We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

healthy lunches at school

jedavis824
jedavis824 Posts: 22
edited November 2024 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.

Replies

  • ssassorossi
    ssassorossi Posts: 21
    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
    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
    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
    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!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories