healthy lunches at school

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jedavis824
jedavis824 Posts: 22
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all. So I'm at school 11-6 once a week and 8-5 twice a week. I'm finding it really hard to eat (vegetarian!) meals that keep me going for 8 hours of lecture but aren't a huge chunk of my daily calories. I usually bring a peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, some veggies and fruit and a protein bar or granola bar, but this isn't really cutting it! Any suggestions for portable meals? I'm (trying to) eat about 1,400 calories a day but often find myself hungry when I get home with only around 400 calories left.

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  • ssassorossi
    ssassorossi Posts: 21
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    I eat my breakfast at about 7:30 and have lunch at school, then I'm not home again until 4 so I'm in a similar situation. I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm sure some of these things can be altered.

    The first thing is to eat a really filling breakfast. I usually have 3 eggs (or 1 egg and 2 whites or 2 eggs and 1 white) or oatmeal and some hard-boiled egg whites.

    Then, for a mid-morning snack I'll eat some fruit, but to keep it fresh and not squishy I buy apple slices in a baggie (6 oz for 90 calories) from Costco.

    For lunch I'll have chili (you can have it vegetarian!), a microwave meal (lean cuisine, amy's, or healthy choice), veggie pizza, or leftovers. If you have access to a fridge, a very filling 200 calories you have have is a Chobani greek yogurt and half of a serving of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal as a granola-like topping.

    If you have access to a microwave, a 100 calorie bag of popcorn has lots of fiber, or you can pop it at home and eat it a little cold.

    I find that bars don't usually fill me up, so I try not to eat them. Instead, I'll have soup (Progresso makes awesome soup for just 60 calories a cup) or a bunch of red peppers and triscuits with hummus.

    I usually eat between 1200 and 1350 calories a day, and I know that when I get home I love to eat a big meal. So I purposefully have a 200 calories breakfast and a lunch that's less than 400 calories so I can pig out at 4 when I get home. But, if you need to stay full longer, I would suggest staying away from "snack food" and instead focus on incorporating mini-meals with protein and fiber in them to keep you full.
  • FitBritt1
    FitBritt1 Posts: 14
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    Hi,

    I also am busy with school as well but still want to eat healthy. I think portable yogurt, cheese sticks, beef jerkey are all great options because they are full of protein and they come in a variety of flavors! I also like the popcorn idea, they even have the 100 calorie pack mini bags too. Good Luck : )
  • spraila
    spraila Posts: 2
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    I have the same problem, but with work, I can't eat properly and end up usually going way over how many calories I want to eat so then I have to go exercise for 5 hours to feel better sigh. HI IM NOT HERE TO BEHELPFUL HI ILY.
  • paintingstella
    paintingstella Posts: 4
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    Here are some of my favorite easy breakfast and lunch meals.


    Breakfast Choices:
    -Smoothie (made at home with protein powder) Portable!
    - 1/2 of a scone from Starbucks...then you can have other half for snack or breakfast the next day
    - apple with tbsp of peanut butter
    - 1 egg omelet with lots of veggies and tbsp of cheese
    - 1/4 cup of granola with half cup of yogurt

    Lunch Choices:
    - 2 celery stalks with tbsp of peanut butter, cheese stick, apple slices
    - apple, 1/2 cup yogurt, tbsp of sliced almonds, cheese stick
    - spinach salad, with lots of chopped veggies, tbsp of dressing
    -small pkg of mixed nuts, cheese stick, carrot sticks
    - 2 tbsp of hummus, pita or flat bread, tbsp of yogurt, cucumber slices....Yummy!

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