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.

[lssaltman]

One word: Leftovers. Whatever I make for dinner (chicken, fish, etc), I save a small piece and put in a container for lunch. Along with my huge salad of course!

[pverdun]

Thank you.

[eupepsia]

I cook in bulk - rice, beans, and chicken.  Sometimes I add non fat Greek yogurt (sour cream replacement) and non fat mozzarella.  Really good!

I like to pack hummus, whole wheat bread, and cucumbers/carrots/snap peas too!

[FranDuffy]

Although I'm not quite a worker, I do go to High School. Now, for my lunches I go on an alternating schedule like this: Monday, Wednesday, Friday I have soup in a thermos, an apple wrapped in foil (this does make it a little borwn, but still tastes good) with a little container of caramel, and then normally some gold fish (which my coach tells me is good if I eat before 1:00PM for a race at 4:30 (good for the carbs).

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll have a pre-prepared salad, also with the apple and caramel and some goldfish. Since I have the last available lunch everyday, I'll have a granola bar after my first block of school. Hope this helped! 

[Enchantednanny]

Weight and measure what you put in the pot. Look up the caloric information in the food log for the total calories etc. for each item. I like to put this in the anytime space so all of the item get added together in a group, for the total of the entire batch.  When your weekly potful of deliciousness is done divide the contents into equal serving sizes. I do not know how to make fit bit log do thie next part. Divide the total number of calories by your number of serving. This gives you calories per serving. Give your concoction a name and enter it as a create a food.  When you're done don't forget to delete the foods from your anytime section.

---

Soups and stews usually freeze well. I will sometimes make more than one in a weekend and freeze some for future weeks. This can help break up lunchtime manotany that leads me to feeling deprived. I use masking tape tp write what it is on top of the container.

[Diana_P]

Curried Tuna Salad!

1 can white tuna (water packed and drained)

4 Tbsp nonfat or lowfat plain greek yogurt

chopped red onion

chopped cilantro

salt, pepper and curry powder to taste

a squeeze of lemon juice

makes 2 servings (about 60 calories each)

great as a  wrap, with pita chips, or to stuff a tomato!

[Diana_P]

Measure all your ingredients as you go.  You can look up their nutritional info at www.calorieking.com, add them all up and divide by the number of servings.  Make sure you write it on your recipe for future reference.  It is a little bit of a pain, but you only have to do it once.  We have a diabetic daughter, so we always do this for carbs anyway.

[MelissaTai]

What is your recipe for hummus? I love hummus and would like to make my own..

Thank you,

Melissa

[jankay]

find a similar recipe online that lists the calorie count so that you have a good estimate of what your's is

[Queen_Cookie]

One of my favorite lunches is 4 oz of fat free cottage cheese & strawberries and a breakfast sandwich.  Lean Cuisine makes some tasty ones (turkey sausage & canadian bacon).  Nice combo, filling and it is easy.

[klmontz]

On Sundays I do the following:  hard boil eggs (15, 3 per day) separate into 5 containers - I toss the yolks so I only have egg whites (texture issue), I purchase guacamole in individual serving containers, hummus in individual containers (I can and do make my own but the individual serving portion by Sabra taste delicious and don't go bad as quickly as fresh), baby carrots, portion out 1/2 cup of 2% cottage cheese, large containers of grape/cherry tomatoes, salsa, fresh pre-cut veggies. I cover three chicken breasts in garlic powder, Cayenne, granulated onion, salt, pepper, let it sit for an hour or so in the fridge and then put some olive oil in a dutch oven, add the chicken breasts, bake 350 covered for 15 minutes, uncover and bake another 15 minutes. Slice and put into 5 baggies or containers for lunch.

I package everything on Sunday so I don't have to think in the morning. It ends up like this:

Breakfast:  3 hard boiled eggs (whites only), one container of guacamole and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese.

Lunch:  Chicken breast, salsa, usually broccoli or cauliflower (pre-cut from the store)

Snack:  Hummus, carrots, tomatoes

I personally don't mind the repetition and dinner is always something different and sometimes I'll take leftovers for lunch.  Sometimes you just have to break down and plan.

Almonds are good for protein (no more than a 1/4 cup - they have good fat but you should never overdo), as is Greek yogurt but seriously?  Eat breakfast. It really does make a difference. I eat breakfast around 8 at my desk and lunch is anywhere from 11 to 1 - depends on the day. Lots of water. You get used to that as well.

Good luck!

[klmontz]

You didn't ask this question from me but this:  http://ellysaysopa.com/2010/06/20/hummus/

Elly is awesome - she has a great food website and this recipe for hummus is delicious. Make it her way the first time and then make changes to your personal taste.  Personally I use less tahini, more garlic and 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Enjoy!

[michlc]

I have a container that is divided into three sections.  In the larger section I put cut up veggies, such as cucumbers, sweet peppers, grape tomatoes. On the weekend I will get a bunch of boneless skinless chicken breasts, season and cook them, cut them into serving size pieces and freeze them.  Then when I am making my lunch I put a piece of the chicken in one of the smaller sections of my container, sometimes with some hot sauce.  Then in the other smaller section I put whatever I feel like, such as crackers, olives, dill pickles.   

In another small container I put some plain greek yogurt with a little drizzle of honey.  I also throw a piece of fruit in my lunch bag, such as an apple.  For snacks I have a granola or snack bar (Pamela's Whenever Bars are my current favourite) or a packet of Korean roasted seaweed. 

When I get tired of chicken I replace it with some hummus, tuna, sardines or salmon.  

[shelzbit]

great idea! another thing i like to do is marinate chickpeas in a mason jar: cumin, garlic, and thinly sliced red onion--add balsamic and some olive oil, and you have a great salad topper!

[HelenaFitbit]

I do bento boxes, usually I have time on sundays so I cook pretty much pasta, rice, meats and weigh them. 

I try to get the bento box done the night before and only put in the fresh fruit + veggies in the morning so they won't go mushy. 

Slow cookers are on my wishlist, I've got a ton of recipes on queue 

[JessicaJME]

I am big on meal prep these days, it sure makes mornings a lot quicker. Not to have to figure out what to have for lunch or breakfast before work saves me a lot of time! I am 25 and I also sit at a desk 8 hours a day. I was introduced to meal prep through my personal trainer, there are tons of cookbooks and other resources online as well. My best friend is the mason jar! I put EVERYTHING in them. I purchased 6 packs of three different sized mason jars, some are for my breakfast and others for lunches. My go-to for breakfast is greek yogurt and fresh berries, high protein to keep you full longer. On a Sunday I would get my yogurt and mason jars out and put about 3/4 cup of yogurt and add the berries, you could add anything, nuts, honey, whatever you like. I make enough to last me the whole work week. Another convenient thing, is a big batch of soup. It's pretty cold here, so a nice bowl of soup for lunch is very good. I would use large mason jars and keep 1 at work - it would make about 3 lunches for me. You can use the larger mason jars to make mason jar salads! Keeping your veggies in the glass protects them from spoiling so quickly. 

[HelenaFitbit]

I LOVE mason jars! I've been doing overnight oats and cous cous on those babies; pinterest is full of recipes!

[Lisawith3dogs]

I usually set aside one Sunday per month and make soup, and lots of it.  Made from scratch, with lots of vegies. I make at least 2 or 3 different kinds, plus something like turkey chilli.  I put everything in individual containers and label before putting it in the freezer. Just before I get in my car in the morning, I grab one from the freezer in the garage. That way I always have a nutritious meal for lunch. 

I also pre-make wraps, boiled eggs etc, and keep them handy.  I buy snack size baggies and fill them with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, raw vegies.....There is a clear box in my fridge for lunch items and a basket on my counter for snacks that dont need refridgeration. I try and make enough on sunday to last for the work week. I don't have time to prepare stuff on work days, so spending a few hours getting organized on a weekend is crucial for me. 

[HelenaFitbit]

Great tip @Lisawith3dogs ! I should start freezing week meals and separating snacks into baggies; that will certainly help me 

Happy holidays! 

[pverdun]

Thank you so much for the insight and ideas. This is definitely an area I
must improve on this upcoming year.