Lunch under 500 calories or less

My go to lunch has been:

2-3 cups of arugula
1/2 cucumber
1/2 avocado
4 sliced strawberries

All dressed with 1 Tbsp olive oil and the juice of 1/4 lemon. Right around 300 calories, so if you eat meat you could even add some chicken and it'd still be under your goal.

deluxmary2000 wrote: »

Holy...
You are my new meal prep idol (and I thought I was doing pretty well)
do you have recipes for the coconut shrimp or mango salsa?

Also, how do you prepare your baby potatoes?

Aww, thanks. The mango salsa is "Italian Rose" brand, I buy it at Sam's Club. 2 tablespoons of salsa is only 15 calories! For the shrimp, they're definitely not "restaurant" style, as I don't really bread them. They're kind of a "skinny" substitute. They're tasty, but definitely not as delicious as Red Lobster. I just dip shrimp in an egg white, coat them in Bob's Red Mill unsweetened coconut flakes, and throw them in a hot skillet with a bit of coconut oil. Let them brown for a few minutes and flip them. You can also bake them, but I'm always making like 10 meals at once, so the quicker the better for me.

Baby potatoes I slice in half, spritz with Pam Olive Oil, season with a little salt and garlic powder and bake until done. The temp always varies since I'm usually cooking chicken, fish or other veggies at the same time. I just leave them until I can easily stick a fork in them.

egg salad and celery! I'm doing keto, so this is a staple for me. Almost no carbs, lots of good fats, protein, keeps you full for a long time.

camsim wrote: »

Hi anyone want to give me recipes for under 500 calories for my lunch or even 400 calories would be better thanks

500 is a good chunk to work with. I had cauliflower mash today which is 330 calories, and you can add a simple baked chicken breast for about 120 calories or so, depending on the size of it. The mash was more than enough for me though, I had a big container of it. It has three different types of cheeses.. drool.

deluxmary2000 wrote: »

I meal-prepped 5 days worth of Mexican Turkey Quinoa Skillet, and it is amazing (and super easy):

1 lb ground turkey
1 (15 oz can) black beans
1 cup corn kernels
1 (15 oz can) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 diced jalapeno (optional)
0.5 cup quinoa, rinsed
0.5 cup chicken broth
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

brown turkey until fully cooked. Add everything else into the same skillet, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Top with avocado and a splash of lime juice when eating.
Yum!
Makes 5 servings and comes in at just under 400 calories per serving (avocado is extra).

Have you ever tried freezing this?

Some cookies.

I just had 5 oz of chopped grilled chicken on top of a slice of whole wheat bread with 1 tbsp lite mayo and .5 oz cheese. 298 cal, 11 carb, 12 fat, 39 protein. delicious!

I eat a sandwich of a whole 120g tin of tuna in, mixed in some light mayo (or salad cream if you're English). With a handful of spinach leaves. Works out about 400 calories and is plenty filling. I think the macros are about 35g carbs / 8g fat/ 38g protein.

All of these have 350 calories or less.

From top to bottom -
Baked chicken tenders with sweet potato and peas.
Tortilla encrusted tilapia, with corn, black beans, and cauliflower "rice."
Salmon, with bowtie pasta and broccoli.

Coconut shrimp with mango salsa, angel hair pasta and green beans.
Mahi Mahi with mango salsa, broccoli and sweet potato.
Chicken tenders with green beans and baby russet potatoes.

Very impressive meal prep ideas! I will have to keep these in mind for work.

My bentos are always at or under 300 calories. I'm mostly a night eater.

My bottom tier is always veg: I weigh it all every day but it's usually like 21 grams cherry tomatoes, 35 carrots, 30 broccoli, 20 cauliflower, etc. And then a sauce cup full of yogurt dressing.

The rest I mix up. My top tier today is blackberries and like 20 g turkey lil smokies (I love them ahaha) and a lindt sea salt choc square. But sometimes it's some cheese, or lunchmeat, or whatever I'm in the mood for. Rice. You know.

and my side bento is, today, 34g bbq tuna w/ mustard and some wasa crackers, but it's been some sweet potato and turkey skillet or onigiri with teriyaki chicken or whatever. I just adjust the fillings to have it hit between 250-300 total. I do recommend bento because they are cute, yeah, but they're also small, which helps me not think I'm being deprived and gives me a more realistic view on portion