Weddingbee boards
I usually bring some soup, yogurt/granola, applesauce (or fruit) and flavored almonds for lunch/snack. It's a tad high in the sodium department, but overall low calories and (bad) fat. :)
Tuna sandwiches but not with regular mayo. Luna bars are really great too.
When I was dieting, my daily meals were turkey sandwich, pretzels, yogurt, grapes or apples, and then a Healthy Choice meal for dinner. I lost a ton of weight doing this and my trainer approved of the menu plan.
Well, this is pretty boring, but a good ole fashioned deli turkey sandwich (sliced deli from the counter is soooooo much better than the other stuff, and you can get more flavors too) with one slice of cheese, a little bit of mustard, and stick it in a pita or between whole wheat high fiber bread. Trader Joes makes an eggless mayo I like.
Bring a handful of almonds or some fruit.
You want a protein, a complex carb, and some fruit!
I make a salad too and put the dressing in it's own little container to pour on right before I'm going to eat it. The salad usually consists of spinach, dried cranberries, blue cheese crumbles, some nuts and any other veggies I might have in my fridge (mushrooms, cucumbers, etc). I get a lite dressing from Annies http://www.anniesnaturals.com/natural_dressings YUM.
I've been working on healthy lunches lately... I usually bring some cottage cheese, fruit (with peanut butter), multigrain crackers or chips, sometimes a yogurt, and often leftovers from the night before. My favorite leftover is ceaser salad!
I usually do turkey, lettuce, tomato wraps or salads with low cal dressing and dried cranberries. I've made a simple gazpacho before too and that was great.
These containers are awesome:
http://www.fit-fresh.com/products/transportation/
for lunches. The salad shakes has a small compartment for dressing and an ice pack in the lid. I carry it in a small insulated bag. Having nice containers makes for one less excuse for me!
If you have access to a microwave, you can bring leftovers. When I make dinner I usually make enough to bring for lunch. I also bring extra salad (with dressing on the side) to have, and then fruit for snacks. For a bit I did frozen meals, but found them to be less healthy and more expensive than just packing dinner.
One easy thing to do is make all your lunches for the week on Sunday (if you have time). You can bake/broil a bunch of chicken breasts and use them for salads, pastas, or wraps. Then have any snacks you want (chips, nuts, cheese) in small sandwhich bags, to make them easier to grab in the a.m.
I'm not crazy about the frozen meals either. I was eating them for a while but I lost my taste for them, plus they really aren't that inexpensive. Bringing leftovers is a better idea.
Campbells select harvest Light soups are very good (for the days that you want to use the microwave), also, I know it's been posted already by just plain ol' sandwiches are tasty and low in calories (well, if you go easy on the mayo) and fat. Try jazzing them up a bit by toasting your bread before you leave the house, it will still keep the 'toastiness' until lunch, or putting it on flat whole-grain pita bread.
Another thing I suggest for your 'microwave' days are Lean Cuisine frozen dinners (if you have access to a freezer). They are soooo good and filling too!
Sorry I don't have more advice for meals that don't need microwaved. I know 'sandwich' isn't a very creative answer, but really, I can't think of much else that would be solid meal-type food, and not just a snack.
How about hummus sandwiches for a quick, no microwave meal that isn't turkey? I like mine with some honey mustard, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Keep it simple. Pack a side of baked potato chips, sun chips, or some baby carrots to keep you full.
Salads are always great & easy - just throw it all in the same tupperware (I usually put some dressing in a zilploc back inside the container so the lettuce doesn't get soggy).
I know you don't have great access to a microwave but try it for a couple days & see how bad it is - I've been making huge pots of soup, pot roast, stew etc on Sundays then eating the leftovers for the rest of the week. It saves tons.
I also buy pizza dough, fill it with turkey or ham & cheese, roll it up & bake it - cut it into sections and it usually makes a couple sandwiches for the rest of the week.
FI and I bring our lunches every single day so we keep a list of lunch ideas on our fridge for when we are stumped. Some of our favorites are:
-Leftovers. I actually make double portions on the weekend so we have extra strictly for lunches. I also usually try to make a big pot of some kind of soup on the weekend because it makes for great leftover lunches. Easy peasy.
-Wraps. I make wraps Leftovers can go in wraps to change things up a bit. If we don't have leftovers I cook up a few chicken breasts. I put almost anything in a wrap: chicken, tuna, hummus, beans along with salad, spinach, peppers, peas, corn. I can usually fit more veggies in a wrap than on a sandwich. The best thing ever is to spread a thin layer of fat free cream cheese on the tortilla before putting anything on it.
-Dips. When I am really stuck I go for healthy dips: yogurt, cottage cheese, hummus, tuna. I bring a small container of dip plus fun things to pair with it. When I bring cottage cheese I also take red pepper strips and broccoli florets to dip along with whole wheat crackers or whole wheat pita bread. When I bring tuna I usually mix it with fat free mayo and add in some celery or relish for crunch and then bring tomato pieces and string cheese to dip, along with some other veggie like cucumbers. Yum!
I don't really have any further suggestions. I bring sandwiches, leftovers, or like today I had Wheat Thins with tuna and cheese on top. :P Not that great.
I just wanted to say that those food containers are brilliant! And very specific. ^_^ I like how the breakfast container is for cereal/granola, milk/yogurt and fruit, And with the ice packs? That's such a good idea.
bethenny frankel has a recipe for tofu salad that i love. its cheap, filling, healthy and yummy:)
I love really simple sandwiches with 35 calorie a slice bread and reduced fat PB&J ;)
I also love laughing cow light cheeses with light crackers along with grapes, an apple or some dried fruits
Along with a simple turkey sandwich I also love getting individual sized packs of almonds (we get ours at Trader Joes) or crackers. I also prefer Yoplait whipped yogurt. Yum!
What great ideas! Thanks so much bees. I will go grocery shopping this weekend and try to make some of those yummy, healthy, lunches!
You could make a light waldorf salad using yogurt instead of mayo. Make sure to include nuts and perhaps some chunks of baked chicken.
Hummus is always good. You can make your own with 2 cans of drained chickpeas (reserve the liquid), 1/3 c tahini (sesame paste), 1/3 c lime juice, 6 t garlic. Just whirl the ingredients in a food processor, adding up to 1/2 c reserved chickpea juice to thin. Season with salt & pepper. You can use it as the main ingredient in a sandwich, wrap, or pita, or as a sandwich spread. Or eat with toasted pita chips (I take my stale ones, use kitchen scissors and cut them into triangles and toast them in the oven at 300 to make them crisp) or veggies.
Greek yogurt is also good--it's more filling because it has more protein in it.
My favorite thing is a turkey salad... atleast thats what I call it! Lettuce (and whatever veggies I have on hand that won't go soggy) chopped turkey breast deli meat, slivered almonds, dried craberries & a little oil and vinegar dressing. It's so easy & fast, so I usually make this.
I also always keep laughing cow cheese, yogurt and fresh fruit on hand. Hummus & a red pepper is always delicious too! I don't even chop my peppers sometimes lol if I'm really lazy I'll just wash it & bite it like an apple (and scoop out the seeds obviously!!)
There are so many quick options available that are cheaper and sooo much healthier than eating out!
I'm all for the sandwich! When I met with a nutritionist she said it's hard to beat a lean deli meat on whole wheat bread with veggies! Also - if you like tomatoes, slice a few tomatoes and put them in a tupperware with balsamic vinegar and mozarella cheese. Yum, yum!
These are more healthy snack items to add to your lunch:
- string cheese
- trail mix (I like Trader Joe's Omega mix)
- baby carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower (cut up and served with yummus or greek yogurt)
- fruit
- hard-boiled eggs
- Lara bars
- Annie's Organic brand makes some good "instant"/microveable food
I love laughing cow cheese!!!
I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. They're sweet, but good for you too. And I know it's been said, but turkey sandwiches are my fave!!!
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Hi bees,
I am a grad student and I have an assistantship, so I work all day and then have a three hour class at night. So I am usually on campus for lunch and dinner time (I commute in from 20 miles away).
I really need some ideas for healthy, easy lunches to pack. I am trying to cut back on buying lunch because 1) it's expensive, 2) it's not always healthy, and 3) it's hard to get around down here. Since it's an urban university, parking is horrible and I would need to walk anywhere for lunch.
Do you have any suggestions? I am thinking healthy and relatively cheap, while easy to make. And preferable a mix of things that do and do not need to be microwaved. We only have one microwave for the whole floor!
Thanks bees!