Work Lunches

Packing lunches is so difficult for me too! Right now, I've just been taking a lean cuisine to work and I'll add a side salad with some fresh veggies and that keeps me full and satisfied. I also like doing just big salads with nuts and fruit or an avocado with some salsa and a few chips.

I'm another one who usually takes leftovers. Veggie curries and pasta are my usual fare. In the past, if leftovers weren't available I'd usually take a Sunrice microwave meal, but those usually have a huge number of kilojoules in them (2,200-2,400 if you trust the packaging...) and if I want to stay under goal they don't leave me much room for dinner. So... I started to make sure I always have leftovers!

When I'm going to uni and don't have access to a microwave (at least not without a massive queue) it's a different question! I've taken lots of bagels with cream cheese and bananas. There was one day I was really organised and was able to take a lemon chicken and salad wrap - I got lots of compliments on my lunch that day But usually I don't have pre-cooked chicken on hand to do that. I've started to stock up on cans of tuna though, so tuna and salad wraps might be a worthy substitute.

Some things my partner and I do (we have very different calorie and dietary limits):

- make a double or triple batch of dinner, often in the slow-cooker so that our active cooking time is minimal, and take the leftovers for lunches
- batch-cook meals at the weekend and portion them out for lunches (good examples: stew, chilli, enchiladas, pasta or pasta bake, macaroni and cheese, soup, frittata, risotto)
- salads (lettuce, crunchy vegetables, proteins like egg or chicken or tuna or chopped deli meat, nuts, seeds, dressing or crispy toppings like croutons or onion straws in a separate container if you want them); you can also make mason jar salads with the dressing at the bottom and the ingredients layered through
- overnight oats with Greek yoghurt, fruit, and you can supplement with chia seeds and protein powders and so on
- jacket potatoes with toppings (chopped steamed vegetables, baked beans, cheese, turkey bacon, Greek yoghurt)
- sandwiches (chicken, tuna, deli meat, cheese, roasted vegetables, hummus, egg, peanut butter, jam, Marmite); you can make them on sandwich thins or bagel thins if you want fewer calories
- wraps (just like sandwiches, but you can usually cram in more vegetables and sometimes sauce or dressing)
- snack foods (either to supplement, or take several as a full lunch: cut fruit, cut vegetables, dip if you want, yoghurt pots, cereal bars, small baked goods, hardboiled eggs, jerky, chicken snack packs)

While I prefer the weekly meal prep idea, my life is just insane right now and out of my control. So I have had to compromise to avoid eating out of the vending machine every day. I brought a loaf of light bread, a pack of lunch meat, a pack of cheese, a jar of PB, a box of crackers, individual hummus containers, and a small jar of mayo and jelly to work and leave it there. Every day I go make myself a ham sandwich or a PBJ sandwich or crackers and hummus. Its not the most nutritious but healthier than the ho-hos I was eating every day out of the vending machine and way cheaper. Someday I hope to be able to get back to actually prepping at home and just bringing in one day at a time, but this is working for now at least.

mommamia30189 wrote: »

So many people have leftovers! I barely have enough time in the day to cook dinner. I mean how does everyone that works, work all day, I get home at 6pm- then workout by 6:30-8 - by then its too late to cook a meal so i usually just eat something like a baked potato or a fruit cup. My main eating is at lunch. Its hard to come home-workout-then cook dinner-and get ready for work the next day. I usually pack my lunch in the morning before work, apples, yogurt, and some baked chicken that i make batches of on Sunday.

Honestly we just eat really late, I quite often won't get in till 19:30, sometimes we won't eat till 9 or 10, We have one period of time where we cook dinner, portion for lunch the next day and package for breakfast. I'm not saying it's the right way but it's the way that works for me and my husband. I find if I beat myself up about having dinner by a certain time I make less sensible choices. Also I'm more likely to snack late at night. We tried week batching and it wasn't for us. Just trying to plod on with what's sustainable (thus far at least!)

Jeyradan wrote: »

- you can also make mason jar salads with the dressing at the bottom and the ingredients layered through

I came across a few videos on YouTube that show you recipes for these that look fabulous and could be prepared ahead and left in the fridge for a few days.

Ham and swiss lunchables, actually, with a protein bar as a snack.

cass0314 wrote: »

I suck at packing a lunch for work each day. What do you take to work for lunch? I need as many ideas as possible! Eating fast food daily for lunch helped me gain 60lbs over the last 18 months and I'm over it. I've lost 11.5lbs in September and I have a long way to go, so nutritious and somewhat easy to prepare lunches for work are going to be key. Suggestions? Thanks for your input!

I used to do big batches of cooking on Sundays and make lunches and dinners for Mon-Thurs. For snacks, I'd also make hard boiled eggs, and leave carrots and cheese in the frig at work, and nuts at my desk.

Now that I work from home I just make myself a sandwich, which would be easy enough to do before work or the night before.

You can also gets lots of lunch ideas from the MFP blog: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/?s=lunch

Soup! A big pot lasts all week. I usually add some crackers, an apple and a Babybel.
Sandwiches - usually wheat toast, roast beef, spinach, and grainy mustard.
Lean Cuisine + fruit or raw vegetables and a Babybel
Chopped salad, add egg or chicken and some dressing when I'm ready to eat. (The Dole prepackaged kits are good if you're short on time)
Freezer breakfast sandwiches, you can make them in advance. I love breakfast sandwiches, and they're delicious any time of the day (especially when my first meal is usually at 1:00)