Any ideas for healthy lunches at work? I am sick of salads!

Leftovers!!

Question: Are you having the same kind of salad everyday? I read this magazine article about varying salads with tastes and textures etc so it doesn't seem that you're eating the same salad day in and day out. I have tried to incorporate these methods.

Another thing I do is change what I bring- one day I'll bring a tuna sandwich and some veggies and hummus. Try something like that it's still healthy with tuna and put it with some whole wheat bread and you're pairing it with veggies and fruits. Sandwiches and such can vary (but lunch meats aren't good because the sodium- so if I bring a chicken sandwich its from pieces I baked the night before kind of thing)

Since you have a microwave: Soup or a small bout of leftovers from dinner?

That's all I can think of for now- sorry if this wasn't any help. Hopefully it might have sparked some ideas.

I know your sick of fast food but i LOVE subway! if u get bread ask them to carve out some of the bread in the middle and that will cut some cards out..also switch mayo for mustard and get baked chips/apples:) mmm makin me hungry might be my dinner for tonight!

I love Subway too...but I try and avoid it a little now and only have it on occasion because the sodium is really high and makes me bloat/retain water. But it is yummy!

Pita with ham, cheese and tomato! Yum yum! Or a Tortilla Wrap with leftover Chicken Curry (and a bit of salad) ... Alternatively make a salad with mango, pineapple, and apple, it's like eating a fresh fruit salad.

I make sandwiches with low sodium/low fat cold cuts on Fiber One Honey Wheat bread most days with a piece of fruit and some greek yogurt as a snack

Your possibilities are really endless. What is your lunch calorie allowance?

sometimes there are no left overs!! and in my case i use for dinner next night from the night before! my work has started buying salads because of my food change (lovely small family co i work for!!!)


I love salads but they are becoming a bit boring after changing them up, even in the last month (i have got my work mates eating salads daily, salads they pay for i make (only 6 people)!!
sorry for going on but...


BUMP!!!

Quesadillas!! Low fat cheese, veggies, lean meats, whole grain tortillas....the possibilities are endless w/ them

One of my kdis fave things to do is to get a 100 cal english muffin, 1-2 tbsp of pizza sauce, low fat cheese, veggies and/or turkey pepperoni and cook. Good pizza

What sort of salads are you eating? Allrecipes.com has a TON of different salad recipes out there! Always room to shake it up

Do you have anyone at work that is eating similarly and have similar goals? I have 2 friends that I have partnered with for about 2 years and we bring food for the group (i.e. Wednesday is my day so I brought enough for the other 2 and me). Since we're all trying to eat about 350-400 calories packed with lean protein and vegetables, it works great. It sure makes for a varying array of choices and new receipes to try at home.

One of the best new lunches that we've done is a pita sandwich filled with spinach, cucumber, green onion and grilled chicken. The dressing was plain yogurt, light mayo and a few other things. I don't have it available to share right now but can if anyone is interested.

Other ideas:
leftovers
tuna with light mayo in a tomato and a few crackers
shredded chicken with salsa, black beans, corn, lettuce, tomato and a few baked lays chips crumbled
sandwich thin/pita with lean turkey/ham slices and veggies

Cosi makes a couple of sandwiches under 500 cal. One--the hummus and veggie is around 350 cal.

Panera has a half sandwich and soup or salad combo and they list their calories, making it easy to pick. You have to resist the pastries though.

Au Bon Pain has a bunch of sandwiches with calorie counts that are reasonable. Also they have 100 cal foods--things like hummus and veggies, mozzarella and pesto, etc. Reasonable price and you can select a few different tastes and still stay at a reasonable calorie level. They also have hard-boiled eggs. Ditto on resisting the pastries.

Starbucks also provides calorie info for its foods and has some decent sandwiches.

Vietnamese Pho ("Fo") is a soup with rice noodles and veggies, and some kind of meat (or in my case, tofu). Giant bowl of soup (6 cups!) is 400 calories.

You can always go to your old favorite places too. There is this one Indian buffet place that I used to eat at a lot. It was an all you can eat place. Using MFP, I figured out how to control the portion and only make one trip to the buffet. It is still a larger lunch (700 cal) but I save it for days when I have had a big workout, limit it to once a week. But the key is learning what is a reasonable portion for different types of foods.

Sushi is great if you stick to sashimi (just fish, no rice). It is a bit more expensive, but if you like it, it is a nice treat that is high in lean protein and good fats.

So . . . improving your diet does not mean you have to only eat salad. Go out and learn what you can eat, and most importantly, learn how much of something you can eat before it is too much.

Good luck!

PS: I just had a Starbucks venti coffee light frappucino (200 cal). It is a delicious treat and low cal (DO NOT ADD WHIPPED CREAM!!!). If I had not worked out already, and had Pho for lunch, I might have just had the grande which is only 110 cal.

Another great treat-- Edy's slow churned ice cream-- 100 cal for 1/2 cup. Most ice cream is between 250 and 350 cal for the same portion size. Also Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches are great. Fresh strawberries are super low in calories. Other fruits provide a yummy treat too.

You have options. Explore them!

Well, we don't have much in the kitchen right now, so I've been doing whole grain pbj, but I like these too!

Whole grain bread, cucumber slices, hummus, olive oil, oregano, carrot slices, romaine lettuce, spinach, turkey slices
Black beans and rice
Stir fried vegetables, egg, hot dog/chicken/pork with rice
English muffins Pizza Margherita- english muffin halve, sauce, tomato slice, basil, mozzarella (or any pizza you like)


My husband brings BIG salads, collard greens, hummus and veggies, or anything that happens across his path in the fridge.

My girl friend told me if I bring that Stupid dry *kitten* salad one more day, the friendship is ova

Don't dismiss the frozen dinner Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, etc.

I do this most days. Lean Cuisine has a great batch of stuff that has no preservatives. Tortilla Crusted Fish, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Garlic Spring Rolls... check out their site - too many to list.

Kashi has also started doing some frozen meals and I have found them quite tasty.

You're funny! You DO get bored easily don't you?! Week 2 "I AM SICK OF SALADS"!! LOL! I personally don't eat salads oftenand I get bored VERY easy too. The biggest thing I do is at dinner try to make enough for lunch the next day. That's the easiest lunch and sometimes I won't eat it until the second day so it's "new" again. Not sure what your preferences are but here's a few things I eat.
Krabmeat Veggies-1/2 a bag of steam fresh brocc/cauli, fake crabmeat, olive oil drizzle, garlic salt and swiss cheese.
Chili Tuna-mix a can of tuna, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp cumin and a sprinkle of cayenne powder. I put cheese and nuke it and sometimes sourcream.
Spicy Hummus wrap-put hummus and pepper jack cheese on a wrap and nuke the cheese, roll and eat.
italian tuna-mix a can of tuna with some spaghetti sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
I eat a lot of seafood, I see...
Buffalo Tuna-mix a can of tuna, some wing sauce and drizzle ranch or blue cheese dressing over it.
All the tuna stuff can be made into a wrap and is what I usually do. But when I get bored with wraps and TUNA I resort to leftovers...
That's all I can come up with right now. GOOD LUCK!

Lean Cuisines! I've practically lived on them, and I think they taste much better than other brands. Quite a variety to choose from, too.