I need healthy lunch ideas, pretty please

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  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
    Light tuna in water w/ spices (garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper), stuffed into celery or in two slices of 45 calorie Sara Lee whole wheat bread (I dislike mayo, but you could probably get away with some light stuff, too)

    Quorn chicken cutlet, BBQ sauce, red onions, a La Tortilla Factory low carb high fiber wrap, with lots of sugar snap peas or baby carrots on the side

    I also like veggie burgers a lot. Try them sliced up in salad, in a wrap, or like a real burger. Yum! Good luck.
  • Suzyspezzano
    Suzyspezzano Posts: 1
    Check out GOOP 'do' she is talking about the cleanse 'clean', but she also has some good lunch recipes, smoothie recipes. Also, go to food52 healthy lunch recipes. Good luck!
  • mazie61
    mazie61 Posts: 104 Member
    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 :(

    I also love those tortillas! I like a crispy crust so I spray both sides with Olive oil spray and bake on a pan:happy: at 400 for a couple of mins, watch close or they will burn. Then I top with sauce, cheese and veggies and bake till done. My current new pizza crust is Josephs lavash wraps, they are only 100 cal for the whole thing(they are huge!) Also if you do use pepperoni, before putting on pizza, wrap slices in a paper towel and microwave for about 15-20 seconds, all that grease melts off.
  • jskaggs1971
    jskaggs1971 Posts: 371 Member
    I like salads. My usual lunch (as you'll see from my diary) is a huge green salad with the good stuff in it. I'm partial to the 50/50 baby spinach and salad greens mix. I add baby carrots and a small handful of chow mein noodles for crunch, tomatoes, and a good salad dressing -- I like the Kraft dressings with olive oil in them. Then, I top with a protein of choice, usually either a small chicken breast (or two, if I'm hungry/working out), or leftovers from last night's dinner. Celery is good for crunch too, and leftover taco meat with kidney beans makes a great taco salad that usually doesn't need dressing.

    The trick with salads is to avoid the stuff that really ups the sugars/carbs. I try to avoid putting nuts, cheese, or dried fruit on my salads, because they really pack a big caloric punch, and I'd rather save the nuts for snacking if I feel snacky in the afternoon.
  • dadeys1
    dadeys1 Posts: 40 Member
    My wife and I have been on MFP since November. It has been very educational counting calories and reading labels. Our teenagers just roll their eyes when we measure/weigh everything. We have tried to cook more at home so we know how many calories are in a batch of something. The we measure out leftovers in separate containers so we know ahead of time how many calories tomorrow's lunch will be.

    Some other things we've discovered are: buffalo chicken wraps--cook/grill chicken, dice it, toss it in a mixture of Frank's Red Hot and fat free ranch dressing, put it in a low carb tortilla with low fat cheese, lettuce, onion, etc. Very good.
    Spaghetti using Jimmy Dean Turkey Crumbles and Whole wheat fettucine. We made this last night and it was 385 a serving (185 cal/cup of sauce, 200 cal/1.5 cup pasta). We could even have a reduced fat Pillsbury crescent roll (90 cal) and still be under 500 calories.

    Some other things we really like:
    - Special K Protein Shakes
    - Sara Lee Thin Style Buns - 100 cal
    - Laughing Cow chees wedges - 35 cal/wedge - they work as cheese or spread. We put it on lots of stuff: celery, pretzels, baked potatoes, bagel thins
    - Keebler Right Bites - 100 cal - there's a variety of cookies and they are really tasty
    - Progresso Light Soups - Various calorie counts but most under 100
    - Mio (drink flavoring) - 0 cal and comes in a variety of flavors

    Hope this helps! Stick with it and you'll get there.
  • caitles14
    caitles14 Posts: 89
    I love a BIG salad with chick peas or black beans and some reduced fat pepperjack cheese!
  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
    Today I had a nice little spinach salad w/ grape tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumber and 1/2 cup of albacore tuna (canned). I used red wine vinegar and olive oil for dressing. I also had an apple and a sugar free chocolate pudding. It was super good :)

    I also like soups (Bear Creek Minestrone is my FAVEEEEE!!) and weird things like pepperoni chips (turkey pepperoni nuked for 1 min or til crisp) dipped in a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese. 17 pieces of pepperoni is a serving. Then just add little odds and ends. It is actually pretty filling!!
  • raisingbabyk
    raisingbabyk Posts: 442 Member
    I do a lot of leftover's for lunch. For a while I was cooking chicken in the slow cooker so i could shred it and using it for the week. I would make a lot of wraps (could even do lettuce wraps), salads, toasted sandwiches. A realy good salad I like at the moment is a spinach and romaine mix, feta cheese, cranberry's, cucumber, grape tomatoes, shredded carrot. Mmm
  • ShrinkingSusan
    ShrinkingSusan Posts: 41 Member
    My favorite lunches at the moment consist of wraps made with whole wheat tortillas. Inside I am really loving hummus, thinly sliced turkey, and spinach leaves. So good! Or just a tiddly bit of pizza sauce, a little pepperjack and feta cheese, nuked just enough to melt the cheese, then fill with spinach leaves. Every bite is um um good!

    My snacks are usually fruit, or veggies with hummus, cheese and crackers, or pretzels dipped in yellow mustard. For a nice salty and sweet treat, 1 bag of 100 calorie popcorn with a few chocolate chips and raisins tossed in. Runs about 170 calories or so.
  • lisjbxy9
    lisjbxy9 Posts: 6 Member
    Hey!
    I do all of my cooking on Sunday for the week for my breakfast and lunches- makes it easier for planning purposes and helps eliminate snacking on the wrong stuff:)
    I make turkey/chicken chili in the crock pot on Sunday and have a few lunches for the week, I like to add peppers, beans, spices etc. Turkey wraps with romaine, I also LOVE chicken fajitas but just use red onion and mixed sweet peppers cooked in coconut oil.
    I saw a great idea on pinterest: Salad in a mason jar! Put your dressing at the bottom, add peppers, onions, mushrooms to marinate in the dressing, then layer with chicken, other veggies and the salad on the top, seal. Will last about 4 days! When ready to eat, shake and viola- salad! If you use a vacuum sealer, they say you can do this and it'll last for like 10 days! I'm going to try this for next week, love salads for lunch, but hate the it usually goes bad by the end of the week.
    Hope this helps!
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    My main lunches are

    Leftovers from dinner
    Wrap with turkey and veggies
    Salad
    Subway turkey sandwich with veggies and mustard.

    And I usually have some fruit too.
  • blpope
    blpope Posts: 163
    Bump
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