Work Lunches

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rebeccagreaves12
rebeccagreaves12 Posts: 12 Member
in Recipes
Hey guys, hope this is in the appropriate thread. I really struggle with making lunch for work I usually just throw a jacket potato in the microwave and hope for the best, does anyone have any easy lunchtime recipes and snacks (I always end up snacking on BAD food) that I could start looking in to. I've seen so many online but they all seem to require 9000 ingredients. I'm quite a fussy eater, I hate anything with nuts or dehydrated fruits in, and I have a serious sweet tooth.

Any ideas?

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  • Phyl1963
    Phyl1963 Posts: 2 Member
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    In the Winter I made a batch of farro soup with any vegetables I had on hand. Now that Spring is here farro is still a good lunch option. It requires about 20 mins of cooking in either water or stock . I drain it & then add to it, chopped peppers, all colors, red onion, baby spinach and tomatoes. I toss it in my homemade Dijon vinegarette and before eating toss in some crumbled goat cheese, sliced almonds & chopped Apple. You can vary the add-on's but it is a good lunch option.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Planning for lunch starts in the grocery store. Plan on buying foods that you can cook for dinner that can be used as leftovers for lunches like hearty soups in a thermos, pasta with meat, black bean burritos, . .
    Other wise, things like these work: yogurt and nuts or fruit, hard boiled eggs, lettuce wraps with chicken or cold cuts,
  • big_stace
    big_stace Posts: 2 Member
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    I keep a nice salame like Olli, a good hunk of cheese, a couple apples, some olives or cornichons, honey mustard and multi-grain crackers at work. I just have a little of everything, it's about 550 calories. It's nice because I can just stash it in the fridge at work and it all keeps for a while.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,949 Member
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    I take a big container of salad, or make a double batch of smoothie in the morning and take half to work. I keep fruit and chopped up raw veggies in the work refrigerator. Wraps are always good, I like hummus or a black bean corn salsa with lots of lettuce, or leftover rice and veggies. PB&J sandwiches. I make big batches of soups and freeze in serving sizes so those are always handy when I'm low on groceries.
  • thenewkayla
    thenewkayla Posts: 313 Member
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    Salad...
    Seafood..fish..crab...shrimp..
    Wraps..
  • chloeelizabethm
    chloeelizabethm Posts: 184 Member
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    It's all about planning :) have a look at my diary in the weekdays for ideas. Usually I eat breakfast at work so take something egg based that I heat up, mid-morning snack is yogurt or cheese or pork scratchings, lunch is quite protein heavy perhaps chilli, pulled meat, spicy chicken with raw vegetables or lettuce wraps with a minced meat filling. And after all that I'm still hungry so my mid-afternoon snack is usually like my mid-morning.

    I'm following low carb at the moment, but prior to this it was mostly the same except I would add a carb at lunch and maybe have a banana for a snack or some kind of 100 calorie crisps/chocolate.

    You could always order a Graze box, they do under 100 cal punnets but it's quite expensive and I think most of the things you could just bring in from home.

    Oh there are things called Cofresh Peanut Bars that are really good and around 130 cals for a snack, they also do a coconut version :) I get them from Asda but they sell them at most supermarkets in the world foods aisle.
  • jennytwohands
    jennytwohands Posts: 3 Member
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    To satisfy my sweet tooth I rely on Greek yogurt and homemade low calorie muffins (I love breads too). The Ambitious Kitchen blog has some great low cal sweets recipes you can freeze and indulge in without too much worry. For lunches I'm a fan of big_stace's approach of little bits of meats, cheeses etc. I like whole grain crackers, light hummus, feta, veggies... or salad mix with a flavoured tuna.

    Also as someone who has always loved her "bad snacks," trust me when I say the less you eat them the less you'll crave them. Good luck!
  • BodyByBex
    BodyByBex Posts: 3,685 Member
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    @rebeccagreaves12 Planning ahead is key. In addition, I can recommend ....THE BENTO BOX THREAD!

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10043413/using-bento-boxes-for-lunches/p1

    Just plan ahead. Don't be afraid to make BIG batches of things and freeze it in portion sizes. These peeps have quite a few fun ideas and are more than happy to share recipes. Bentos have also helped some of us keep things in moderation. Good Luck! :smiley:
  • rebeccagreaves12
    rebeccagreaves12 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thank you all! I've looked at Bento for ages and I'm trying it at the moment, it definitely helps with portion sizes. This week I've gone for leftover chicken salad and then I'm going to try wraps and things later in the week
  • lmhallas
    lmhallas Posts: 15 Member
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    To curb the sweet tooth, I mentioned to someone else in a post, to try sugar free chocolate pudding and fresh cut strawberries or bananas as a snack. It's easy for work.

    And I too struggle with figuring out healthy lunches for work. It's a pain to buy ingredients every day and time in the morning is sparse. But salads with chicken or hard boiled eggs are manageable as are low carb wraps or diced chicken with avocado and some cheese.
  • katylil
    katylil Posts: 223 Member
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    I go through phases where I'll eat one thing non stop for lunch for a few weeks, and then swap to something else once I get bored. My current fave is cold soup (tomato and veg) with chicken in it, and an apple. Next week I've got chicken salad wraps planned :)

    I tend to buy all the stuff on my way to work on Monday, and just stash it in the fridge. That way even if I'm at my boyfriend's the night before, my lunch is there and ready.

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