Healthy lunch ideas?

Re: Healthy lunch ideas?

• Mrs Acorn Blue

  March 2012

  I just bring leftovers from the night before with some extra veggies and fruit.  I'd get bored eating the same thing every day for lunch.  Some ideas though if you want to do that are chili, chicken noodle soup, chicken salad w/ veggies and NF greek yogurt over greens or spaghetti.

  Report0 Reply
• jennashadow

  March 2012

  I try to eat a healthy lunch each day, because I know my dinner my not be the most healthy.  I go to the supermarket on a Sunday morning and spend a few hours on Sunday cutting up various fruits and vegetables:

  I normally make a salad for the week in a big bowl.  I usually use bagged/prewashed lettuce mixes, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded carrots, and onions.   When I portion it out for lunch I throw in some raw almonds, cheese, sunflower seeds, the precut, precooked chicken pieces, and some fruit.  Just put plastic wrap on the top of the bowl and throw in a coffee filter to suck up all the moisture (works great). 

  I normally make a soup throughout the winter months.  The best vegetable soup recipe so far is:  2-3 cans of chicken/vegetable broth  (I like to do a 2:1 ratio), then some tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, precut at the store or canned: corn, carrots, onions, celery, peas, green beans, white kidney beans.  Add some water and some seasoning and you're good to go.  I sometimes put in a little pasta or potatoes, but they seem to suck up all the water and broth.

  I also find precutting fruit and vegetables and throwing them into sandwich baggies helps to save time during the week when I make lunch.  I normally throw in a string cheese or yogurt, along with some peanut butter or hummus to have with the vegetables.

   Although these lunch options are simple, they are an easy way to watch what you eat.  The only tough part is the food shopping and giving up a few hours to prep.  Good luck,. 

  

  
  Make a pregnancy ticker

  Report0 Reply
• jennili

  March 2012

  I've been making a whole chicken in the slow cooker on Sunday and then cutting it up/shredding it. Then, I bring a salad of spinach, chicken, craisins, banana peppers, and fresh mini sweet peppers with a pomegranate balsamic vinegar. I usually pack a fruit and some Greek yogurt and that keeps me pretty darn full. I've been eating this salad for 2 weeks straight now and I'm not sick of it yet! When I do get sick, I'll switch it up with a different lettuce, add nuts, etc.

  making every bite count dough see dough

  Report0 Reply
• humpforfree

  March 2012

  I usually eat some variation of salad and/or soup (that I make on Sunday and portion out for the week), fruit (depending on what is in season and cheapest), greek yogurt and then if I am running after work some sort of extra protein.

   This week I will be having a wrap w/turkey breast, brie and apple (I'll probably microwave at work), homemade roasted cauliflower and cheddar soup, yogurt and fruit.

  For awhile I was stuck on pita pizzas since I could get all the ingredients at the farmer's market in the summer (pita, diced tomatoes, fresh mozz & basil- layer and microwave at work). When I make chili or something in the crockpot, I freeze several portions in individual baggies and some mornings I just pull one of those out of the freezer and microwave it at work.
  

  Report0 Reply
• AGsWife member

  

  March 2012

  On Sunday mornings, I put a few chicken breasts in my slow cooker then shred them when they're done. I use this chicken for chicken salad sandwiches, filling for enchiladas, burritos, on top of brown rice, etc. throughout the week.

  I also make a large portion of hard boiled eggs. I use these in my lunches or for snacks all week.  (I just eat the whites.) Now that it's Lent, I like to make egg salad on Fridays (using just the whites, or with half a yolk thrown in for color/flavor/texture.)   

  I typically bring a lot of leftovers for lunch - I just make extra servings of dinner and pack it up when I serve. With this, I throw some frozen veggies in a snack sized bag (broccoli, green beans, etc.) They're defrosted by lunch time and I don't mind eating them cold (if you have a microwave, you can heat them up.)

  For lunch sides, I love cut up veggies (carrots, peppers, celery, cucumber) with a bit of hummus or ranch, fruit, etc.  

  For snacks, I like to buy nuts and portion them out into snack sized bags so I can grab them and go (Trader Joe's has a great variety of nuts with fun mix-ins.) 

  I love skinnytaste.com for recipe ideas - her recipes are easy to follow and not very time consuming. You could make a bunch on a Sunday and have them ready to go for the week (Some of my favorites are her enchiladas, chicken with mushrooms in white wine sauce, grilled chicken with mozzarella and spinach, chicken alla parmigiana . . . so good.) 

  ?"All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share."
  
  
  GP buddy to blenderdance
  
  

  Report0 Reply
• psyri

  March 2012

  I purposely make extra food for dinner and take the leftovers for lunch the next day. It takes as much time and effort to make 2 portions as it does to make 4 portions. Like others have said, chilis, soups, and stews are good options (plus they usually taste better the second time around). Chicken tortilla soup is one of my standbys. Low-sodium chicken broth, canned chicken or leftover rotisserie chicken cut into bite-size pieces, 1 can of black beans and corn, 1 jar of salsa (~12-16 oz), 2 tablespoons cumin. Throw all that into a pot, bring to a simmer, and at the end add a few handfuls of crumbled tortilla chips or cooked rice or quinoa. I make chicken wonton soup a lot too. That is even easier. Bring chicken broth to a boil, add a bowl of frozen vegetable medley (carrots, corn, beans, & peas, or whatever you like), add frozen chicken wontons (Costco has had a giant bag of them, or Trader Joe's has them too in a smaller quantity) and heat for about 5 minutes til the wontons are heated up.
  

  Karen 7.28.07
  
  Running on the Rhode
  
  I hate you very much
  

  Report0 Reply