Frozen Meals/Fast Food

Lean Cuisine Chicken Fettuccini or Grilled Chicken Caesar I usually add a cup of steamed broccoli


Sometimes I buy a bag of Tyson grilled chicken tenders (not frozen) and a salad kit at lunchtime. It's good for 2 lunches.

Most fast food grilled chicken sandwiches are a safe bet, I always ask for no mayo or whatever sauce they come with and add my own dressing so I can control the portion. I love Wendy's salads, but you have to check the cals on those too, a couple of them are calorie bombs. The Asian Cashew Chicken and the Barbecue Ranch Chicken both fit easily in my calorie goal. Even a plain burger isn't that bad a choice if you are okay with the red meat.

Checking the nutrition info on the websites is a lifesaver. I actually made myself a list off of the websites of the two "takeaway" places near my work, with all the safe options and I keep it in my wallet. It helps keep me from being confused once i get to the building and smell all the frying goodness and make a bad decision .

Personally, I always found the add-ons to be what ruins me when it comes to fast food! The fries, the soda, that thing that is only a $1 so why not get that too? So make sure I at least grab a yogurt as I run out the door in the AM as my "side dish" to avoid them...

I like lean cuisines, especially if I add in a veggie to bulk it up a bit.

Suggestion- When you DO cook, make some extra, portion in tupperware containers and freeze. Grab and go! This works especially well with soups.

The EVOL frozen dinners aren't bad at all

Chipotle burrito bowl
Subway
Wendy's baked potato & a cup of chili
Jimmy John's slim sandwiches

Those are what are near my work place, so they're going to be what I get most often. Check the nutrition info for whatever's nearest you and see what fits in your goals.

If I'm doing a frozen meal, I find that the Lean Cuisine style things don't fill me up very well. I go for frozen burritos (Red's steak & cheese... yum) or things like Stouffer's single-serve frozen lasagna. But that's just what fills me up best. Your mileage may vary.

I don't do fast food restaurants for lunches because it takes too long to get from my desk to a fast food place and back to make going off the work campus feasible very often. For lunches when I'm in a hurry some mornings I'll often grab a Safeway Eating Right meal, Lean Cuisine, etc. or I'll go down to the cafeteria in my office building and get a hamburger patty with a slice of cheese, no bun loaded with lettuce and tomato slices.

Honestly, there are a lot of good lunches I can make that don't take much time in the morning or that I can make the night before. Canned tuna and some diced cucumbers or chopped hard boiled egg mixed with light mayo/Miracle Whip can be eaten as a sandwich, over salad greens or alone. I'll sometimes eat it using celery to scoop it. Leftovers from dinner if my husband doesn't grab them first. Mason jar salads are really popular right now. You can make up a week's worth and just grab one on your way out the door.

I often make double batches of some meals specifically so I'll have leftovers for lunch. As long as you don't mind eating the same thing for a couple of days in a row (or you can freeze single portions for the next couple of weeks) this works really well. Some of the meals I'll make are chili, meatloaf, stew, pot roast... really any meat, vegetable & noodle/rice casserole with ingredients that will hold up to being refrigerated and reheated work well.

I always keep easy grab 'n go items in the house to take to work. Things like string cheese, whole fruit, grapes, Baby Bel cheeses, hard boiled eggs, whole grain crackers, cut celery and carrots are easy to grab one or two of and throw into my lunch bag to supplement my lunch or eat a bit later in the day as a snack.

I like burrito bowls when Im on the go! Im sure theyre highish in calories but loaded with good stuff.
Subway veggie wraps with cheese are only about 320 calories.

i dont like the taste of any of the frozen meals so... i rarely eat them. my go to meal when im home and hungry is a salad with chicken breast. i can thaw and have a piece of chicken cooked in under 20 minutes (if i dont already have some in the fridge)

i also do mini pita sandwiches or a can of soup, or tuna (either on a salad or sandwich/pita) - actually that sounds good. i might have a tuna pita for lunch tomorrow (having leftovers tonight LOL)

if we are eating out- i will have what my calories allow (or that i can make fit). when i have a huge high calorie lunch, i have a much smaller dinner - and, vice versa if i know dinner will be a calorie bomb.

mcdonalds - crispy cool wrap (the full size one not the snack wrap- though that would work too depending on how much i have to work with), fruit and yogurt parfait, and i love sausage agg and cheese mcmuffins but after binging on them for about a week straight, am trying to cut back down LOL.

taco bell - soft taco supreme and/or burrito supreme (depending on day)

mexican - fish tacos or the lunch enchilada special (both come in around 700 calories)

japanese takeout - scallop hibachi (i only eat half the rice - which is about a half cup)

regular japanese place- sushi, fried tofu, gyoza (this is a high calorie lunch LOL)

those are my 'regular' paces for take out/ eating out. i make what i want, work. But i also work out every day to 'afford' some of these things LOLOL

Lunch is often dinner leftovers, sandwich, frozen burrito, or salad.
I had leftover homemade pizza for lunch today with tomatoes from our garden.

Chipotle children's meal is a good option with a reasonable portion size.

In a major pinch, I might have half of a turkey sub.

If you are regularly finding yourself in this situation, make your own homemade grab-and-goal meals, for the fridge and the freezer.