I need healthy lunch ideas, pretty please

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hollymeeker
hollymeeker Posts: 38
in Fitness and Exercise
I started utilizing MFP in December and I'm pretty new to the site. I really am having a hard time with lunches (as you can see by viewing my food diary). Would you please take a minute or two and write what you like to eat for lunch. It would really help me and I would truly appreciate it. I also need some friends too, if you don't mind sending a friend request. Thank you so much! :happy:
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Replies

  • k121777
    k121777 Posts: 306
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    I like to get (one) piece of 100 calorie sandwich bread (whole wheat), toast it, put mustard, lettuce, spinach and tomato on it, and 1 or 2 thin slices of low fat low salt turkey. Yummy little sandwich, and the toasting of the bread just makes it even better. Also have a low fat yogurt and a bottle of water too =)
  • fitaliciag
    fitaliciag Posts: 373
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    Do you like tuna? The pouches (smaller ones) are the perfect size to make a tuna sandwich. just add condiments of choice.

    I also eat Lean Cuisine meals (lower sodium) and they are very filling.

    OR get a high-quality protein shake and have that with fruit or veggies :-) I do it all the time.
  • Nosila0815
    Nosila0815 Posts: 143 Member
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    I eat baby spinach and a pouch of tuna (in water). Total calories are approximately 120 and you do not have to add any dressing. Its healthy and filling.
  • slendersally
    slendersally Posts: 1
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    I have to mix mine up a bit.
    I'm good for salad for about 2 days in a row, then i move on to leftovers of the previous night's dinner. Tomorrow i'm have a Greek yogurt, an apple and some Mediterranean White Bean Salad, with a biscotti for back up. :)

    I'm also new to this particular site--am still deciding if i like this one better than caloriecounter.about.com - seems the food database on here is MUCH more extensive and the calories seem to be more realistic than the other place also.

    Well, good luck with your lunches.

    PS If you like having breakfast for dinner, maybe you'd like it for lunch, too. :)
  • alaw78
    alaw78 Posts: 6
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    Hi my name is Andrew. Today I had tuna and 2 boiled eggs and cheese stick. it filled me up honestly and I felt good. Yesterday I had a microwave meal 300 calories and it was filling. Tomorrow I will definitely hit up subway for turkey n cheese on wheat. Hope this helps
  • lemonjune
    lemonjune Posts: 37 Member
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    Usually what I have is either pre-portioned leftovers from the night before, or I'll occasionally mix it up. What I've been doing lately is just having a thin bagel. A normal bagel is about 4 servings of bread, but the thin bagels are only 2 servings. I'll put 1 tbsp of light cream cheese on it, and because I get cravings for candy-type sweets, I'll quash the craving with one serving (a quarter of a whole batch) of low-cal Jello. I need to mix it up a bit though, because I know that's gonna get old real quick. >.<
  • lanerichardson
    lanerichardson Posts: 35
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    i usually try to eat something high in energy and watch my calorie count. i by sara lee whole wheat bread that like 45 calories per two pieces.
  • clem7444
    clem7444 Posts: 64 Member
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    I like to mix it up: hard boiled eggs, string cheese and half an avacado spread on 2 pieces of wasa crisp bread. Salad with grilled chicken, dried cherries and walnuts: I make soups like butternut squash or tortilla and have that with cottage cheese and fruit. I make hummas and eat it with veggies, pair it with Greek yogurt. I like to have a lunch with a lot of things. I guess its how I trick myself into thinking I'm eating a lot. I try to eat a lot of protein at lunch because I find I'm more alert in the afternoons. Sometimes I take leftovers from dinner.
  • Wendyma1
    Wendyma1 Posts: 289 Member
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    I make a little extra at dinner time and then take it the next day for lunch. Or, I eat peppered turkey on a sandwich thin with mustard, but i usually prefer left overs from the night before.
  • MEGAmm
    MEGAmm Posts: 40 Member
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    I love lettuce wraps! Take a sandwich favorite (tuna salad, chicken salad, turkey, ham) and wrap your usual sandwich fixins in a big romaine lettuce leaf. You can have a couple rather than one sandwich.

    One of my favorite lunch salads is with romaine or mixed baby greens, dried cranberries, Gorgonzola bleu cheese, and raspberry merlot vinaigrette! So tasty, a little sweet.... Decadent without being overkill. Trader Joe's does a version with walnuts, but I make mine at home.

    Jolly Green Giant makes yummy steamer veggies. Broccoli with cheese sauce is great and my favorite is the potatoes and green beans in rosemary sauce. 100 calories a serving! Sometimes I have the whole bag for lunch (2.5 cups).

    Tonight I had homemade taco salad. Just taco seasoned ground beef (I love ground turkey too), pepperoncinis, mixed baby greens,
    and a tablespoon of ranch! Delicious.

    Hope these help. Good luck!
  • chefbrina
    chefbrina Posts: 18
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    I love the starkist tuna pouches. I mix one with 1 T of light miracle whip and eat it with 100% whole grain crackers, a romaine and spinach salad with Kraft light italian and a serving of fruit. Less than 400 cals and it is a decent amount of food.
    Lean Cuisine makes some pretty good frozen dinners. They are the top nutritionalist recommended frozen entree. One of those plus fruit or a salad is great for lunch.
  • HungryMom
    HungryMom Posts: 280
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    Lunch does not get much thought around here; it is either something quick while my boys and I are between commitments or it is at a restaurant. Some of my go to quickies are: oatmeal, ham/turkey with some of a bagged salad on a slimwich round or in a tortilla, peanut butter sandwich, peanut butter on a banana, greek yogurt with honey, banana, apple, clementine, celery and hummus,Progresso light soups, and dinner leftovers.
  • galvodka
    galvodka Posts: 102
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    This what I usually eat:

    -Turkey sandwich/whole wheat bread
    -Turkey meatballs w/ salad (I make ahead and they reheat well)
    -Tuna salad w/ crackers
    -Chicken w/ lettuce, cucumber, feta cheese, and lite caesar dressing in pita
    -Baby bell cheese spread on celery and carrots
    -Left over dinner (I will make extra a few nights per week so I don't have to prepare lunch)
    -Wraps w/ chicken (many different kinds/do search under community on here for wrap ideas). I'll grill some chicken on George Foreman grill on weekend and keep in fridge to make in wraps during the week
    -Egg salad (on crackers or wheat bread)
    -Shrimp salad on pita
    -Frittatas (I work from home a few days during the week so I am home to cook lunch)
    -Soup and salad
    -Celery with reduced fat peanut butter

    I have a hard time with lunch ideas too. There was a wrap idea post on here recently that was GREAT and so many yummy wrap ideas that I'm going to try!
  • hmcminton
    hmcminton Posts: 49 Member
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    i mix it up otherwise i get bored. Try salad with grilled chicken (from dinner the nite before). Veggie soup (the Weight Watchers Zero Point cabbage soup is AMAZING) along with Greek Yogurt and fresh berries ~ this has been my go-to lately. You can also try 2 hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, and raw veggies (assorted peppers are my fave). I also like roasting veggies (onions, zucchini, squash, peppers) the nite before and then mix it up with a grilled meat also from the nite before.... by making more of the healthy things at nite, you can easily have some the next day for lunch. Hope this helps!
  • vanillasugar
    vanillasugar Posts: 246 Member
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    Cottage cheese with tomato (or peaches or pineapple), a couple oz of cheese and an apple, tuna sandwich, egg salad sandwich I don't know, these are my most frequent lunches :smile:
  • Amy911Gray
    Amy911Gray Posts: 685 Member
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    2 clementine oranges, banana, medium apple, and pear. Sometimes one cup baby carrots and one cup broccoli cut up and drizzled with two tbsp fat free dressing. I just started eating Laughing Cow Cheese and I've been mixing 1 ounce of sunflower seeds to make a sort of makeshift cheese ball and eat with Special K crackers.

    Usually I take all of this to work with me. The fruit bowl lasts all day long and it's great to just log in all of the calories at one time.

    For some reason, this go round of "I want the weight off" is working out for me. It wasn't always the case. I've had to turn down lunch trips to my favorite places but I've kept the packed lunches fun, in always foods that I really like. If you do that, you will look forward to lunch instead of the ugh diet lunch.

    Good luck!!! :)
  • richelle67
    richelle67 Posts: 73
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    Welcome to MFP. I checked out your lunches and you have a wide variety of foods you have eaten for lunches. I am usually in a hurry on my way to work, eating in the car. My lunches are usually something I prepare in the morning and eat in the car. I tend to eat mostly protein and veggies . I eat chicken breasts, crab delights, baggy of carrots, veggie burger on a flat out wrap, salad, tuna in packages, cheese sticks, cauliflower, yogurt. I also made homemade white chicken chilli, turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers, and one of my favorites is Bistros chicken/artichoke/mozz. cheese brat like sausage. Very low calorie and warms in microwave in less than a minute. I am a pretty boring eater. I started on here on Nov. 13th, trying to get a jump start on weight loss so I found staying simple with my eating would get quicker results. Tonight was the first time I had pasta and I feel blah! I tend to eat more of a variety for dinner with my husband and kids. When I make dinner for them, I try to stay away from the carb. portion or if I do have some, it is a very little. Great job on the weight loss!!! You can request me as a friend if you like.
  • nwadyag
    nwadyag Posts: 4
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    I like spinach salads too. Sometimes I add tuna pouches, but my favorite lately is the Tyson southwestern frozen chicken strips. Just pop about 3 ounces of them in the microwave, toss them on top of the spinach, and YUM! I like Ken's lite Honey Mustard dressing.

    When I have leftovers I will portion them out into containers and freeze them. That way I always have a quick meal to grab on my way out the door if I don't feel like making a salad that day.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    I like these high fiber low carb tortillas called Ole Xtreme Wellness High Fiber tortillas. They have 71 calories, 220 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 12 g fiber. They are really yummy too.

    I put a little sandwich meat on them (I buy reduced sodium at the deli), spinach, and a mustard and roll up. Or I'll put some hummus and some peppers on and roll it up. I've also done grilled chicken breast, a sauce/dressing/mustard (in moderation), romaine or spinach, and roll up.

    A lot of times, I have a protein shake. I'll usually use some avocado, berries, protein powder, almond milk, cinnamon, and spinach. They're really good and filling.

    A sweet potato with just a little bit of Smart balance light spread, cinnamon (I like a lot of cinnamon), and a teeny touch of brown sugar (1/2 to 1 tsp) I mix it up together so that it's spread evenly. With a cup of milk or a yogurt.

    A flat pizza. Use one tortilla, spread 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce on, sprinkle on 1/4 c. of either part skim or fat free mozzarella cheese, top with all the veggies you want, and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

    Sometimes I'll just have a Fit & Active 5 cheese lasagna (Aldi's version of a WW or Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine type meal). They're only a buck, and they're not as bad as they may sound. ;) They actually have less sodium than some of the other brands.

    A spinach and fruit salad: chopped spinach, berries of choice (I like sliced strawberries and some blueberries), halved grapes, sliced almonds, chopped red bell pepper, and some berry vinaigrette of choice (I like the Wishbone superfruit berry). It's good with some grilled chicken breast cut up in it too.

    Peanut butter and banana quesadilla: a tortilla, spread with 1 TBSP of peanut butter. Cut a banana in thirds long ways and place on one half. Drizzle lightly with honey. Fold over. Heat in a pan so that the tortilla is slightly crisp-flip and repeat. Remove, cut in thirds (shaped like pie slices), and enjoy. These are SO GOOD. Also good with smashed black beans and some reduced fat or fat free cheddar cheese in it.

    Sometimes I have something super simple: Greek yogurt and a piece of fruit.
  • galvodka
    galvodka Posts: 102
    Options
    I like these high fiber low carb tortillas called Ole Xtreme Wellness High Fiber tortillas. They have 71 calories, 220 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 12 g fiber. They are really yummy too.

    I put a little sandwich meat on them (I buy reduced sodium at the deli), spinach, and a mustard and roll up. Or I'll put some hummus and some peppers on and roll it up. I've also done grilled chicken breast, a sauce/dressing/mustard (in moderation), romaine or spinach, and roll up.

    A lot of times, I have a protein shake. I'll usually use some avocado, berries, protein powder, almond milk, cinnamon, and spinach. They're really good and filling.

    A sweet potato with just a little bit of Smart balance light spread, cinnamon (I like a lot of cinnamon), and a teeny touch of brown sugar (1/2 to 1 tsp) I mix it up together so that it's spread evenly. With a cup of milk or a yogurt.

    A flat pizza. Use one tortilla, spread 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce on, sprinkle on 1/4 c. of either part skim or fat free mozzarella cheese, top with all the veggies you want, and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

    Sometimes I'll just have a Fit & Active 5 cheese lasagna (Aldi's version of a WW or Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine type meal). They're only a buck, and they're not as bad as they may sound. ;) They actually have less sodium than some of the other brands.

    A spinach and fruit salad: chopped spinach, berries of choice (I like sliced strawberries and some blueberries), halved grapes, sliced almonds, chopped red bell pepper, and some berry vinaigrette of choice (I like the Wishbone superfruit berry). It's good with some grilled chicken breast cut up in it too.

    Peanut butter and banana quesadilla: a tortilla, spread with 1 TBSP of peanut butter. Cut a banana in thirds long ways and place on one half. Drizzle lightly with honey. Fold over. Heat in a pan so that the tortilla is slightly crisp-flip and repeat. Remove, cut in thirds (shaped like pie slices), and enjoy. These are SO GOOD. Also good with smashed black beans and some reduced fat or fat free cheddar cheese in it.

    Sometimes I have something super simple: Greek yogurt and a piece of fruit.

    Oh my gosh!!!! I love the peanut butter and quesadilla idea!

    I have a question about the pizza....do you cook tortilla first so it gets a little firm or just tortilla as is? And do you just put on cookie sheet? I've making pizza like this before and have failed :(

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