Breakfast and Lunch Suggestions

[MultiMartin]

I'm planning on going on a diet in the new year but I'm struggling with ideas to take for work for lunch that do not involve a lot of carbohydrates. I have access to a microwave and a fridge at work and I'm looking for filling foods which allow me to have a more balanced diet.

I'm also looking for suggestions for breakfast - again which do not include as much carbohydrate and a little more balance. I do have a big appetite so also don't want to feel hungry.

Any suggestions greatly received! 

[slimjimmy]

Hey MultiMartin. Did you ever get any anything sorted for your dinner and breakfast, I was about to write a similar post.

Cheers

James

[MultiMartin]

@slimjimmy No results yet but if I find something I’ll post it here!

[emili]

@MultiMartin.. I think you may want to read up on macro and micro nutrients and figure out food "rules" that will work for you. work out several foundational meals and then plug and play with a little of this and a little of that with each meal. 

[MultiMartin]

@emili Thanks for the reply!

I've done quite a bit of reading up on "food rules" and nutrition and they all point towards balance. However, I'd love it if anyone had any fantastic recipes for breakfast or quick lunches that they could share that are not cereal or sandwich based.

[gtg947h]

I make "egg muffins" for breakfast (do a batch one day, eat them over the week).

I cook turkey sausage and distribute it in the muffin cups.  Use the same pan to cook some peppers and/or onions, add to cups.

Add a tablespoon or so of cheese to each cup. 

Crack and blend X eggs with seasoning (usually cayenne pepper and cumin), where X equals the number of muffin cups I've put things in.

Evenly distribute the egg mixture among the cups, bake at 400 for 19 min.

For lunch at work, I make two chicken wraps (one taco size tortilla, ~2.5-3oz chicken breast, 1/8 cup mozarella cheese, and some kind of low-calorie salad dressing). 

Afternoon snack, maybe baby carrots or something.

I've found I need to cut back on carbs and really hit the protein; anything else leaves me even hungrier than I am after this.

Af

[WendyB]

I like scrambled eggs for breakfast. Sometimes I add Canadian bacon and a little bit of cheese.

Also like Oatmeal with almonds, cranberries, fat free syrup and a little milk

Both are microwaveable in the morning

Lunch Winter time I make a lot of homemade soups.

Rest of the year I make salads big ones with different things in it all the time so I dont get bored

[aldensmith]

My Breakfast usually consists of coffee or tea with sandwiches with a lot of green veggies. Some time I preferred banana shake with bread omelet. For Lunch, I always prefer to eat light snacks with tea. It is easy to pack and carry as well.

[Baltoscott]

@MultiMartin -- here are my typical non-sandwich, non-cereal choices ...

Breakfast: usually some eggs, beans, whole grain, and veggies as a scramble or with the eggs sunny side up on top of the rest of the stuff heated up; example -- 2 eggs,1/4 cup beans (chickpeas or black beans cooked in the instapot over the weekend), 1/4 cup whole grain of some sort (wheatberries and farrow -- also cooked in instapot -- keep ok in the fridge and are easy to add), leftover veggies from prior meals or chopped onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes.  Add more veggies for bulk.  I will also usually have 1/2 cup of plain whole milk yogurt with 1/2 cup of berries and a scoop of protein powder added, and 1/4 to 1/2 whole milk with coffee sometime throughout the morning.  If I'm trying to gain weight I'll add some whole grain toast with nut butter.  Generally 500-800 calories (more with toast + nut butter).  Takes about 15 minutes to make  in the morning if you prep the add-ins (veggies, beans, grains).

Lunch: during the work week, I almost always get a spinach-based salad at a salad bar with beans, chicken or tuna, an egg, tomatoes, a grain of some kind, oil and vinegar dressing, a tablespoon or two of seeds or nuts, plus a variety of other vegges -- broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, etc.  The whole thing is usually about 1.2 lbs or so. I'll eat about 2/3 of it for lunch, and have the rest just before my commute home.  Also typically 500-800 calories.  

[TayJay13]

Good filling breakfast ideas I love are things like Protein Oatmeal, or overnight oats if you wanna be really quick out the door (I do 50g oats, 1 scoop of protein of choice, either a banana or berries, and a tbsp of nut butter or topping of choice), veggie omelettes, peanut butter toast (sprouted bread) with veggie egg scramble, protein smoothie loaded with fruit veggies and a tbsp of nut butter, or even things like breakfast sandwiches that you can make and freeze (english muffin, egg, turkey sausage/turkey bacon/canadian bacon, laughing cow cheese wedge, i add spinach too!). These are some of my personal faves! (forgot to mention protein pancakes- = mixes like you can get from Costco!)

For lunch, the staple protein carbs and veggies is always great. Having quinoa/potatoes/rice already cooked in the fridge makes life a lot easier. I also love eggs for lunch too, cause you can really do anything with them. Making chicken salad with greek yogurt and dijon mustard is great and can be added on top of salad, in lettuce wraps, or even on bread/wraps if you're in the sandwich mood. If you want something you can have prepared for the week and take to work, I love looking up healthy casserole recipes and trying new ones out pretty frequently!

[Eddious]

I most often for breakfast have a wholewheat wrap with BLT (or swap for chicken/turkey/etc) and a light sauce/dressing for some moisture. 

a reheated or even cold frittata also hits the spot. 

lunch is most often reheated left overs from the night before, a healthy meal bulked up so there are leftovers for a lunch (or maybe 2 depending on the menu the next evening). 

[SunsetRunner]

My favorite is still a mushroom, tri-color pepper and onion omelet. I'm talking a lot of mushrooms, as in 1-2 cups sliced. I sauté the mushrooms, onions and peppers first until soft, then either fold them into eggs or fill a traditional omelet. I have yet to find anything more filling and satisfying.