Challenge: Cold Lunches

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ashleycasas0905
ashleycasas0905 Posts: 8 Member
Okay so here's the deal--lookin' for lunches that are delicious cold and healthy (preferably not sandwiches) and I'm not much of a meat eater. I've been turned off too many times by bones in my canned tuna, fat in my steak, or those little chewy pieces in my chicken. Haha

I need help figuring out some filling, cold, mostly vegetarian lunch ideas!
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Replies

  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
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    Can you have dairy? Eggs?

    Greek yogurt, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, chopped veggies & humus, apple & peanut butter are a few things I can think of.
  • ashleycasas0905
    ashleycasas0905 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks for the suggestions! I've had those in the rotation recently! And yes, dairy and eggs are great.
  • Kamikazeflutterby
    Kamikazeflutterby Posts: 775 Member
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    Stuff dipped in peanut butter (celery, apples, pretzels), stuff dipped in hummus or other bean dips, a better brand of tuna and whatever you used to eat tuna with, any leftovers you like cold, wraps, salads with a grain base like some of the ones here.
  • cb2bslim
    cb2bslim Posts: 153 Member
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    Couscous Patties/Cakes - I make mine similar to the following recipe. Mine has spinach, mozzarella and seasoning although this Pepper Jack one sound delicious since I love spice. I can eat my leftovers cold right out of the refrigerator. I would love to incorporate more fiber into the recipe but not sure how.

    https://www.cabotcheese.coop/crispy-jalapeno-light-couscous-cakes

    Also:
    Egg salad on a high fiber wrap. (I know you said no sandwich but some people use lettuce as a wrap)
    Corn and black bean salad
    Black Bean Quinoa Salad
  • Colt1835
    Colt1835 Posts: 447 Member
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    Meal replacement smoothies are great for lunch every once in awhile. Nice and cool on a hot day.
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
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    I have seen recipes lately for smashed chickpea salads. Never thought of it myself but you just mash the chickpeas and use where you would use chicken or tuna in salads like curry or waldorf. Have not tried it yet but thought it would be worth mentioning.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Pasta, lentil, bean, or vegetable salads
    Hummus and vegetables or pita chips
    Deviled eggs
    Rice balls
    Stuffed cucumber, tomato, peppers or zucchini
    cottage cheese
    Yogurt
    Bean and rice wraps
  • ashleycasas0905
    ashleycasas0905 Posts: 8 Member
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    You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the suggestions.
  • MikaMojito
    MikaMojito Posts: 680 Member
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    I had a really nice salad that would be great as a smaller portion for lunch. Chop up tomato, yellow pepper and some mushrooms. Put the peppers and mushrooms on a baking tin and and bake until as done as you like. I tend to use moroccan spices as seasoning. While the veggies are in the oven, boil yellow lentils. mix it all up when lentils and veggies are done. I only put salt, balsamic vinegar and some more spices on it, I don't feel oil is necessary. If you have baguette or ciabatta (a day old is best), you can tear that up, too. Admittedly, my portion size was gigantic but for a lunch portion I'd only use around 30g lentils. You could add feta instead of bread, or even tofu.
  • ashleycasas0905
    ashleycasas0905 Posts: 8 Member
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    I'm very interested to try lentils--what's the flavor profile?
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    I make "cold platters" for lunch a lot. Crackers, cheese, small dish of black bean salad, sectioned oranges, walnuts, watermelon & blueberry bowl. Just little bits of each thing on the plate. My kids always loved these lunches. Nuthin fancy - but sometimes simple is sublime. Oh -- and don't forget dessert!
  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    I'm very interested to try lentils--what's the flavor profile?

    I find them to be almost like a cross between a bean and a pea. I make pea soup sometimes but will occasionally change it up by using lentils instead.

    I love making Greek salad with romaine, arugula, feta, tomato, olives, cucumber, and red onion. I'm hooked on the Greek Feta salad dressing from Trader Joes but sometimes I'll make a dressing with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and lemon pepper. If I have goat cheese handy I'll put a little of that in the dressing too, to make it slightly creamy. If you want to add protein, bay shrimp is a safe way to go. Or chickpeas (personally I'm not a fan of chickpeas in salad but I lot of people love it). Occasionally I'll also sprinkle in some sunflower seeds.
  • leahkathleen13
    leahkathleen13 Posts: 272 Member
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    Lentils rule. They are so cheap and filling! I measure out 200g of dry and cook them up in water. Then I remeasure the total amount and divide it by 4 for 4 servings. Then that's 4 meals worth and it seems like a lot! On salads and for diners with veggies I am never hungry afterwards.
  • debeaniebaby
    debeaniebaby Posts: 26 Member
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    cblue315 wrote: »
    One of my favs -
    Chop 1 medium tomato
    1/4c canned corn
    1 small chopped scallion or shallot
    1/4 canned black beans
    1/2 chopped avocado
    juice of 1/2 lime
    pepper to taste

    I eat it plain but you can add any bread or crackers or what ever.

    This sounds lovely wish I had read this before I had my lunch! Will try it tomorrow now.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    I just put together a salad (pre-prepared or throw various leaves and vegetables together), then throw in some source of protein (meat-based or otherwise). Easy.
  • BlueButterfly94
    BlueButterfly94 Posts: 303 Member
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    I'm a big fan of having a greek yogurt pot with 30-40g of granola, and topping it off with chopped strawberries :) Can't do it anymore due to lactose intolerance though :(
  • Ivyzmama
    Ivyzmama Posts: 108 Member
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    also, think lentils. They are good in just about any salad, they cling well to lettuce leaves (so you don't have to scoop them up from the bottom like you would other types of beans), you can boil them in 20 minutes or so and freeze individual portions in little snack baggies so that you can just take a baggie out in the morning to defrost by lunch time, and they are one of the legumes with the highest protein and fiber and lowest calories. Basically they were made for salads. You can also pay a lot more for them by finding them in fresh packs in the produce section at Trader Joes, and there are canned ones (I haven't tried the cannned ones).

    My favorite current salad is "green" (those are the big, cheap dry lentils) boiled for about 20 minutes (make sure they don't cross over into mush! Mush is the death of tasty lentils). Add a lot of chopped celery and apple (a mix of red and green apple is nice); a vinegar; some lemon juice; a little oil; a drizzle of molasses, maple syrup or honey; some dried cranberries or raisins; a bit of chopped red onion; and then these spices to taste. These are the mandatory spices: salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, mustard. I usually also add a little cinnamon, curry powder, and chili powder/red pepper flakes. I like to bring this to pot lucks because 1. it's vegan and 2. gluten free and 3. nut/peanut free so most people with allergies can still eat it, 4. the ingredients are inexpensive, and 5. it's delicious and really impresses people. You know how sometimes you bring something to a pot luck and someone else brought something really similar? There's never any dish at a pot luck similar to this salad. I call it "French Moroccan Lentil Salad." You can google other lentil salads on line to get more ideas of what you can add. I know my salad above looks complicated but it's really just lentils, celery and apple with flavors. Think of it that way. Also, because of the vinegar in it, it keeps in your fridge for a full week. I've never actually seen any leftovers go bad, even after they've sat out at a pot luck.
  • Rushbrook60
    Rushbrook60 Posts: 95 Member
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    Tortilla filled with pepper, onion, Tomato, sweet chilli sauce, cheese. Fold it half and toast in a dry frying pan. let cool and cut into 3 (triangles).

    As side dish, boiled Egg with carrot and Celery sticks.

    So yummy and not dreadful on the calories. Filling and satisfying.

    I'm having that for my lunches next week...I'm salivating now haha!!!