Lunchbox lunches

[ozzie225]

What can I take to work that is cheap, easy to make, filling and tastes good? I take my lunch every day but sandwhiches are full of calories and not very filling..

[Mege]

Most days I stop by a salad bar - they will fill you up if you include more fiberous vegetables like broccoli and some garbanzo or black beans. Usually the most caloric part of my salad is the cheese, but watch out for the dressings - they will double your calories fast!!

[Raviv]

My standard is a hardboiled egg or two and a salad.  Bonus if there is some meat left over from the night before that I can throw on top of the salad.  Cheese, nuts and pickles are also good, and my very favorite side is blue cheese stuffed olives.  Cut up veggies are also easy if you want a little crunch.

[LizziePooh]

@ozzie225

What worked for me was having a freezer at work since I was late enough without needing to pack a lunch. lol

I kept frozen grilled chicken strips and frozen veggies at work. I would bring my rice each day and eat with the chicken and veggies. I would cook my rice at home and divide it up into portions in little baggies. That way I just needed to grab a bag of rice before I left.

Also, if you have a sandwhich place that you can walk to, that is always good. You can get some exercise in at lunch time and grab a sandwhich.

Good luck. 🙂

[LizziePooh]

@Raviv blue cheese stuffed olives sound yummy!!! 🙂

[Raviv]

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@LizziePooh wrote:

@Raviv blue cheese stuffed olives sound yummy!!! 🙂

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They really are, and they're only around 10 calories each for fairly large olives.

Honestly, olives in general are highly underrated food!

[ozzie225]

That would be good but I have to bring it in a lunchbox. I could try and make it at home first though.

[HelenaFitbit · Accepted solution]

I love lunch boxes! Here's a thread about work-friendly lunch ideas.

Personally, I think Bentos are the best way to go around packing a healthy, filling and fun lunch. Here's a thread on MyFitnessPal that has been an inspiration to create my bentos 

A basic idea on how a bento is distributed is  4 parts carbs : 2 parts protein : 1 part vegetables : 1 part fruits). I sometimes pack 2 parts of veggies inside the bento (skip fruit section) and prepare a separate container just for fruits.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions

[ozzie225]

Bento boxes.... Very Cool..

[Annie-NH]

on Sunday evenings I bake 3-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, covered in spices.

I make up a large bowl of salad and I have lunch for 3 days as well as chicken and more salad to go with dinner or be dinner.  I vary the veggies and the dressing for a little change of taste,

Quite inexpensive and the prep is all done on a day off. I pack it into containers in the evening so in the morning after my walk, I just pack my lunch bag, I throw in a couple of yogurts and some raw veggies for snacking.

[Joni63]

I always cut up a head of either romaine or red leaf lettuce. I rinse it in a colander, after it drains I pat with a paper towel, then fold a paper towel and slip it in zip locs, and put app. 2 cups of lettuce in each. So, for lunch, I grab a baggie of lettuce, 2 tbsp light raspberry vinaigrette in a seal tight container, a Chobani simply 100, and a Kashi honey flax and almond bar, and put blue ice on top. It's easy, convenient and it tastes great.

[HelenaFitbit]

Those are great ideas @Joni63 and @Annie-NH! I never thought about packaging my own salad for the week; I've been spending so much on prepackaged salad bags 

[awood08]

My favorite lunch is:

3 oz grilled fresh chicken breast (low sodium mild salsa for flavor)

1/2 cup of boiled brown rice (1 tsp of butter for flavor)

1 cup of steamed brocoli (little salt)

1 oz low fat part skim mozzarella or 2% reduced fat cheddar

This keeps me full from lunch until I am on my way home. Plus all of this can be cooked at one time in bulk and divided up daily for a week planned of meals!

[MRose]

This question plagues me! I'm always looking for the cheap/healthy/fast trifecta lunch!

One of the things I like to do (which, keep in mind, this works best if you have a fridge available) is take 2-3 chopped hard-boiled eggs and mix them with a mashed avocado, a bit of black pepper, and rosemary. You can top a lettuce bed with it or make a sandwich/pita pocket, but I honestly like it plain!

Another quick idea: Take strips of raw bell pepper and wrap lunch meat around it, and dip it in mashed avocado or guacamole. Serve with carrots/celery and tomatoes on the side.

My go-to is baked chicken tenders. I make 3 days worth over the weekend and they save fairly well if you have a microwave available. There is a recipe here, but I usually just do them "naked" to avoid the flour. Also, if they're "naked" you can eat them cold, no problem.

[ozzie225]

Sounds good but, no fridge or microwave. I usually eat on the go out of my lunchbox.

[WendyB]

@MRose That sounds really good. I love avocado! I will give it a try for sure 

[MRose]

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@ozzie225 wrote:
Sounds good but, no fridge or microwave. I usually eat on the go out of my lunchbox.

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Understandable. If you have a cold pack (one of those magical stays-frozen-forever things?) or if your lunchbox is insulated you should be good. I don't have to put it in the fridge, but I work in an office building so the environment is fairly cool.

[HelenaFitbit]

Lol @MRose you just reminded me of this: 

I do my avocados, I could eat them all day. 

There are several lunch boxes from Rubbermaid that already include an icepack, they are called Lunch Blox and they are awesome! 

[Mcore]

Hey @HelenaFitbit, I think I'm becoming a Bento's fan thanks to you  I need all the help I can get to eat healthy. 

Thanks!

[tmspears14]

I use a bento box sometimes, but other times I make bowls with rice, meat (pulled pork, roasted chicken, whatever I have leftover), black beans, corn or some other veggie, and then sometimes add a little soy sauce, salsa, or just cheese.  I also make carnitas and then use it for the bowls, or quick tacos with pickled red onions or carrots, cabbage or things like that.  I work rotating shift so I've gotten pretty good at making something I can change up over the 3 - 4 days I'm on.  This week I made banh mi wraps and chicken souvlaki with tzatziki and lettuce/cherry tomatoes.  They were both good and having them on low carb tortillas/pitas made them pretty low calorie and they were very fresh tasting.