IDEAS NEEDED --- Healthy Store Bought Lunches?
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Rannoch3908
Posts: 177 Member
I like to just drive over to walmart and grab lunch. I want to keep eating healthy but am tired after a couple months of making things at home (meal prep, making night before, etc - just over it).
I am getting kinda tired of their grab and go salads and soups.
What other things can I go and grab for a complete yummy lunch I can take back to work and don't have to make (microwave stuff is okay)?
I am getting kinda tired of their grab and go salads and soups.
What other things can I go and grab for a complete yummy lunch I can take back to work and don't have to make (microwave stuff is okay)?
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Replies
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I like some of the healthy choice steamers ...0
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Does the store have a deli?0
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Guac and jerky. Don't knock it til you try it. Grab some low-sodium crackers of your choice if you're going wild.2
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Pot o gold microwave meals are high protein
Cheap abs quite tasty,0 -
Not sure why the at home meal prep is so taxing...
I make breakfast, lunch and dinner at home every day. I work 2 jobs (I unpredictable) and go to the gym 4-6 days a week.
I’m sorry, but it Walmart by me is ALWAYS busy, so I would spend MORE time and definitely MORE money going there to get lunch every day.
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I agree with Dogmom - food prep and taking my own lunch would be far preferable to me.
Can you do your prep on (say) Sunday, or on your weekend? It should take less time overall to food prep than to go to Walmart. Way cheaper, and less chance of Covid, too.4 -
I don’t eat cooked breakfast and lunch. This it takes 5 minutes mac to make and bag.0
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Everyone is different.
I cook dinner every night from scratch for my wife and I.
Cooking an additional bulk meal on Sunday and dividing it up is hard work (for me - maybe not for you).
It's also extra effort which I don't want to put forward - I prefer to go the lazy route and eat things made for me by other people. I don't mind if it costs more - I am coming from getting fast food for $15 per day so buying a meal at Walmart for $5 to $10 is just fine.
I can be in and out of walmart in 5 minutes - super fast.7 -
If you cook dinner every night anyway, why not just make extra and take left overs for lunch??
It’s simply wasteful to eat out EVERY DAY, whether that’s fast food or something from Walmart. I’m super super frugal (nicer word than cheap 😜) and it just makes me cringe to think of all the time and money you are willing to waste in the name of “laziness”. Also doesn’t speak to good sustainable habits IMHO.6 -
What about a large bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a bag of pre cooked, sliced chicken breasts? Just portion out how much you want and microwave.3
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Gotta love MFP. Completely ignore the fact that the OP has asked for ideas for store bought meals and nag him to do what is preferable for them, despite the fact that he has clearly stated (twice) that he doesn't WANT to prep home made lunches.
Can't help you with your dilemma, OP, as I'm pescetarian so I rely heavily on simple no-cook lunches like canned tuna or hard boiled eggs with raw fruit and veg that I can eat at my desk.18 -
Or you can take the OP to heart, make a suggestion and still get a disagree (goes back to munching on her guac and jerky. Turkey jerky, actually).
It's just people peopling 🤷🏿♀️
Just another note @Rannoch3908, you may want to watch your weekly sodium intake when if you chose the ready-made/packaged food route. I think some Walmarts have a grocery section with fresh produce, so you may want to consider getting the majority of your lunchables from that section.3 -
Gotta love MFP. Completely ignore the fact that the OP has asked for ideas for store bought meals and nag him to do what is preferable for them, despite the fact that he has clearly stated (twice) that he doesn't WANT to prep home made lunches.
Can't help you with your dilemma, OP, as I'm pescetarian so I rely heavily on simple no-cook lunches like canned tuna or hard boiled eggs with raw fruit and veg that I can eat at my desk.
Seriously.
I'm not sure I can help, either, OP. I don't cook (Or eat out much) so my only suggestion would be either hit up a Subway or bring something simple from home like cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit?
Or @DancingMoosie's idea was good. Or @MaltedTea's. Lunchables!4 -
Oh, I also like fruit with greek yogurt and some nuts. Easy peasy3
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I completely understand the not wanting to meal-prep. Sometimes on the weekends I get up, do the thing, get my week of meals ready, and it's great, but then on other days I just don't want to eat what I've prepped or I'm rushing out the door and just don't want to spare the extra brain power necessary to put together a complete lunch. On those days, being able to just grab something, toss it in a bag, and go is a lifesaver. With that being said, a lot of the frozen meals by Amy's are good-tofu scramble, veggie lasagna, green curry, black-eyed peas and rice bowl, etc. They do run high on sodium for some of them so you may want to keep that in mind. In the Wal-Mart I shop at, they've recently started stocking Kusari Kids ramen cups in the section near Chef Boyardee. They are surprisingly tasty and not too terrible on calories and sodium. I like them with some whole grain crackers or a bit of cheese. For that matter, some of the sippable soups by Campbell's or the canned soups from Amy's are great for grab and go especially if you pair them with some high fiber crackers or such or a handful of nuts or snack cheese squares for some extra protein.3
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Or you can take the OP to heart, make a suggestion and still get a disagree (goes back to munching on her guac and jerky. Turkey jerky, actually).
I thought your suggestion was pretty good, actually. Jerky tends to be a decent protein source. I almost wish fish jerky was a thing, although it would still be a sodium bomb and I probably couldn't eat it anyway.
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Or you can take the OP to heart, make a suggestion and still get a disagree (goes back to munching on her guac and jerky. Turkey jerky, actually).
I thought your suggestion was pretty good, actually. Jerky tends to be a decent protein source. I almost wish fish jerky was a thing, although it would still be a sodium bomb and I probably couldn't eat it anyway.
They actually have watermelon jerky. I like turkey jerky but I can't eat it anymore. Which sucks.1 -
Yeah maybe I will try to do frozen stuff. I like the idea of fresher but I suppose frozen is okay.
I like the idea of the jerky and guac as a snack!
I like the idea of canned tuna or hard boiled eggs with raw fruit and veg as a snack too - yum.
I heard Sproutts has pre-made lunches (they basically meal prep and sell it). Might have to check those out.
I always see all that stuff in the deli counter like meatloafs, chicken breasts, salads, etc (see photo) - maybe I can just grab a couple things from there - is that all cooked and could be microwaved?
Like I said we've done meal prep - it was delicious and handy to grab and go. We ran out of ideas quickly that were easy to make and kept for a week so it got boring and repetitive. Typically there would be a lot of waste (couple meals never get eaten - can't have leftover meals if you buy them one at a time). Also a lot of washing the meal prep containers daily sucked + like 30-45 minutes every Sunday prepping - that is time I never get back and gets in the way of making our dinner Sunday night.
And as far as why don't I just make more dinner to use for the next day -- we do EveryPlate (kinda like HomeChef) so it comes with exactly ONE PORTION for each of us for dinner. That way we don't overeat and go back for seconds which was a huge problem before. No leftovers that way to go back and eat which we would if it was there.
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Do you have a fridge and microwave at work?
1. Buy a loaf of bread and package of lunch meat on Monday—several days worth.
2. Rotisserie chicken & frozen veggies next Monday.
3. Packages of tuna w/fixings.
4. Instant oatmeal
5. Single soups, Mac n cheese, etc.
6. Frozen waffles, precooked bacon or sausage
7. Soft tacos with rotisserie chicken
8. ———3 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Not sure why the at home meal prep is so taxing...
I make breakfast, lunch and dinner at home every day. I work 2 jobs (I unpredictable) and go to the gym 4-6 days a week.
I’m sorry, but it Walmart by me is ALWAYS busy, so I would spend MORE time and definitely MORE money going there to get lunch every day.
My Walmart isn't busy and is only a mile a way, but it would still take less time for me to make a sandwich, something I suggested on a previous thread by this OP.
Intellectually I understand that some people don't want to take the 5 minutes but a part of me still doesn't get it.2
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