I need work lunch ideas!

[nageov3t]

not sure if this should go in OT or Health and Fitness... but my New Year's resolution is to: a) stop going out for lunch every day at work, and b) eat healthier.

one big problem is that I work 11 hour days, and I'm usually at work for 2.5 meals (my typical day is 8 am - 7 pm... breakfast when I first get into work, lunch around 12 - 1 pm, and then a small meal/snack around 5-6 pm followed by another small meal when I get home). by the time I get home from work at 8 pm, I'm nearly always too tired to think about doing anything more complicated in the kitchen than throwing something in the microwave.

so, any suggestions on healthy stuff I could cook on a Sunday and take to work for lunch/dinner the rest of the week? my ideal is high protein, low carb (not that I'm doing atkins or any kind of fad diet, but I find that protein gets me full faster and keeps me full longer than carbs)

my usual take-out lunches tend to be chicken and rice (not that healthy... fatty chicken and god knows what's in the sauce), sushi, taco salads (with no taco and no sour cream), pizza, and sandwiches.

breakfast at work is either yogurt or a buttered roll, and dinner is usually just leftovers from lunch.

 

[SandEagle]

what about Boost protein shakes?

 

[Imp]

I finally started bringing my lunch over the past few weeks to save about $11/day.

Only difference is I don't give too much a shit about healthy... Just "non-toxic" meaning no canned foods, no plastic being microwaved, no trans fat, and other stuff I can't think of.

Right now, it's frozen shepherd's pie, store bought meat patties, and mac and cheese. When I get super lazy, I make the "healthy" Kraft dinner that comes with vegetable pasta and extra stuff added. I've also found that dry, milk-less cereal is a great snack at work -- especially good because you don't need to buy/maintain a milk supply.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Lately I've been bringing in one or more of the following (all homemade):

Chicken/turkey chili
Grilled chicken + fruit
chicken fajitas
Beef empanadas

All of the above can be made in mass quantities on a weekend and used over the course of a week.

 

[sao123]

Here has been my lunch for most of this year...
Breakfast
String cheese, cup of yogurt, and a Banana

Lunch
Tuna Salad on Wheat with provolone... and a bowl of fresh oranges & pineapple slices

 

[bigrash]

Make a big sandwich, and you can eat it during lunch and maybe the rest for snack.

Or make pasta. Super easy.

 

[BD231]

Sandwiches are total health food packed with lean meats (no red) mayo and veggies between two slice's of bread, sourdough digests the slowest so try and find good bread that you like. Cook your own meat or eat at deli's that cut their own. If you need more than just a sammy in the day time bring healthy canned soups and heat them up. Frozen burritos from health food stores use good quality beans/rice/veggies/meats and they're generally very low/balanced in calories. If you like Chinese make your own with stir fry veggies in sauce's from health food stores and add your own fats like olive oil. Get yourself a rice cooker which takes like 30 minutes as well. Baking fish takes like 15 minutes, boiling chicken in water valentina/siracha and other spices takes like 25 to 30, stir fry veggies take 15. Just grab the seasonings and buy in bulk, cook the night before or wake up a little early if you prefer fresh food. Try an add a cooking session somewhere in your day, even if it's just one and only for thirty minutes.

Keep your carbs to about 100 to 150 if you feel like you want to slim down a little, load up on veggies, increase your lean meats a bit and make sure you're getting healthy fats like mayos and oils, not saturated like cheeze or rib meat. For breakfast a quick protein shake made with milk and a 15 minute eggs/turkey bacon dish is a good way to cut out carbs/fat and keep your energy/muscle mass up.

 

[nageov3t]

thanks for the ideas so far :thumbsup:

I'm thinking hard boiled eggs could be a good breakfast idea... I could cook up a dozen on Sunday and take 3 to work every day (4 day work-week). 2 for breakfast, and 1 as a snack.

 

[bonkers325]

2 eggs for breakfast is good. throw in some greek yogurt and you're good to go!

lunch, you can pack a salad and mix it up at the office. i like walnuts, black beans, olives, cherry tomatoes, and oaxaca (its cheaper than mozzarella).

dinner is the tough part... try to make enough to last 2-3 days . get a rice cooker and have some brown rice, make yourself a nice stew, and stir fry some veggies in olive oil. usually i prepare the whole week of dinner on sunday, pack it into tupperware and stuff it in the fridge (or freezer) and make rice on the day of.

 

[rasczak]

Make a big batch of spaghetti and meatballs, freeze and re-heat. Pack a salad on the side, and there you have it.

 

[BurnItDwn]

What I would do if I didn't want to go out for lunch, is stop at the local mexican place after work, buy a bunch of extra food, and then bring the leftovers to work for lunch. Or, go to fast food for dinner, and bring the leftovers for lunch.

That way, you can eat the same food at lunchtime.

The downside is that it will not help accomplish any of your goals at all, as it will not save you money, nor would it be healthy.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

1) skip breakfast eat a huge lunch (lean gains)
2) skip breakfast and dinner eat a huge meal (warrior diet)
3) 28g of almonds or
1/2c oats + 1 scoop whey + 70g of frozen blueberries or
egg sandwich on toast with a dash of salt
227g of greek yogurt + 1/2c of oats + 35g of frozen blueberries + 1tsp splenda
4) chicken n rice + salsa or quinoa + lots of green veggies or beans

That's what I'd do.

 

[blackdogdeek]

There are few threads in H/F about healthy meals on a work schedule. Here is my (paleo) eating log over a 30 day period:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2261360&highlight=whole30

I was subject to the same constraints as you. What I did was find healthy alternatives that I could buy while at work like rotisserie chicken and salad bars (just avoid dressing or stick to oil and vinegar) and burger joints that made fresh burgers (go with lettuce wrap instead of bun). For home meals, I would grill about 10 chicken breasts over the weekend and then reheat them with some olive oil and white wine vinegar for quick dinners and eat them with some steamed broccoli or grape tomatoes. You could do something similar and take the leftovers to work.

 

[Insomniator]

The thing about sandwiches is that they are NOT cheap. A pound of decent meat is 8 bucks... plus bread/veggies etc. It probably costs me 5 dollars to make a sandwich when i can just buy a (likely) better one for 7 dollars at the local deli. I can't be bothered to save 2 bucks a day... I guess the idea is that im underestimating how much i spend on lunch every day and overestimating what it costs to make it.

Last night we roasted a 3lb pork loin in the convection oven and it came out amazing and super easy. That was 11 dollars and I bet that + some veggies would last me 5 days of lunch for real cheap. Hmmmmmm.

 

[Wyndru]

Cost-wise I wouldn't be saving much if any bringing in my own lunch. A lot of fast food lunches I buy are below $5 (with a drink), and fill me up more than a sandwich I would have to make and bring in, and will probably cost more than $5 to make. Even Subway $5 footlongs are quite a bit of food for the money. I never used to eat out, but lately I've been doing it a lot.

Health-wise I need to try and eat better (although cold cut meat isn't exactly healthy). I'm gaining way too much weight, and pretty much stopped exercising and haven't been back to my doctor for my statin prescription, so I'm probably not doing too well in the health dept right now.

 

[SMOGZINN]

One word: Bento.

 

[Imported]

Turkey meatloaf. I make it about every 3 weeks and have it the whole week for lunch.

I usually rotate between the meatloaf, quinoa patties and baked turkey meatballs and also supplement with leftovers.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Sandwiches are total health food packed with lean meats (no red) mayo and veggies between two slice's of bread, sourdough digests the slowest so try and find good bread that you like. Cook your own meat or eat at deli's that cut their own. If you need more than just a sammy in the day time bring healthy canned soups and heat them up. Frozen burritos from health food stores use good quality beans/rice/veggies/meats and they're generally very low/balanced in calories. If you like Chinese make your own with stir fry veggies in sauce's from health food stores and add your own fats like olive oil. Get yourself a rice cooker which takes like 30 minutes as well. Baking fish takes like 15 minutes, boiling chicken in water valentina/siracha and other spices takes like 25 to 30, stir fry veggies take 15. Just grab the seasonings and buy in bulk, cook the night before or wake up a little early if you prefer fresh food. Try an add a cooking session somewhere in your day, even if it's just one and only for thirty minutes.

Keep your carbs to about 100 to 150 if you feel like you want to slim down a little, load up on veggies, increase your lean meats a bit and make sure you're getting healthy fats like mayos and oils, not saturated like cheeze or rib meat. For breakfast a quick protein shake made with milk and a 15 minute eggs/turkey bacon dish is a good way to cut out carbs/fat and keep your energy/muscle mass up.

Must... resist... urge... :sneaky:

I've been doing low carb, lower portion meals just to drop a few pounds. I'm also avoiding red meat and bread.

 

[Net]

1 can of campbell's chunky soup and drink crystal light fruit punch in between. This is what I have been doing for a while. Lost weight. Cheap too, $1.50 for the soup (I stock up when they are on sale). 170 calories for the soup.

easy open lid. Microwave, no prep needed.

lots of good ones: http://www.campbellsoup.com/Images/products/121260.png
http://www.campbellsoup.com/Images/products/11654.png

that will bring you to ~$1.75 for lunch.

for breakfast: protein shake. i grab a tub when its on sale on slickdeals. 1 shake, quick and easy. good for weight loss. Optimum Nutrion Whey protein. i've had double chocolate, and bananna cream. liked them a lot.

if on sale at $39.99 for 5lbs that will bring you to $0.55 for breakfast
current amazon price of $52.99 for 5lbs then that's $0.73 for breakfast

once your stomach shrinks its easy to fill up on this. drinking when you think your hungry helps a lot too. i can't say enough for crystal light fruit punch, its great. drink that when you get hungry.