If you find a good answer that works for your lunches, please share. I'm keen to learn.

Hello

First time poster, long time dieter. I, like a lot of people, work in an office. I am fairly sedentary during the day, and go to the gym 3 days a week.

My problem though, which I am hoping you can all help me with, is that at lunch time I am starving! About 12:00 I need food!

So right now I found some Chinese noodle things that are only 94 cals per bag. So I am dining on those fairly consistently. However I don'twant to kid myself, lets face it, these things are probably baked in fat before they are dried out, and the calories are completely of the bad variety. I notice through my fitness pal that my diet is nearly 60% carbs 15% fat and the rest protein.

Can anyone help me please. I need some ideas for a healthy lunch, that doesnt require me to cook lunch at home the day before or similar. Something I can buy that I can then prepare while at work, that isn't stupidly expensive.

I dont really have time at home due to kids / routines and so on for preparing a healthy lunch at home. So I need some easy to purchase / easy to prepare lunch ideas that aren't all bad calories. Anyone god any ideas?

Cheers

Lee

Do you have any allergies to nuts? If not, get some raw almonds rather than the fried noodle things. For a serving its 160 calories, but it really stays with me and curbs my hunger. It also makes me drink more water which helps me get my 8 to 10 glasses a day.

I've only just started this but i get some sandwich meat(usually bbq chicken), lettuce and a tortilla wrap and its fairly low when on my diary and also fills me right up until 7pm.

I make up a big bowl of cous cous on a Sunday afternoon/evening and box it up into takeaway containers to take to work for the rest of the week.

It takes literally 10 minutes to cook cous cous - just boil a kettle, pour cous cous into a bowl, pour the boiling water on top, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave for 10 minutes. While it's steaming, chop up a few veggies like peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes etc, or open and drain a tin of tuna, or grate some cheese, or whatever fillings you like, then after 10 mins, mix the fillings with the cous cous and divide into containers. Easy peasy.

Office worker with 4 kids here, and I pack my lunch every morning. I usually bring the same thing(s). I use a 3-section container for portion sizing. This is what I generally make (and it takes about 10-15 minutes in the morning, but of course could be done at night). I don't eat beef or poultry, and I try to steer clear of wheat since it bloats me like crazy.:

Main:
salad (I pre-rinse, chop the lettuce on Sundays and store in a plastic "green bag" for use all week) w/veggies (also pre-sliced on the weekend) with a side of balsamic vinegar and spices, or
tuna salad (one pack of tuna in water, 1 tbsp mayo, 1 pickle spear)

with:
fruit (any that need to be cut are done on the weekend and stored), but if it's berries or grapes, I just rinse that morning and throw them in
cottage cheese (the ones in a snack pack) or
cheese stick
sliced cucumbers, olives, or marinated mushrooms in a jar-- any veggie option that is easy that I can just throw in my small portion of my container, really.

and, my "snack"-- a jell-o sugar free snack pack.

This typically gives me about 350-400 calories at lunch, depending, and ALWAYS fills me up.

I usually plan my dinners but for lunch I am a little bit lazy, so sometimes I bring one hard egg, thin sandwich bread, and a can(5OZ) turkey breast and make a sandwich, or sometimes I eat a half of avocado or black fried beans on tostadas, or a bunch of fruits and vegetables, or yogurt. I am focus in my protein intake so everything that I bring for lunch has to have protein.

If you have a fridge at work, go buy a plastic bin, put your name on it and stock it up.
Boiled eggs, deli meat, cut up veggies, some fruit and some nut butter.
Keep apples, almond packs (100ish calorie packs) at your desk.

I always do well when I plan ahead, and have some healthy nutritious food on hand for meals and light snacks. Good luck!

I bring my lunch almost every day (except for my monthly Chinese run with a couple of the girls at work, and that is ONLY once a month). at least 80% of the time, my lunches are "leftovers" from the previous night's dinner - I don't actually think of them as leftovers though, as I intentionally make enough to have 1 serving for me for dinner, 2 servings for the hubs for dinner, and 1 serving for me for lunch. Crockpot meals are GREAT for this, and depending on the recipe, I can many times get 2 dinners and 2 lunches out of one "meal" (ie any recipe that serves 8). the rest of the time, I make a sandwich - turkey, roast beef, chicken, tuna. Making a sandwich takes all of 2 minutes (and no dishes) in the morning (5 minutes and a small bowl if I make tuna). Easy peasy :happy:

Without meaning to offend, you say you have no time to prepare anything due to being a very busy mum & I get that with hectic routines it can be hard but this is about your health and your body so surely you can make time to make lunch? Even if that means going to bed 15minutes later or deciding to go cook something instead of watching a 30minute tv show...There are hundreds of things you could cook the night before in well under 20minutes, just google 10/15minute meals and there are loads of options & most recipes serve 4, so that's potentially 4 lunches that you can box up for the week by just cooking once.

I think its a matter of prioritising to be honest, my sister has two young kids, works full time and is also part time helper (evening & weekend visits) to her husbands ill mother, on top of being a taxi service for her husband who doesn't drive. She is by no means a superwoman, and yes she gets hacked off with how hectic things are but she finds time to cook simple but healthy meals for herself and her family because it is important to her. No doubt people will disagree with me but "I don't have time to cook" is a kind of lazy attitude.

*edit spelling

VERY well said!!!

I joke with my wife, that since starting MFP, I lose more calories just getting ready for the next day (packing gym/work clothes, smoothie and lunch). But I have to do it to make it work.

My boyfriend hates this too but he knows that I have to do it.

Lunch is always a salad with some form of protein - usually whatever meat was dinner the night before or a half can of tuna if we had veggies or there wasn't leftovers. I refuse to keep cut salad for very long because I prefer it fresh cut so I will do that the night before. OP - you can buy all kinds of bagged salad mixes if you don't have time to cut salad. Bring a can of tuna, a can of mixed beans, throw it all together , toss on some vinaigrette and you're golden

On weekends I usually weigh out and measure my ingredients for my breakfasts (overnight oats) for the week, then I take 2 minutes to throw it together every night also.

Making lunch doesn't have to take a long time but you have to be organized about it.

You have a fridge and a microwave???


Scramble eggs with egg whites, chicken and veggies of choice - reheat at work
Make chicken and veggie soup over the weekend - reheat at work
Make breakfast lasagna - reheat at work (cream cheese pancakes (or pancake of choice) turkey crumbles (or sausage of choice), scrambled eggs (add egg whites if you want more eggs) topped with shredded cheese. Use whatever variety of food that fits your diet and/or macros)
Huge salad topped with tuna, feta and balsamic vinegar
Leftover dinner
Plain yogurt with cut up fruit
tuna/egg salad on lettuce, celery or bread- can sub avocado for mayo if you don't eat mayo
Whole carrot or some baby carrots
Various homemade soups, stew or chili
Turkey or chicken rollups with cheese. Either on bread, lettuce wrapped, in a tortilla or by themselves.

PS.. I have a very busy hectic lifestyle as well. The crock pot is my best friend. So is stir fry anything and things that don't require cooking. I also get up 20 minutes earlier then I want to so I can make my food for the day. Or on Sunday I go to bed a little later so I can prep food for the week. I will also make extra dinner the night before with the intention of having it for lunch the next day.