Warming lunches?

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limevodka22
limevodka22 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Can anyone share their favourite lunch recipes? I’m used to just a sandwich for lunch but as I’m at home for the foreseeable, I’d like to start cooking properly for lunch! Soups etc would be great as it’s freezing here!

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  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Dinner leftovers from the night before are my go-to. I have leftover venison stew in my fridge right now that should last be about 3 lunches.

    I specifically make extra at dinner, to keep for lunches.
  • limevodka22
    limevodka22 Posts: 7 Member
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    I might try that! Dinner is mostly chicken/fish and veg for now but I might make a few stews or pasta dishes instead .
  • Travelerraven
    Travelerraven Posts: 42 Member
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    Scramble Egg Salad Sandwich

    Makes 2 Sandwiches
    Ingredients:
    4 eggs
    3 to 4 Tbsp. mayonnaise + some
    1 tsp. mustard
    2 -3 large dill pickle finely chopped
    4 slices bread
    Directions:
    Scramble your eggs your way over low heat so as not to dry them out.
    Once fully cooked, combine eggs, mayonnaise, mustard and dill pickle in a small bowl, mixing well.
    Toast your bread and lightly spread some mayonnaise on the toast.
    Place half of your egg mixture on one of the slices and top with the other slice.
    Serve warm.

    Options: You can add butter, milk, or water as you would normally scramble your eggs
  • limevodka22
    limevodka22 Posts: 7 Member
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    okay this sounds AMAZING. I've never had pickles in egg before so I'm excited to try this!
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I use leftovers to make soup all the time! I usually start with homemade veggie stock or or a can of tomatoes, then chop up and add whatever leftover veggies/proteins are in the fridge.

    I mix things up by varying the seasoning-- Italian or poultry blend one time, maybe curry the next, chili spices when it's cold, or ginger/ garlic/ soy sauce if I'm feeling a southeast Asian vibe.

    Maybe a bit of coconut milk or silken tofu if I'm in a creamy soup mood.
  • KickassAmazon76
    KickassAmazon76 Posts: 4,553 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Dinner leftovers from the night before are my go-to. I have leftover venison stew in my fridge right now that should last be about 3 lunches.

    I specifically make extra at dinner, to keep for lunches.

    I often make extra and then put that into meal sized glass containers in the freezer. Then I have a variety of choices to pick from. 😊
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    sometimes leftovers, though in general im not a huge fan of leftovers.

    don't particularly care for soup but I do make a fair amount it seems like, sometimes.

    i make burritos and it makes a huge amount, so wrap those and toss in the air fryer pretty frequently. its nice and low calorie and filling

    right now I'm roasting chicken breasts to make chicken salad for lunch this week

    I'm not a huge breakfast person in general, but often when I do have it, its later in the morning, so counts for either lunch or breakfast LOL so... eggs, sausage, bacon, whatever.

  • mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12
    mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12 Posts: 204 Member
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    I just made Chickpea (garbanzo bean) and Lemon soup which is quick and delicious.

    Cut 1 bell pepper in to quarters and blacken the skin under the grill (broil). When the skin is black put them in a covered bowl and leave to cool.

    On a medium to low heat, Sauté 1 large onion, roughly chopped

    Dice 2 courgettes (zucchini) and 2 carrots. Add to the onions.

    Crush 4 garlic cloves, add to the onions and vegetables. Cool for a few minutes.

    Peel the skin off the bell peppers, chop and add to the pan.

    Add I can chickpeas, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1tsp chili flakes, 1/2 tsp paprika and 1tsp oregano. Stir every thing together and add enough stock to cover the vegetables.

    Cover and Simmer on a low heat for 30 mins. Add more stock if too much evaporates. Turn off the heat and stir in the juice of one lemon.

    I love this soup! I use the recipe above to serve two - I weigh everything as I go and a serving is about 350 calories depending on the weight of the veggies on the day.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
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    I'm another one for leftovers, I typically use my slow cooker a lot for batch cooking (great investment if you don't have one) and will cook curries, stews, etc in it, which normally makes about 5-6 portions, I normally keep 2-3 in the fridge for dinners and put the rest in the freezer so I have something to pull out if I need a meal when I can't be bothered to cook from scratch. My most common choices are
    • Chilli (usually with diced beef or diced chicken thigh rather than mince)
    • Saag Paneer (Veggie curry - spinach based with coconut cream and paneer cheese)
    • Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea stew with a good slosh of red wine
    • Beef Strogonoff
    • vMassaman Curry

    The beauty of these is you can bung all the ingredients in the slow cooker the night before and they'll be ready in the morning, my slow coooker automatically switches to warm so it's kept warm through till lunch.

    I then add either some roast potatoes or a bag of steam rice the side and voila!

    I do also make soups when I can be bothered, some of my favourites are:
    • Cauliflower & Cheddar
    • Broccoli & Blue Cheese
    • Roasted Auberine, Garlic & Mushroom
    • Spicy Carrot & Potato

    Any of the above with a cheese toastie (grilled cheese to Americans) is a nice filling and warming lunch.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    I'm another one for leftovers, I typically use my slow cooker a lot for batch cooking (great investment if you don't have one) and will cook curries, stews, etc in it, which normally makes about 5-6 portions, I normally keep 2-3 in the fridge for dinners and put the rest in the freezer so I have something to pull out if I need a meal when I can't be bothered to cook from scratch. My most common choices are
    • Chilli (usually with diced beef or diced chicken thigh rather than mince)
    • Saag Paneer (Veggie curry - spinach based with coconut cream and paneer cheese)
    • Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea stew with a good slosh of red wine
    • Beef Strogonoff
    • vMassaman Curry

    The beauty of these is you can bung all the ingredients in the slow cooker the night before and they'll be ready in the morning, my slow coooker automatically switches to warm so it's kept warm through till lunch.

    I then add either some roast potatoes or a bag of steam rice the side and voila!

    I do also make soups when I can be bothered, some of my favourites are:
    • Cauliflower & Cheddar
    • Broccoli & Blue Cheese
    • Roasted Auberine, Garlic & Mushroom
    • Spicy Carrot & Potato

    Any of the above with a cheese toastie (grilled cheese to Americans) is a nice filling and warming lunch.

    I do the exact same thing with my slow cooker. Here are 2,000+ recipes and 179 videos:

    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/253/everyday-cooking/slow-cooker/
  • skelterhelter
    skelterhelter Posts: 803 Member
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    A quick, super easy lunch for me is a homemade bean burrito. Warm up some refried beans, pop it in a low carb tortilla, (or not if you don't want), and add whatever toppings you like! I usually do Greek yogurt for the sour cream, a little shredded cheese, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, jalapeno, crunchy tortilla strips, and seal it up! You could throw it on a pan and toast it, too, if you have a stovetop handy.
  • mrsgoochy
    mrsgoochy Posts: 61 Member
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    I'm a Sunday meal prepper and I like to keep lunch under 400. My go to is chili ( turkey or lean ground beef). I use red and black beans. I'm not great about afternoon snacks ( they usually leave my hungry anyways) so I need something filling like chili. I'm in an office so it's easy enough to heat up and doesn't bother anyone's sniffers ;)
  • kd_mazur
    kd_mazur Posts: 569 Member
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    I make a big pot of soup on Sunday and then portion it out for the week. If you don't mind the same thing each day for lunch, it works.
    This week I am having minestrone. I do a lot of chicken noodle, beef and vegetables, chili.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    limevodka22 wrote: »
    I might try that! Dinner is mostly chicken/fish and veg for now but I might make a few stews or pasta dishes instead .

    Yeah, this time of year my wife and I make some kind of soup or stew pretty much a couple times per week for dinner. It's a large pot, so we typically get a couple of lunches each out of it.
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
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    Soups. I usually make batches and freeze them. Chicken Veg, Borscht, Potato leek, minestrone. I freeze them in yogurt containers and heat up for lunch.
    I also like quinoa with whatever veg and protein (tuna, chicken, beans) and a balsamic vinaigrette, or tex mex style with peppers, beans, hot sauce, can be eaten cold or warmed up.
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
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    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    [*] Saag Paneer (Veggie curry - spinach based with coconut cream and paneer cheese)

    Didn't know you could do Paneer in the slow cooker... Trying that!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
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    carakirkey wrote: »
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    [*] Saag Paneer (Veggie curry - spinach based with coconut cream and paneer cheese)

    Didn't know you could do Paneer in the slow cooker... Trying that!

    I normally fry it off before throwing it in, but yeah it's fine once it's in there.
  • LunaTheFatCat
    LunaTheFatCat Posts: 237 Member
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    These egg rolls, with some sundried tomato pesto. TOO delicious! https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/egg_rolls_46445

    Or of course a nice omelette, with anything really, chicken, spinach, tomato, cheese.

    I love eggs really.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
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    limevodka22 wrote: »
    Can anyone share their favourite lunch recipes? I’m used to just a sandwich for lunch but as I’m at home for the foreseeable, I’d like to start cooking properly for lunch! Soups etc would be great as it’s freezing here!

    I meal prep. So I always have baked chicken breast or thigh, mashed sweet potatoes or baked potatoes and roasted vegetables in the fridge. Lunch and dinner are a breeze now!

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