Work Lunch Ideas, help!

I like to get creative with buddha bowls! If you don't know what they are, google them. So many ways to be creative with them! I'm planning on one for lunch tomorrow...mmmmmm.

I like wraps. Today it was kind of just a big, messy fold over... Eggplant hummus from TJoes, avocado slices, tomato slices, slivered cucumber, power greens mix & micro greens. Sooooo delicious!

I would check out the Yummly app/website. There are all kinds of healthy lunches on there. You can filter to foods within nutritional goals, by foods you like and foods you don't like. Yummly has been great helping me find creative and yummy lunches!

I try to rotate around so I don't get bored. Sometimes I'll get nori-sheets and do a wrap/sandwich inside the nori, I wet it first and then add turkey, thinly sliced apples, cheese and pickles. It's like a sushi sandwich! Right now I'm cutting while lifting (ugh) so I've been trying to just jam in protein with low cals, so I've had a lot of fage 0 percent yogurt. Othertimes I'll tupperware up leftover dinner from the night before, or do a salad with cold cuts or canned wild salmon, garbanzos, nuts...If I'm in need of carbs, I do sweet potatoes with nut butter. I just added you, feel free to look at my diary.

What do you mean by healthy?

If you have a freezer at your workplace, buy some meals and frozen vegetables to have on hand when you forget your lunch. I make some chicken black bean burritos ahead and keep those, individually frozen in my freezer at work as well. My quickest and easiest meal is avocado and tuna on a whole grain English Muffin. I smash the avocado, mix in one Bumblebee light tuna pouch and a little salsa then put half of it on my English Muffin. I keep the second half for the following day. I also will do Laughing Cow cheese on an English Muffin with some ham or turkey.

Leftovers from dinner.

If I'm not having leftovers from the previous night's dinner (my husband and I just pack up whatever is left into however many lunch-sized portions make sense), which is 0-3 days per week usually, I have salad. I know it sounds SUPER boring, but there are just SO many darn things you can do with salad. I usually pick one set of ingredients for the week and then change things up the next week, though I have a few favorite combos that I frequently go back to. Most weeks I cook a large chicken breast on Sunday night, and that gets me 3-4 ounce portions for 3-4 days. And I cut/spin my lettuce at the beginning of the week so that I just need to portion out a huge handful each night. After that...the possibilities are endless. Fruit, nuts/seeds, cheese, creamy dressings, oil and vinegar dressings, bacon, fresh herbs, quinoa, beans, avocado, croutons or tortilla strips...you can achieve nearly any macro balance and calorie count you want. Plus, it's easy to make the salad high in protein, fiber, and/or healthy fats, so it will keep you full for most of the day.

I particularly like chicken/goat cheese/green apple/balsamic and olive oil (with candied pecans and/or dried cherries if I've got room in the day), or shrimp/cucumber/avocado/thinly sliced fresh jalapeno or poblano/red onion/cilantro/ranch, but chicken/bacon/cheddar/ranch, chicken/goat cheese/corn/avocado/cucumber/honey mustard vinaigrette, steak/blue cheese/balsamic plus random veggies, and cabbage/green onions/sliced pea pods/red pepper/sliced almonds/sesame dressing with any protein are all wonderful.

I also usually pack a snack, some combo of: fruit, veggies with homemade ranch dip (8 oz each light sour cream and plain nonfat greek yogurt and then a ranch packet), string cheese, yogurt and granola, granola bar and peanut butter, pretzels, etc. Whatever fits into my macro gaps after I pre-log my lunch and dinner (breakfast is pretty consistent).

Whole grain sandwich thin with some chicken breast on it, topped with melted pepperjack. Side of frozen mixed veggies. Soooo tasty and very filling!