Go-to lunch?

A bag of mixed greens, 3oz each carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes, and whatever leftover meat I have, with either a zero calorie Walden Farms honey Dijon or a fruity balsamic dressing.

If I’m feeling “rich” in calories I add a couple slices crumbled bacon, feta or halloumi cheese, and fresh strawberries or freeze dried fruit.

Fills a whole mixing bowl, fools my eye into thinking I’ve got a massive meal, and filling.

Are you working M-F? I'm retired now but when I was working I made a huge salad every Sunday (in the warmer months) or a big pot of soup (in the colder months). All I had to do was fill a container every morning and grab some type of protein i.e. can of tuna, leftover chicken breast from the night before, a couple of "egg bites" (pre-made on Sunday), etc. It was a big part of my 90 pound loss because it didn't require too much effort. I've been retired now for almost 2 years but I still eat basically the same way for lunch.

I'm also a mealprepper. If I'm doing something warm for lunches for the week, I'll cook it on Sunday and pre-portion it. My favorite is sweet potato and turkey chili! I usually add a ton of veggies, and top it with a little cheese and plain greek yogurt.
If I'm feeling something cold, then lately it's been Greek salads with grilled chicken and loaded with veggies. Both are usually 400 calories or less, which is reasonable for lunch for me.

I don't really have a "go-to"...when I make dinner I usually make extra and that is my lunch for the following day...possibly a couple of days depending on what it is. I grilled pork chops last night with rice pilaf and roasted asparagus...so that's my lunch today.

If it doesn't work out that I've made extra stuff at dinner for my lunch I usually take a sandwich or make tuna salad.

I pack a big salad almost every day at the same time I'm making breakfast.
I typically build my salad with +- 600 grams of raw veg and a low-fat homemade protein-based dressing based on hummus, silken tofu or pureed beans. Silken tofu doesn't have a lot of its own flavor so I tend to spice it with a fairly heavy hand of garlic powder, onion powder, and something salty like soy sauce or miso.

Veggies vary depending on what's good and in season, but +- 100 g X any six of the following: tomatoes, celery, carrots, cucumber, radishes, kimchi, napa cabbage, bell pepper, fennel, turnips, beets, and/or sweet onions. Plenty of fiber!

Breakkie and lunch together usually total between about 600 and 650 calories. Sometimes, I'll add a 100-150 cal carby snack in the afternoon (pretzels or wheat crackers). So depending on if I have that snack or not, I've usually got somewhere between 650-750 calories for dinner (and even more if I go swimming and earn some exercise calories :-)

I mostly do salads and crockpot soups, I rotate them frequently because I get bored. This week I did a pretty simple salad - just a blend of spring mix and butter lettuce, sauteed chicken breast, tomatoes (they were the star since I got amazing fresh tomatoes from someone who grows their own) a few croutons and a homemade basil vinaigrette. Another go-to is romaine/butter lettuce, chicken, slivered almonds, shredded carrots and miso carrot ginger dressing, and a mexi salad - romaine, black beans, corn, chicken, red peppers and sometimes those little tortilla strips with either a cilantro lime vinaigrette or a sundried tomato vinaigrette (kinda based on https://www.food.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-vinaigrette-131432https://food.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-vinaigrette-131432 but I swapped out a lot. I skip the cheese, swap sugar for honey (to taste), skip the basil & rosemary and instead add smoked paprika and cayenne pepper, I use a lot more vinegar because IMO the recipe calls for an awful lot of oil plus it makes a bigger batch.) When I don't want to do anything complicated I do a simple salad with a dressing that's either balsamic or red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and some herbs and spices and a little honey (even though I like it without it, the vinegar is too intense for my husband, annoying! lol)

Sometimes I make what I just call "grandma salad" because she always made it growing up lol. Cooked cauliflower, asparagus, or both with cucumber and tomato with a dressing of a small amount of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and maggi seasoning. Also good with a bean salad.

Some of my go-to soups are: Cocounut Curry lentils (more of a stew, but you can add broth to make it a soup), Sausage Spinach Tomato Soup (also good with spicy turkey sausage), and Peruvian Chicken Soup (not crockpot - but seriously the best chicken soup you'll ever have).

I will add that I usually do food shopping on Saturday, then do prep on Sunday. When doing salad though I prep the dressing and two days of salads but then make the rest on Wednesday since I feel like they aren't as good the longer they sit (the lettuce). I put dressing in a separate container as well as anything crunchy like croutons, or heavy and watery like artichoke hearts.

I eat a can of Progresso Soup and save my calories for dinner. This works for me.

Cheddar cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich, a pot of protein yoghurt and a few carrot sticks. Makes me feel like I’ve loads to eat when I open my lunch box, plus it’s filling and low calories. I’ve lost 32 lbs since January and now at goal weight. I don’t believe in no bread or carbs.