Sick of the same lunches...help

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val071418
val071418 Posts: 96 Member
in Recipes
I have been trying new ideas for dinners and been able to switch it up and keep dinner interesting, but lunch time I am finding to become a huge challenge!! I am so sick of the same types of stuff, tuna, leftovers, salads. I really am not a fan of salad but eat it cuz its good for me, and I try to include that in my dinner time so having salad at lunch is pretty much out. Does anyone have have QUICK, EASY lunch ideas. I usually get home from school right at lunch time and am starving and need to eat quick! Any ideas would be so helpful, Thanks!!

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  • limismith
    limismith Posts: 156 Member
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    Bump

    I eat a lot of leftovers, too... but I agree, new things are in order. I am tired of the suggestion to make a wrap or heat up some soup. Not really a new idea...
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
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    The other day I had chicken breast, cucumber, and tomato slices with a wedge of laughing cow cheese on a Doctor Kracker flatbread. Tyson makes ready to eat chicken breast that you can heat for a minute or two in the microwave and add to a wrap lol. You could also eat them with salsa and chips? I like egg salad made with greek yogurt or cottage cheese instead of mayo. Unfortunately, those are all the ideas that I have. I get stuck in a rut too.
  • mommygirl81
    mommygirl81 Posts: 37
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    I eat a bagel thin with a few slices of ham or turkey and a slice of American cheese. I microwave it for 30 seconds so the cheese is nice and melted. I add some fruit and lunch is done!
  • Justjoshin
    Justjoshin Posts: 999 Member
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    I throw a black bean burger(or some variation of clean protein) in a skillet with some vegetables sautee it up, then throw 3 eggwhites in and scramble.

    Nice little bowl of hot healthly goodness that's fast and a change from the norm
  • GouchisGirl
    GouchisGirl Posts: 321 Member
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    You can make a light version of chicken salad with grapes, celery, and walnuts. Either put it in a pita or on flatbread. You can use Kraft mayo with olive oil.... just a heads up, if you are going to make several days worth keep the chopped celery and grapes in a seperate container and mix with your serving of chicken right before you eat it because it can tend to get watery. Do you like soup? You could premake a soup you like and put it in individual containers so you can pop it in the microwave when you get home. If you like tomato soup you can add 1/4 c of cooked brown rice to it right before heating and to make it feel more like a meal you could spread some laughing cow cheese on some crackers or a flatbread. Tuna salad is also a good standby :)
  • tracikearns
    tracikearns Posts: 138 Member
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    I am with you on the salad thing...I love them, but I love dressing and all of the yummy stuff you can put on them and before you know it my salad is 1000 calories, yikes!

    A lot of days for lunch I take 1/2 of a whole wheat pita and add 1 ounce of provolone cheese and 2 ounces of deli ham and stick it in the microwave for a min, having the warm melted cheese you don't need mayo or anything, with a serving of fuit and raw veggies.

    Sweet potato and Cottage cheese, or a lean cuisine :)
  • MIMITIME
    MIMITIME Posts: 405 Member
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    Not a big help here but a few things. I buy the 96/4% Ground Beef and pat out in 4 oz servings before freezing. Can't remember the calories but not bad and you can look up the ground beef 96/4 on this site. Anyway, I make a hamburger with real bread and it cuts down on me wanting to do fast food. I use skinless boneless chicken breast to make chicken salad. I use lo cal mayo but I read on here use plain yogurt. Sometimes I do the string beans with the hamburger because they are so low in calories you can eat the entire can. There is always the yogurt and fruit thing or cottage cheese if you like it. Good Luck
  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    I have really been digging squash. Halve a spaghetti squash and place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350.

    I eat it with some homemade or sugar-free pasta sauce (like Monte Bene), fresh basil and grape tomatoes. There is even calorie room in there for some shredded cheese, if you like.

    I also have eaten it in chicken "noodle" soup.

    Thanks for the topic-- I am a victim of not being easily bored by food, so I eat the same things over and over and that is not helping me diet very well. :)
  • dargytaylor
    dargytaylor Posts: 840 Member
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    Frozen Gorton's fish is another quick, easy lunch. Heat up in microwave, eat with some rice, or on a sandwich flat with some cheese. (fat free chesse of course :) ) Check out http://gortons.com

    Fozen veggie burgers too as the above poster mentioned. Love his idea about scrambling with some egg whites!!
  • sunshine1231
    sunshine1231 Posts: 4
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    Don't know if this will help but here are a couple of thoughts. Probably what you need quick is protein. I keep some very lean thin deli protein on hand. It can be turnkey, chicken or turkey. If you get light cheese you can roll them togethere to make a stick and with some water it gets into the blood stream fairly quickly. Just one more thought, on Dr Oz I saw this product the are calling PB2.
    It is a natural peanutbutter that is dry. you mix it with water an I am told it is really good. I am going to try it as soon as I can get to he store. If it is as good as they say, you could stuff celery with it etc, add some broth soup from a can like campbells . might help
  • MartiJJohnston
    MartiJJohnston Posts: 517
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    Bean burritos!

    I combine a can of Vegetarian FF Refried Beans with one can of Rotel - 8 (1/2 cup) servings and 400 calories for the HUGE bowl. I buy La Tortilla Factory Whole Grain Low Carb/High Fiber tortillas (large) - 80 calories each. If I'm extra hungry, I just use a little more beans!

    1 tortilla - 80 calories
    1 serving refried beans (1/2 cup) - 50 calories
    1 tbs kraft light sour cream - 30 calories
    1 slice Sargentos Reduced Fat cheese slice - 50 calories
    Salsa - 20 calories
    Lots of Lettuce/tomatoes/onions/jalapenos - approx 30 cals

    TOTAL - 260 calories for a filling lunch
  • Christina1007
    Christina1007 Posts: 179 Member
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    I don't really have any free time in the morning, so when I used to come home from Uni, I used to be starving!!! So I cooked a hearty breakfast instead for lunch! :)
    Fry some spring onions, sliced a tomato into v small pieces, mushrooms - if you like them-, and some ham. Mix the ingredients first in the pan with a little bit of oil or butter, wait until onions start to change colour a bit and only then add the eggs. And mixed it all together with 2 eggs and if you like you can throw in some low fat grated cheese.

    It is really filling and yummy! The whole operation shouldn't take longer than 7 minutes.

    Hope you will try it.

    xx
  • sarahwebb81
    sarahwebb81 Posts: 46
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    Don't know if this will help but here are a couple of thoughts. Probably what you need quick is protein. I keep some very lean thin deli protein on hand. It can be turnkey, chicken or turkey. If you get light cheese you can roll them togethere to make a stick and with some water it gets into the blood stream fairly quickly. Just one more thought, on Dr Oz I saw this product the are calling PB2.
    It is a natural peanutbutter that is dry. you mix it with water an I am told it is really good. I am going to try it as soon as I can get to he store. If it is as good as they say, you could stuff celery with it etc, add some broth soup from a can like campbells . might help

    I have tried the PB2 and i really like it! I find it's a little tricky to spread on a sandwich, but I love it on apples or mixed into a smoothie or protein shake. Two tablespoons is 50 calories, instead of the 200 calories in regular peanut butter. Personally, i like to add a packet of no-cal sweetener to mine to make it a little sweeter. I ordered mine online, but i may check out a specialty grocery store like Jungle Jim's to see if they carry it.

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