Lunchtime Foods For Work

swbenbow
swbenbow Posts: 87 Member
edited November 9 in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

What kind of things do you eat at work for lunch?

I normally always had sandwiches. Maybe 3 some days (6 slices of bread - 550 calories before you even add a filling!). This was way too calorific, so I am looking for other suggestions.

I can't heat things up, and I must admit I am not a great lover of salads.

Any ideas, thoughts, or inspiration truly welcome.

Replies

  • astridtheviking
    astridtheviking Posts: 113 Member
    I almost never eat sandwiches any more. I treat lunch like another dinner, so I eat things like pasta & sauce, (measure your foods AND check the sauces aren’t full of sugar), sometimes with shrimp or tofu, Indian veggies with brown rice (Tasty Bite is available in most supermarkets now and has no weird additives), spinach salad with salmon (I find spinach is easier to eat as a salad rather than romaine, which is just as blah as iceberg to me), or stir-fry with lots of veggies and chicken, shrimp, or tofu.

    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    left overs.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Leftovers from dinner the night before is my favorite. Home cooked goodness.
    If not that, I make a giant salad.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    I'm on the leftovers band wagon, but since you can't reheat food at work, it might be worthwhile to invest in a good thermos. In the mornings you can preheat the thermos with hot water, reheat your leftovers, and put your hot leftovers into a hot thermos. It should stay hot/warm until lunch time.

    I also enjoy some more "snacky" type lunches, especially during the summer. I'll mix and match deli meat rolled up, babybel cheese, veggie sticks, dip, fruit, pretzels, nuts, hard boiled eggs, etc. and make a snack pack for lunch.
  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.

    I disagree with this. Eating something that disgusts you, even if it is "nourishing" your body, is not something that will be easy to stick with. The point is to find healthy foods that you still can enjoy.

    I don't know where you're located, but I buy Aunt Millie's whole grain 35 calorie bread for my sandwiches. Another option if you enjoy sandwiches would be wraps. Buy the big ones (usually around 150 calories) and stuff it full of meat, veggies, etc.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    What about things like a bean salad with chicken (and there are so many different varieties of these that you could switch it up every day)? There are lots of things that you can eat that are cold and aren't a salad.

    Hummus with pretzels or veggies, greek yogurt, sandwiches that aren't ridiculous (don't eat three, but have lots of veggies and a decent amount of meat on them to help fill you up, use mustard instead of mayo), and even some leftovers I'm ok with eating cold.
  • Kayciemae02
    Kayciemae02 Posts: 58 Member
    I know you said you can't heat up your food, but they now make mini crock pots for lunches. Might be worth looking into to see if it could work for you!
  • JaneECS
    JaneECS Posts: 71 Member
    We literally have a picnic every day. Often it is hummus and rice/corncakes, but there could be low fat cuppa-soups - fine if you can access a kettle, a little low fat cheese, tuna mayo. I have a tomato with a sprinkle of salt every day. Sweet stuff could include dried mixed fruit and nut, a banana, if I am craving sweet stuff, a single Jaffa cake. I do not have access to a fridge once I leave the house - as long as it is good and cold by the time you leave home, you should be fine. I have never had a problem with dairy,fish or meat going off under normal weather conditions in the 5 or 6 hours between when I leave home and when I eat, but then I am in the UK, where the weather forecast all year round is "meh" Or you could invest in a very small coolbag. If you check the bags for calorific content, crisps/chips are normally acceptable too.
  • astridtheviking
    astridtheviking Posts: 113 Member
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.

    I disagree with this. Eating something that disgusts you, even if it is "nourishing" your body, is not something that will be easy to stick with. The point is to find healthy foods that you still can enjoy.

    I don't know where you're located, but I buy Aunt Millie's whole grain 35 calorie bread for my sandwiches. Another option if you enjoy sandwiches would be wraps. Buy the big ones (usually around 150 calories) and stuff it full of meat, veggies, etc.

    I didn’t say to eat food that disgusts you; I said every meal doesn’t have to be a party. If you’re working with limited tools (no microwave or refrigeration), sometimes it might be helpful to eat a meal you know will fill you, and save the effort for another meal you can truly enjoy. I think often the idea that every second of our lives must be fun and enjoyable can contribute to an unhealthy way of looking at food. Sometimes you work a job just to make the money; why is it such a bad thing to eat a meal just to get the nutrients?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.

    I disagree with this. Eating something that disgusts you, even if it is "nourishing" your body, is not something that will be easy to stick with. The point is to find healthy foods that you still can enjoy.

    I don't know where you're located, but I buy Aunt Millie's whole grain 35 calorie bread for my sandwiches. Another option if you enjoy sandwiches would be wraps. Buy the big ones (usually around 150 calories) and stuff it full of meat, veggies, etc.

    eating something that isn't amazing =/= disgusting.

    I prefer my stir fry right off the stove.

    but I eat it cold.

    is it way better fresh? you betcha

    will I eat it practically room temperature? sure- its' definitely better fresh... but you get used to eating things that are cold and it's fine.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    edited January 2015
    I think often the idea that every second of our lives must be fun and enjoyable can contribute to an unhealthy way of looking at food. Sometimes you work a job just to make the money; why is it such a bad thing to eat a meal just to get the nutrients?

    *nods*
    (looks over at the people who complain their workouts are boring)
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    While I don't think that every meal needs to be amazing and noteworthy, I don't see the point in suffering through a meal that you don't find satisfying. I know that if I tried to deal with eating room temerature lunches regularly, I would give up. Honestly, you will probably never hear me say that a vegetable dish is amazing. I eat the vegetables because I am a grown up and they are good for me. I don't hate them, but I don't love them, and they usually have to be prepared/served a certain way for me to find them palatable.

    I don't see the problem with investing in a food thermos or ice packs. If a person enjoys their food more because it's hotter/colder, why should they "suffer" the limitations of foods that can be stored and eaten at room temperature? My daughter takes her lunch almost daily and we are always using the soup Thermos containers for a variety of hot foods. Just this week she took chicken tortilla soup, chicken tikka masala with rice and black beans on various days. We also have ice packs so she can have a chilled salad with dressing or some cheese or yogurt if she wants.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    weird_me2 wrote: »
    While I don't think that every meal needs to be amazing and noteworthy, I don't see the point in suffering through a meal that you don't find satisfying. I know that if I tried to deal with eating room temerature lunches regularly, I would give up. Honestly, you will probably never hear me say that a vegetable dish is amazing. I eat the vegetables because I am a grown up and they are good for me. I don't hate them, but I don't love them, and they usually have to be prepared/served a certain way for me to find them palatable.

    I don't see the problem with investing in a food thermos or ice packs. If a person enjoys their food more because it's hotter/colder, why should they "suffer" the limitations of foods that can be stored and eaten at room temperature? My daughter takes her lunch almost daily and we are always using the soup Thermos containers for a variety of hot foods. Just this week she took chicken tortilla soup, chicken tikka masala with rice and black beans on various days. We also have ice packs so she can have a chilled salad with dressing or some cheese or yogurt if she wants.

    I've eaten cold stir fry even though there was a working microwave in the house. It's pretty good (although I'd recommend skipping cold rice - not worth it).
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    weird_me2 wrote: »
    While I don't think that every meal needs to be amazing and noteworthy, I don't see the point in suffering through a meal that you don't find satisfying. I know that if I tried to deal with eating room temerature lunches regularly, I would give up. Honestly, you will probably never hear me say that a vegetable dish is amazing. I eat the vegetables because I am a grown up and they are good for me. I don't hate them, but I don't love them, and they usually have to be prepared/served a certain way for me to find them palatable.

    I don't see the problem with investing in a food thermos or ice packs. If a person enjoys their food more because it's hotter/colder, why should they "suffer" the limitations of foods that can be stored and eaten at room temperature? My daughter takes her lunch almost daily and we are always using the soup Thermos containers for a variety of hot foods. Just this week she took chicken tortilla soup, chicken tikka masala with rice and black beans on various days. We also have ice packs so she can have a chilled salad with dressing or some cheese or yogurt if she wants.

    I've eaten cold stir fry even though there was a working microwave in the house. It's pretty good (although I'd recommend skipping cold rice - not worth it).

    If a person enjoys it, I say go for it. I enjoy some pretty odd/weird things when it comes to food, but I do not enjoy room temperature or cold cooked vegetables. I think that the point food is for nourishing your body, not necessarily for fun is a good point, I just don't think that we should make ourselves suffer in the name of nourishment. It almost sounds like some people are saying that it makes them feel good to choke down stuff that they don't care for because they are nourishing their bodies. Yeah, I'll take my stir fry hot and do the same thing, than you very much.
  • Unknown
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  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
    astridtheviking wrote: »
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.

    I disagree with this. Eating something that disgusts you, even if it is "nourishing" your body, is not something that will be easy to stick with. The point is to find healthy foods that you still can enjoy.

    I don't know where you're located, but I buy Aunt Millie's whole grain 35 calorie bread for my sandwiches. Another option if you enjoy sandwiches would be wraps. Buy the big ones (usually around 150 calories) and stuff it full of meat, veggies, etc.

    I didn’t say to eat food that disgusts you; I said every meal doesn’t have to be a party. If you’re working with limited tools (no microwave or refrigeration), sometimes it might be helpful to eat a meal you know will fill you, and save the effort for another meal you can truly enjoy. I think often the idea that every second of our lives must be fun and enjoyable can contribute to an unhealthy way of looking at food. Sometimes you work a job just to make the money; why is it such a bad thing to eat a meal just to get the nutrients?

    I suppose "disgust" was the wrong word to use here. I just know that if I had to eat something every day that I didn't truly enjoy, it would last a week, tops.
  • astridtheviking
    astridtheviking Posts: 113 Member
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    astridtheviking wrote: »
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.

    I disagree with this. Eating something that disgusts you, even if it is "nourishing" your body, is not something that will be easy to stick with. The point is to find healthy foods that you still can enjoy.

    I don't know where you're located, but I buy Aunt Millie's whole grain 35 calorie bread for my sandwiches. Another option if you enjoy sandwiches would be wraps. Buy the big ones (usually around 150 calories) and stuff it full of meat, veggies, etc.

    I didn’t say to eat food that disgusts you; I said every meal doesn’t have to be a party. If you’re working with limited tools (no microwave or refrigeration), sometimes it might be helpful to eat a meal you know will fill you, and save the effort for another meal you can truly enjoy. I think often the idea that every second of our lives must be fun and enjoyable can contribute to an unhealthy way of looking at food. Sometimes you work a job just to make the money; why is it such a bad thing to eat a meal just to get the nutrients?

    I suppose "disgust" was the wrong word to use here. I just know that if I had to eat something every day that I didn't truly enjoy, it would last a week, tops.

    I see your point, but I didn’t even recommend eating food you didn’t enjoy, let alone every day. I suggested eating food you like, modifying it to make it easier to eat chilled or at room temperature, and leaving out the components that absolutely must be heated (such as meat) or kept cold (such as dairy).

    I don’t know if you guys remember packing your lunch in middle or high school, but even with an ice pack, your food most typically comes back to room temperature if you leave your house at 7 and it sits until noon. I don’t know, maybe you guys are all lucky and work where you have fridges and microwaves but not everyone has those luxuries. My lunch has to sit in my classroom all day and I may not have time to wait in line to fight for the microwave.

    Nobody ever suggested to suffer through food you hate, whether because of the food itself or because you prefer the food hot. Nobody ever said it makes them feel good to choke down cold food because it’s nutritious. I’m not sure where you guys are getting this impression. But with the limitations provided, modifying food to require less work seems like a pretty good option to me. Believe me, I would love to have a thirty-minute lunch break and have the luxury of a full meal. Not everyone has that privilege, though.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    Since you can't heat things up, you're limited to cold items. So, sandwiches. Nothing wrong with that. When I was losing weight, I had a lot of sandwiches for lunch. Nut Butter & J, Nut butter & banana, lean low sodium deli meat or cold chicken breast, cheese, veggies w/ mustard or salad dressing. Salmon or tuna w/ avocado or veggies. Pair your sandwiches w/ some greek yogurt, fruit and/or salad or veggies and you are good to go. Use pitas or wraps or thins. Go for whole grain.
  • astridtheviking
    astridtheviking Posts: 113 Member
    SuggaD wrote: »
    Since you can't heat things up, you're limited to cold items. So, sandwiches. Nothing wrong with that. When I was losing weight, I had a lot of sandwiches for lunch. Nut Butter & J, Nut butter & banana, lean low sodium deli meat or cold chicken breast, cheese, veggies w/ mustard or salad dressing. Salmon or tuna w/ avocado or veggies. Pair your sandwiches w/ some greek yogurt, fruit and/or salad or veggies and you are good to go. Use pitas or wraps or thins. Go for whole grain.

    Pitas, pitas, pitas! How could I forget? Pita is so incredible... A lot of times I make a chopped salad with turkey deli meat and pack it separately from my pita, and then maybe hummus! Packing stuff separately, you can decide at lunch time if you want to tuck everything into the pita, or eat the salad separately and dip your pita in hummus. If you take a thermos of soup, a pita grilled cheese is an awesome dipper, or my mom eats a pita plain with parmesan cheese sprinkles and Italian spices. Pita is super flexible and you can do all sorts of stuff with it!
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Not being able to heat things can definitely be a challenge. As long as you at least have a fridge, though, you don't have to worry about food safety.

    Wraps are a good way to go. Stuff them with lean chicken or turkey, plus lots of veggies like spinach, avocado, tomato, onion, peppers, etc. plus maybe a little cheese and a spread or sauce of some sort...salsa, mustard, balsamic vinegar, whatever fits with the rest of the ingredients. One thing you could do if you have time is to pack the wet stuff separately and assemble the wrap when you're ready to eat it. This greatly improves the taste/texture of a wrap. I like to mash an avocado with feta, onion and tomato, and spread it on a wrap with some grilled chicken strips and a little spinach. This is good cold.

    You might also consider sticking with the sandwiches, but pile up some lean meats on just one or two to cut the cals. Skip mayo and other high cal spreads and stick with mustards and such.

    Hard-boiled eggs are also great on a cold plate, with some raw veggies and a dip.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Often leftovers. But lately I've been on a kick where I get a huge healthy salad, and add either sardines or herring to it. It sounds weird, but is very tasty, and nutritious!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    As a general rule, anything that doesn’t contain meat or dairy you can eat chilled or room-temperature. So go through the foods you like and subtract the meat or dairy, or find a substitute for it. It might not be fun, mind you, to eat room-temperature stir-fry, but food is about nourishing your body; every meal doesn’t have to be a party.

    I disagree with this. Eating something that disgusts you, even if it is "nourishing" your body, is not something that will be easy to stick with. The point is to find healthy foods that you still can enjoy.

    I don't know where you're located, but I buy Aunt Millie's whole grain 35 calorie bread for my sandwiches. Another option if you enjoy sandwiches would be wraps. Buy the big ones (usually around 150 calories) and stuff it full of meat, veggies, etc.

    Not a party doesn't equal disgusting. Just agreeing with the others.
  • atypicalme
    atypicalme Posts: 25
    I got a great tip from one of the trainers at my gym during a nutrition seminar. He said that calorie counting is key for a weight loss program, but most people blow it because it's such a pain in the neck to keep track of every little thing. What he recommended is making one casserole and portioning every day, or eating the same rotating schedule of food so that you already have the info there and just need to check the button in your recent foods list. I'm starting that method tomorrow. My week looks like this:

    Daily snacks:
    Veggies –
    10 baby carrots
    12 bell pepper strips
    10 cucumber slices
    2 tbsp veggie dip
    1 string cheese
    4oz. trail mix

    Lunch entree:
    Monday – Tuna Salad on crackers
    Tuesday – Turkey Ranch Club Wrap (turkey, bacon, cheddar, ranch, lettuce on the side)
    Wednesday – Chicken Salad Pita
    Thursday – Ham, Pear & Swiss Wrap w/ honey mustard cream cheese spread
    Friday – Chicken Black Bean Lunch Wrap

    This also makes it super easy to avoid the whole, "Ugh, I have to leave in 5 minutes. What can I pack for lunch?" debacle.
  • monsterbeans
    monsterbeans Posts: 8 Member
    edited January 2015
    http://www.rockrun.com/stanley-classic-0-5l-food-flask?gclid=CJGO57KujMMCFRMatAoddlsAKQ
    This is the BEST for hot lunches when you don't have access to a microwave or theres only one for a full canteen of people. 5-10 minutes with boiling water before emptying it to add the food should do the trick.
    'Dense' dinners (by that I think I mean ones with a decent amount of water in) stay hottest longest e.g curries, pasta in sauce, chilli, soups etc. Stir fries fare OK though (I make mine at 7am and eat lunch at 1pm)
    So I simply cook 3 portions the night before (2 for me, 1 for my fella) and copy the data on MFP over from the day before.

    I'm not a 'cold lunch' person so having this keeps me going and is far more effective and durable than other food containers I've seen people use.
  • n1tnguy
    n1tnguy Posts: 6
    Mine:

    Canned Fish ~4oz
    Avocado ~150g
    Quinoa ~0/5cup
    Bell Pepper ~1

    You have all your healthy marconutrients, barely any prep, and a healthy amount of calories so you can sustain yourself for the rest of the day.
  • foreverslim1111
    foreverslim1111 Posts: 2,632 Member
    atypicalme wrote: »
    I got a great tip from one of the trainers at my gym during a nutrition seminar. He said that calorie counting is key for a weight loss program, but most people blow it because it's such a pain in the neck to keep track of every little thing. What he recommended is making one casserole and portioning every day, or eating the same rotating schedule of food so that you already have the info there and just need to check the button in your recent foods list. I'm starting that method tomorrow. My week looks like this:

    Daily snacks:
    Veggies –
    10 baby carrots
    12 bell pepper strips
    10 cucumber slices
    2 tbsp veggie dip
    1 string cheese
    4oz. trail mix

    Lunch entree:
    Monday – Tuna Salad on crackers
    Tuesday – Turkey Ranch Club Wrap (turkey, bacon, cheddar, ranch, lettuce on the side)
    Wednesday – Chicken Salad Pita
    Thursday – Ham, Pear & Swiss Wrap w/ honey mustard cream cheese spread
    Friday – Chicken Black Bean Lunch Wrap

    This also makes it super easy to avoid the whole, "Ugh, I have to leave in 5 minutes. What can I pack for lunch?" debacle.

    I like this idea of a rotating schedule of food. I spend way too much time trying to come up with last minute lunches. And, your list sounds like the kind of food I enjoy also!
  • atypicalme
    atypicalme Posts: 25
    foreverslim1111 wrote: »
    I like this idea of a rotating schedule of food. I spend way too much time trying to come up with last minute lunches. And, your list sounds like the kind of food I enjoy also!

    I can honestly say that all my recipes are tried and tested, and approved by me! If you're interested, send me a message and I can link you to them on my website. (It was easier to import them into the recipe calculator if I hosted them first!)
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Meal prep is the way forward I agree. Plan your week and make stuff in advance.

    Wraps, pita, etc are all good and some rice and noodle dishes are meant to be served cold or at room temp.

  • Pinkylee77
    Pinkylee77 Posts: 432 Member
    The Mr. Bento Box is a great way to take food to work and keep it hot or cold. Crock pot makes a lunch pot that you plug in to keep your food warm. I love soups and whole grain salads with veggies and lemon and olive oil dressing.
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