New ideas for packing lunches...

MENichols5
MENichols5 Posts: 176 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone!

I usually try packing my lunches so I can monitor what I am eating and save money at the same time! I'll let myself have 1 frozen Weight Watchers meal a week (they are very high in sodium and I tend to retain water very easily). Once a week I also buy a salad at my work's cafeteria. Recently, I've been at a loss as to what to pack for lunch that is yummy and filling; I haven't been planning ahead and I have been falling off the wagon when it comes to lunch and I am hungry and tired. Any suggestions for healthy lunches around 350 calories?

Thanks!

Replies

  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    Plain greek yogurt.

    Fruits and veggies.

    Leftover pasta (I love spinach pasta or whole grain with cherry tomatoes, spinach and about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil drizzled over it. As long as you watch the portion sizes it's not a huge calorie buster. You could make this the night before and take the next day, just add the oil, spinach and tomatoes after you re-heat the noodles.

    Make up some chicken breast for the week and take a piece of it the next day. Eat it cold in a wrap or heat it and bring some side veggies to heat with.

    Nuts such as almonds or walnuts. Again, just watch portion sizes.

    I LOVE a product called PB2 (dried peanut butter) yes it's actual peanuts. All you do is add water then you can put it on almost anything. Love cal/low carb bread, dip apple in it, put it on plain rice cakes, etc.

    My pasta yesterday went as such:
    Grand Mere (brand) spinach egg pasta noodles. 50 grams (2 nests) they are dried in wrapped in what looks like a birds nest. LOL yes birds nest! 220 calories, 38 carbs.
    Marketside (Walmart) spinach (fresh, bagged) 1 Cup, 7 calories
    Generic grape (or cherry) tomatoes, 54g, 16 calories.
    Olive Oil (my local store brand) 2 Teaspoons, 79 calories.

    About 322 calories. Yes, I tend to measure more in grams or ounces for better accuracy so you might need a food scale if you don't already have one to convert certain measurements.
  • prov31jd
    prov31jd Posts: 153 Member
    One of my favorites: Horizon Organic Non-Fat Plain Yogurt (1 cup) and 1/2 cup of granola (my recent favorite is Sprouts Coconut Almond Granola)

    380 calories
    47 carbs
    13 fat
    18 protein
    39% RDA calcium
    10% RDA iron
  • skullik
    skullik Posts: 142 Member
    I usually make my meals /lunches on the weekend. I also freeze extras whenever I can. What has worked best for me are soups, today I am having cream of broccoli with cheddar. There are so many options: curried squash with coconut, baked potato soup with spinach, chickpea with rosemary, etc... I also make my own frozen lunches such crockpot chicken chilli, pasta with sauce and shrimp, quinoa with yellow curry and chicken. Another good option is to grill some meat and then make a big salad at work and add meat and dressing.
  • MENichols5
    MENichols5 Posts: 176 Member
    Thanks for the great ideas everyone! Everything sounds yummy and I am already planning a grocery list :)
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
    I think the key is to just plan your menu. I always cook more when I cook to take for lunches. On weekends, I plan what I will take. I cook chicken or lean ground beef patties, etc. that I will use for my lunch. I cook veggies up, too. I use partioned chnese food take out containers to put my food in for my lunch. They also have some partioned containers at Walmart I saw just yesterday. I use the large side for veggies and the small side for protein. I saute a lot of different kinds of veggies in coconut oil. I keep frozen veggies in my freezer such as brocilli florets, pole beans and butter beans among others. My favorite thing is the frozen tri colored peppers, I put those in everything. Just use your imagination and a little planning. :smile:
  • amiers11
    amiers11 Posts: 33
    A big spinach salad. 3 cups raw spinach, 1/2 cup beets, 1/2 cup corn, 2 tbsp chopped olives, 1 hard boiled egg, 2 tbsp Bragg Vinaigrette. 334 calories. That is just a sample. The possibilities are endless.Have fun with it :)
  • dmf80
    dmf80 Posts: 60
    The easiest way for me is to make double the amount of dinner the night before. Then I just take the leftovers as lunch the next day. It makes the morning run so much smoother just being able to reach into the fridge and grab and go. The time saved is worth eating the same thing 2 days in a row.
  • leslisa
    leslisa Posts: 1,350 Member
    I have berries with everything. Antioxidents and fat blockers, strawberries come in at only 24 cals for a 1/2 cup. If you like low fat or fat free cottage cheese, I love that with cantelope.

    "Fun" lunches for me are a salad with unsalted almonds, cranberries, pita chips (or potato chips if you need a little salt), and lime for dressing.

    I also love homemade foldit pizza's. The foldit is 90 cals and I add what I want to get to whatever caloretic intake I want. If I op for pepperoni, I use Hormel's turkey pepperonis, only 70 cals a serving, then low fat cheese and veggies as I want them. I toast it the night before and eat cold (I've always loved cold pizza).

    I also change up my breads so I'm not always taking the same blah sandwich. I use rice cakes, flat bread rounds, pitas, etc. Anything that keep my carb cal count below 100.

    Good Luck!! You can do this =)
  • WhatDoesLisa
    WhatDoesLisa Posts: 214
    I made this yesterday for lunch on Monday/Tuesday:

    -6oz can of water-packed tuna drained
    -1/2 chopped black olives
    -1/4 cup each of red onions, parsley, red bell pepper and artichoke hearts (thawed from frozen)
    - olive oil and fresh lemon juice mixed together and then poured over everything and mixed. You can get away with not much oil.

    It is kind of like a tuna nicoise salad without the potato and egg. I had it on top of GG Bran Crispbread crackers. Each cracker is 5 grams of fiber and 12 calories.

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