Easy ideas to pack for lunch?

Kristina921 · 08-23-2005, 02:41 PM

I am so NOT creative when it comes to food....I'm sooooo sooooo sooooo sick of smart ones "truth about carbs" meal...Bleh...I dont even really like them anyway! And sick of salad! Anyone have any good ideas for lunch stuff that I can eat at work?

Nikita · 08-23-2005, 02:54 PM

I need some ideas too, great thread. I take usually about 3 days a week a roasted turkey sandwcih on wheat with lite mayo and carrots or fruit to go with it. other than that i eat a frozen dinner too, healthy choice. i need some ideas too.

shortandbubbly · 08-23-2005, 03:10 PM

How about you make some egg or tuna salad??? You could put it on a bed of lettuce, or on some low carb whole wheat bread. Or you can put it on one slice and eat it with a fork and knife. Lunch is always a hard thing. OR, whenever yo uget some free time, (I know, so hard to come by, lol) you could make something up like a vegetable soup, and freeze a bunch of it in different containers. And take the container out of the freezer the day before and bring that to work with you. I hope that helps somewhat.

Ajani · 08-23-2005, 05:06 PM

There are more creative salads out there. Like this one...

Salad Nicoise

For Salad
4 medium potatoes, boiled in salted water (you can use less, but a few pieces won't hurt... there's lots of protein here)
4 eggs, hard boiled
1 small can of tuna fish, water packed
2 medium white onions
1 cucumber
1 green pepper
20 olives of your choice, pitted
40 grape or small cherry tomatoes
For the dressing
4 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 small can of anchovy filets (optional, but if you don't use them you may want to add salt)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pepper to taste
1 Peel the boiled potatoes, remove the shells from the eggs and drain the canned tuna and anchovy filets.

2 Cut the eggs into quarters, cut the cucumber and potatoes into 1/4” thick circles and slice the onion and pepper finely.

3 Take a large platter arrange the salad ingredients decoratively in sections around the plate. Sprinkle the olives and tomatoes over all.

4 Mix the ingredients of the dressing, mashing the anchovies finely and pour it over the salad. You can serve it immediately or keep it in the refrigerator before serving.

Serves 4

Beyond that, you could take spreads like hummus or baba ganouj (lower in carbs) and low carb pitas, or even veggies to dip. Some string cheese and nuts would round the meal out nicely.

Jlynnleal · 09-02-2005, 04:32 PM

I am also looking for lunch ideas for DD who has pcos. It's hard because there are no ways to refridgerate (sp) or microwave at school. NEED HELP! School lunches are full of carbs and starch!

purplemartini · 09-06-2005, 04:32 PM

my husband a i are trying to loose weight so this is what i pack for him and i usually prepare it the night before.

simply 4 oz piece of chicken breast...i put garlic salt on it and put it on the george forman grill for 5 minutes, steam up some vegetable which i buy frozen and mixed and that's it... it's healthy, filling and yummy! i also do the same with fish filets... good luck!

shllss · 09-07-2005, 02:36 PM

It takes a little work - but I usally pack the ingredients for a greek salad and put them together at work. I use:

Fresh spinach / romaine lettuce
green onions
pineapple tidbits (unsweetened)
red beets (not too many - just for flavor)
feta cheese (YUM)
and a low fat ceaser dressing I think
Newman's makes one that tastes just like greek

Rozlynn · 09-07-2005, 03:30 PM

Lets see.
I used to do veggie soup and a salad with 4 crackers or a pita.
Chicken on a Pita with greek sauce lettuce, tomato and Onion (doesn't have to be warm)
Country style bbq ribs (left over from a night before) with rice or veggies
Good Ole PB & J
Veggie Dip and veggies
Fruit and low cal yogurt or dip
2 Apple cin Rice cakes with 2 tablespoons PB, Small orange

OH if you get Vanilla yogurt, some granola, and some blueberries Tastes just like McDonalds Fruit and Yogurt Parfait - Thats always a yummy one and lo fat, low carb, nutrious

Susannah · 09-08-2005, 07:53 PM

My husband got one of those microwave omelette pans. He'll take the eggs in a bag that has a cooled secion (really, eggs can go a long time without being cooled, that's not a big deal). He'll take a little bit of shredded cheese, some salsa, and sometimes mushrooms to add to it. He also likes to take soup, he'll warm it in the microwave at lunch time. When we cook dinner, sometimes I'll try to cook extra and make him a plate to take to work the next day. Oh, and sometimes he'll have pasta (we like the Barilla plus, it's got lots of fiber) that's already been cooked, he'll just warm it up along with the sauce on top. It wouldn't be too hard to cook the pasta in the microwave, either, just heat the water to almost boiling, then let the noodles sit in the water til they're soft (I'd think probably 15-20 minutes).

A good microwave cookbook might give you some ideas you haven't thought of. You can do almost everything in a microwave, it seems.

Mya · 09-09-2005, 12:35 AM

most times i make extra for dinner (veggie/meat) and eat the left overs for lunch... or
slices of cheese and lunch meat
sliced cucumber and tomato - instead of salad, they can get sickning
tuna (mixed the mayo and celery) on top of salad
cottage cheese and fruit
whole wheat pita filled with any kinda meat/lettuce/cheese/tomato/mayo
chili - this is healthy and filling - i usually make a pot an freeze single portions
this might sound gross but just like wendy's taco salad i make a salad (lettuce tomato, cheese) then i put chili and sour cream on top.... yummy!!
soup - with a whole wheat bagel
hard boiled eggs or egg salad
fruit salad and yogurt -- i love yogurt i have 1 evey day
quiche - any kind,, they usually re-heat well
use left over chicken from dinner in a salad
melba toast and cream cheese
pizza on whole wheat crust
also for the person who asked about school lunched, you can use any of these and keep hot stuff in a thermas and add an ice pack for cold stuff.

hope this helps

sweetums · 09-12-2005, 04:46 AM

Mya, can you tell me how you make your chili? My hubby and I both love chili, but it seems like every time I try to make it, it's full of carbs. Is that normal? Are those "good carbs"? Sorry if I sound stupid, I'm just at my wits end with coming up with meal ideas!

Manders

nicole47 · 09-12-2005, 12:27 PM

I'm not Mya, but what kind of carbs do you put in your chili? If it's just beans, they're the good kind of carbs. The only thing that's remotely bad for you that goes into chili is the meat (unless you add sugar)-- you should be safe. The great thing about chili is you can't really make it incorrectly-- it's just a different style of chili depending on what and how much you add.

My chili (Midwestern style):
Fry onions and beef (opt) with chili powder, cumin (opt), cayenne (opt) and garlic salt (opt)
add a big can of diced tomatoes
adjust spices to taste
add a can of chili/red/black beans (opt)
simmer until right consistency (add tomato paste if it's too watery and you're in a hurry)

Rozlynn · 09-13-2005, 01:48 PM

I totally forgot about this one until now...

Get a box of whole wheat or normal speghetti Boil it - Cut up cucumbers and tomato's and toss in with cooled pasta...put your favorite italian dressing some basil salt pepper...Its soo good like a quick pasta salad

shllss · 09-13-2005, 03:00 PM

Hey Amanda - I stole my recipe for chili from Wendy's version on topsecretrecipes.com. I substiute ground turkey for the ground beef (EXCELLENT). Depending on taste, you may want to experiment with the amount of cumin / chili powder you use. I LOVE IT!!