Work-friendly lunch ideas

[lolopopo27]

I'd love to hear what everyone does for quick-prep & healthy lunches. I am 24, work a desk job and I'm really bad about setting aside time to meal prep or pack lunches ahead of time. What are some great ideas for grab and go in the morning that I won't regret once I eat it at noon. Also, stuff that is FILLING. I am always hungry again by 1 or 2 p.m., which makes the afternoon just drag on.

[jdrosati]

I make a batch of veggies or chili or stew on the weekend, figure out the calories per serving, freeze it, and have an easy lunch to take out of the fridge and bring to work!

[GraceFitbit]

@jdrosati That's a great idea! My boyfriend does meal prepping every Sunday. He, like yourself, makes a huge meal then splits it into 5 portions, throws it in the fridge, then grabs them every morning for work.

@lolopopo27 You could try doing ^^. You should also prep healthy snacks that you can munch on throughout the day without feeling bad about snacking. My go-to snacks include fresh fruit, hummus, and hard-boiled eggs. You might be interested in checking out this thread for other lunch ideas 🙂

[JillC]

I make a "salad in a bag" several days a week and it takes about 2 minutes to prepare.

Open up a large ziploc baggie and throw in ingredients:

- prewashed spinach

- several kalamata olives

- sprinkle of feta cheese

- hard boiled egg

I have a small bottle of homemade balsamic vinagrette that I keep in my office and bring it home to refill when it's used up. Dump the baggie of ingredients onto a plate and drizzle dressing over. Salad contents vary with what is in the fridge - cherry tomatoes, berries, pine nuts, chopped bell pepper, diced chicken, diced ham, etc. My colleagues go out to the salad bar at the nearby Whole Foods and spend ten bucks for a salad that cost me maybe one dollar to prepare....

[GraceFitbit]

@JillC - Oooh! I need to try that. The baggies seem like a better idea than using Tupperware, which can take up a lot of room. Thanks for the share!

[SpiceChicken]

The big pot of something weekend suggestion is a good idea.  Using the slow cooker for stew/soup or chili makes things even easier.

[Cazza-70]

Hi,

I buy lots of tuna when it is on special at supermarket.. And i have a supermarket 5mins walk away from work so i buy an Asian or Garden Salad there every day mix it with my tins of Tuna and a few Walnuts.

Get to the fresh fruit market and buy all the fruit i need for the week eat fruit in between meals as snack.

Drink lots of water aim for 3 ltrs day..

This seems to keep me satisfied all afternoon..

Later in day when i am feeling the late afternoon snack coming on.. try to have a piece of fruit and Museli bar something healthy..

So Far so good, when i get home and cooking Dinner that is when i feel it.. Working on this one..

Carolyn.. 

[Cazza-70]

Soups are also a good choice.. Homemade ready for the week...

Also have found a love for Carrot & Celery Sticks Lately..

[ltspector]

Not going to lie, if you cook for two, you have left overs for the next day.  I like to do this a lot.  If you don't like to cook every night, I would suggest planning out some meals that can be made on a Sunday to save and eat through out the week.  Soups, and salads are a great idea.  I also like to cook up different chicken meals as well.  Never go wrong with chicken 🙂

[betpchem]

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SpiceChicken wrote:

The big pot of something weekend suggestion is a good idea.  Using the slow cooker for stew/soup or chili makes things even easier.

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I second this. I do that all the time. I make a one-pot meal in the slow cooker and bring it in all week. This week I'm eating a green chili I made with tomatillos. 

What I never know how to do is figure out how many calories I'm eating. It's one thing if it's a prepackaged food. But if I'm making it all from scratch, how do I know how to log it? 

[wbingham]

I like to prepare a week's worth of salads every Sunday night. I put them in a mason jar - toppings & dressing on bottom, lettuce on top. Layering it like that allows you to simply dump it out on a plate and enjoy! Also, the mason jar seems to keep the lettuce fresher for a longer period of time and is a pretty handy size for a lunchbox/bag.

[Charizma90]

Hell of a good idea. Thanks 🙂

[azuki]

The reality is that it does take some amount of time to prep for lunch, but it's so worth it. I use a lot of the suggestions provided. I make larger meals and package up leftovers/extras for meals throughout the week as well, adding some baby carrots and pre-sliced apples to round things out. Salmon salad (like tuna salad without as much mercury) is fairly filling. I like mine with sandwich bread or on top of romain lettuce leaves for a lower calorie option.

I don't care for store bought hummus, so I make my own. It can take as little as 15 minutes if you have a food processor. I timed it yesterday. 🙂 The result is way more delicious while actually being healthier. You get to control the ingredients and therefore the nutritional impact. Hummus and baby carrots are a very satisfying addition to the work lunch.

Prepping smoothie ingredients ahead of time can provide for a helathy breakfast. Try sweetening with dates and make sure to include some veggies (spinach or organic kale are usually good) in the fruit smoothies, along with ingredients that have staying power like rolled oats, protein powder, nuts, etc.

Speaking of nuts, almonds are a great additon for an afternoon snack. Not only do they help keep you satisfied for a good while (reducing bad snacking), they also don't seem to negatively impact my diet goals even if I over indulge a little.

[Kibbles314]

I like to cut up my veggies ahead of time (usually Sunday) so that I just have to throw them in my salad container with the leafy greens and other toppings. It helps to plan your meals for the week ahead of time as well

[SunsetRunner]

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@betpchem wrote:

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@SpiceChicken wrote:

The big pot of something weekend suggestion is a good idea.  Using the slow cooker for stew/soup or chili makes things even easier.

---

I second this. I do that all the time. I make a one-pot meal in the slow cooker and bring it in all week. This week I'm eating a green chili I made with tomatillos. 

What I never know how to do is figure out how many calories I'm eating. It's one thing if it's a prepackaged food. But if I'm making it all from scratch, how do I know how to log it? 

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What I do is first write down the brand and amount of each food item I put in the slow-cooker. Then, for each day I log 1/5 of the amount of each item I used (5 days per week of dividing the food.)

[lssaltman]

I am a salad girl myself, too.I make a huge baatch of chopped veg: celrey, carrots, radishes, peppers, cucumbers, ginger, endive, red cabbage, parsley.

i spoon it over a huge container of just lettuce and take a small container of dressing. I also eat some protein: leftover chicken, turkey or fish, or sometimes tofu.

[jdrosati]

Does anyone worry about tuna having too much mercury? The reason I am concerned is that I am reading about pregnant women should not have canned tuna at all. I LOVE tuna and probably would eat it every night if I could. Any feedback on the "goodness" or NOT of canned tuna??????

[jmkj111]

I like the bento-box like lunch about 28 grams of a variety of items. Example: 56 grams of ff cottage cheese w/spices, 28 grams of meat, 28 grams of humus, 5 grams of roasted seaweed or 25 grams of lettuce leaves (instead of crackers, it really works). 56 grams of sugar free pudding. About 90 mins later beef jerky or 14 grams of protein power w/broth for a snack

[LAdams9221]

I do the same with salad but I transport it in a mason jar.  That way it stays fresh and I can reseal it if I dont eat it all.  

[pverdun]

That is a great idea.