Lunch ideas for work

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Sora4ever
Sora4ever Posts: 98 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm having trouble being creative with packing low calorie high protein lunches for work every day/every week. Sometimes, I just get bored with the food I packed which makes me want to dine out on my lunch break. So I'm curious what everyone else does for packed lunches. I just need ideas for different meals so I'm not eating the same thing everyday.

As of now, I usually just pack sandwiches (ham, or turkey), or chicken salads. I'll also make sure to have snacks on me like cheese, grapes, meat sticks, greek yogurt, and protein bars.
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  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 693 Member
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    Do you have access to a microwave?
    I just made a pot of ratatouille with lentils that'll be lunch for the next couple of days. Chilli, curry, stews, all work really well for this.

    Salad - quinoa with roast veg (courgette/aubergine/pepper/sweet potato) with boiled egg/chicken/smoked salmon. Spoonful of toasted seeds on top.
  • Mrsrobinsoncl
    Mrsrobinsoncl Posts: 122 Member
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    One of my favorite easy to go lunches is elk burger taco meat, we grind it ourselves so there is no added fat. Then I add in cottage cheese and have a few protein chips with it.
  • BringIt2023
    BringIt2023 Posts: 72 Member
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    I usually meal prep on Sunday night for Mon - Thur lunches and generally have something leftover from probably Weds dinner that I'll bring for lunch on Fri. Depending on how busy my Sunday is, I'll either do a tried and true recipe or I'll find something new from a website I have been using to sort of base my Mediterranean meal plan from. I use eatingwell (dot) com and it has been helpful for me. I am not trying to promote them in any way, I just find that there is a lot of meal idea information and they seem generally healthy depending on what you are looking for. This week I prepped a "spicy slaw shrimp and edamame salad," which I just ate for lunch about an hour ago and found it tasty... not sure how long I'll feel satisfied, but I also packed some Fage 0% Greek yogurt and mixed berries to eat in a few hours if I do get hungry.
  • apressler3
    apressler3 Posts: 24 Member
    edited June 2023
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    I like to make a pot of chili and portion out servings into individual containers and freeze them. I can grab one in the morning for lunch, and microwave it at work. But, even if you don't have a microwave at work, it'll come to room temp and be edible, if not hot.
  • BeanieBean93
    BeanieBean93 Posts: 55 Member
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    Personally, I bring a sandwich but I'm not really on a high protein diet goal. I cook for my fiance though and he's doing more of a low carb, high protein plan. Some things I pack for him -

    frozen veggies, seasoning, frozen tyson grilled chicken. he microwaves it all at work and says it's good. that is by far the easiest option considering it's all frozen and I just toss it in tupper ware.

    cauliflower rice "stirfry" is an easy one to make the night before and eat cold. cauliflower rice, soy sauce, sesame oil, stirfry veggies and a protein. topped with a scrambled egg.

    leftover roasted veggies with chicken thighs is another good one. you can't really screw up a chicken thigh and it re-heats well.

    salad mix, chopped egg, chopped chicken, shredded cheese is an easy salad that he'll eat.

    or, if you forget your lunch you can always run to the grocery store and grab a rotisserie chicken and a bag of salad. easy and pretty cheap to get on the go.

    when I'm really running behind, I'll just toss a can of chicken noodle soup in his lunch sack and a snack pack of beef jerky. that seems to work well for him too.
  • Chaimfonseca95
    Chaimfonseca95 Posts: 10 Member
    edited June 2023
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    Ground beef and chicken works well to fit into Tupperware. I usually put a half a packet with sweet potatoes (for variety you can use Japanese or Korean). There’s cool organic taco seasonings you can use too.

    For greens you can get some Matcha tea and mix it in a water bottle to keep with you. Other options are tuna/ egg salad sandwiches. Even steaks on the girl. Green yogurt works well too, there’s so many great options and recipes. Another carb source you can use is overnight oatmeal with almond butter, etc.
  • mandycat_florida
    mandycat_florida Posts: 60 Member
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    If you're a salad buff (am I the only person on Planet Earth who actually ENJOYS a good salad at breakfast time?) you might get the book I've been using for several years, "Mason Jar Salads" by Julia Mirabella. It's all about advance prep salads. There's nothing earthshaking about most of the recipe ingredients; the value is in the order in which you load up your Mason jar. With the right stacking order, your salad will stay fresh for days. With the wrong order, you end up with a jar of mush.

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