What does your packed lunch look like?

I was just wondering for those of you who are on a diet and have work and school and pack your own lunches everyday... what do you bring? Do you eat the same things over and over or change it up? Any ideas appreciated!

i dont normally pack a lunch cos i am a stay at home mom, but the other day i did, so what i took was a sandwich made of whole wheat bread,  low sodium deli ham (fresh) with an apple, and a serving of almonds (low salt) and it was quite filling.. :) cant give you any other suggestions but i am sure if other people reply you can compile quite a list :)

edit : I also have done a sandwich of whole wheat bread, tuna, and tomato slices... with something like an apple, lol..

I work at home doing daycare, so don't "pack" a lunch.

I usually aim for a salad (romaine, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, maybe some red peppers, or sprouts) + 1oz cheddar cheese cubes, or 2oz of leftover chicken breast (or whatever meat we had the nite before) + 3 ryvita sesame rye or light rye crispbreads

* another fave is 1 can water-packed tuna smushed with 1/2 avocado on whole wheat bread + sprouts or romaine

* 3 ryvita sesame rye crispbreads + 2 tbs peanut butter + large sliced banana

add some veggie sticks, or fruit and voila!

 

I guess the best suggestion I can make is to prepare large quantities of two or three different meals on your days/evenings off from work and school, pack it all into single-serving containers (helps with portion control), and then freeze/refridgerate to use later on in the week.  You will be eating a lot of the same food throughout that one week, but you can prepare different dishes eat week to give yourself more variety. 

Word of the wise, though, regarding pre-packing salads or greens:  pack greens that can wilt (lettuce, spinach, kale, bok choy, sprouts, etc.) the day before you plan to take them in a packed lunch - do not put any dressing, juice or oil on the greens, pack those separately, otherwise your salad will be soggy and gross when you pull it out to eat later on!

Hope that's helpful!  ^_^

I take my own lunch to work every day, usually a "cold" packed lunch.  For the last couple of weeks, it has usually looked very similar to this, with the fillings of the wraps changed, different vegetables as well.  This is what I have today:

- 2 tortilla wraps, one with a slice of turkey, extra light mayonnaise and spring onions, one with turkey again but Laughing Cow light cheese spread and cucumber. 
- 3 slices of raw cucumber, 1 raw carrot, 1 stick of celery, 1 tomato

All that adds up to 372 calories, I also take an apple to eat as a snack usually on my journey home.

i find this useful and its fun too. http://www.flickr.com/groups/dietbento/

I work long days. I spend a few hours on Sunday preparing for the week. I cook a half dozen hard-boiled eggs and a half dozen chicken breasts. I cut fresh veggies and put them in separate serving tupperwares. I cook a bean or lentil dish that can be served heated or cold. I alternate eating the chicken or beans for lunch or dinner. I make a gallon of iced tea. I have a great little insulated lunch sack that carries all my one-portion tupperwares. It takes a lot of planning, but I have lost 30 pounds since joining this site, am maintaining with a healthy bmi, and it works to eat this way!! (Notice the chocolate indulgence...I can't live without it!)

Lunch One Two hard-boiled egg whites 2-3 cups mixed veggie slices (sweet peppers, grean beans, asparagus) 1 tbsp vinagrette for dipping 1 cup kashi go lean crunch 1 cup fat free yogurt banana 1 cup blueberries 1 square Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bar Iced Green Tea

Lunch Two 1/2 chicken breast, broiled with hotsauce 1 tbsp fat free ranch dressing 1 cup steamed brocolli 2 cups spinach orange apple 1 cup fat free yogurt Nutz Over Chocolate Luna Bar Iced Green Tea

Lunch Three .5 cup curried lentils .5 cup brown rice 5 cups garlic sauteed spinach (measured before cooking) 1 cup fat free yogurt banana 1 cup blueberries orange 1 cup cucumber slices 1 square Hershey's special dark chocolate bar Iced Green Tea

I like to take the South Beach Diet wrap kits - they're only 240 cals, and fill me up pretty well.  I also usually take a medium apple, and a couple of 100 cal snack bars for snacks.  And I keep small squares of Dove chocolate at my desk for a small chocolate pick me up in the middle of the afternoon.

When I don't feel like a wrap, I take Lean Cuisine or South Beach frozen entrees (but I have the luxury of a freezer to put them in until lunch). 

 

I have a very very boaring office job, so my lunch is filled with low cal fruits and veggies so I can snack through the day.  If I didn't do that, I would be hanging out at the vending machine to cure my boardom.  I also try to bring something with a little protein, other wise even though I snack on fruits and veggies all day, I would still be starving.  This is what I brought today, after having a bowl of all bran for breakfast:

1 medium banana
1 tub source yogurt (about 50 cal)
1 wedge of watermelon
1/2 cup cottage cheese (thats my protein for this afternoon)
28 baby cut carrots (about a sandwhich bag full)
1 cup grapes

I don't take an actual lunch break to eat this, I just kind of graze all day, and never really let myself get hungry.   It seems to be working for me, I am satisfied all day!

i eat pretty much the same thing everyday.  sometimes i switch it up but normally it's

Breakfast:  Fiber cereal with skim milk or toasted bagel with light cream cheese.  and coffee, usually black, sometimes milk and/or sugar

Snack:  Yogurt

Lunch:  Light wheat bread with deli meat (usually low salt turkey) and mustard.  and a fruit.

Snack:  Different all the time.  sometiems another fruit or yogurt or pretzels, whatever i feel like.

and a liter of water

Sometimes I take leftovers from dinner the night before.  Lately, I've been taking tuna and a frozen vegetable.  Some days I take frozen broccoli in low fat cheese sauce and I add brown rice to it.  On occasion, for an easy change of pace, I take Healthy Choice frozen dinners.  I particularly like their Cafe Steamers.

I always take healthy snacks to work as well.  Fiber One bars, apples, bananas, whole grain crackers, snack size yogurt.

plaidpooka, I somtimes take tuna in my lunch to, but was getting board with how I was eating it.  I mixed half a can of tuna with low cal Miracle whip, and ate it spread on top of cucumber slices.  It was very very good, but it had been a part of my lunch for about a year, hence my boardom with it!  Any tips on other low cal ways to eat it, without sticking it between two slices of bread?

I pack a lunch and dinner EVERYDAY! I work from 7 AM to 5 PM... and I pack my lunch, Dinner, & 2 snacks plu seat my breakfast on the way to work...... they are as follows!

breakfast: 3 sausage links & an apple

snack: Dannon Lite & Fit / w/ bran buds &  a cheese stick

Lunch: Turkey Pita ( lettuce, tomato, miracle whip lite ) salad (  I make one everyday and change it up  with toppings.. I eat some at lunch and some at dinner....

Snack: Cottage Cheese & Pineapple

Dinner: Pork Chop , Sweet Potato, &  some of the salad ( Roasted Parmesian Red Pepper dressing/ KRAFT 35 cal a serving)

Thats just what I have today!!!!! I do change it up!!!!

Lately Ive been bring fresh veggies to work and steaming them - there are these cool ziploc bags you can buy to steam veggies in the microwave. Sometimes I will bring brown rice in the have with it, sometimes I throw some chicken in the mix too. I also have a piece of fruit with it.

I also bring in stuff to make sandwiches or wraps. I usually bring in enough to make lunch for a week. I also keep some Boca Chili on hand at home...really good soy protein chili, its filling and only 150 cals!

I also make sure I keep things such as fruit, kashi bars, fiber 1 bars, oatmeal etc on hand to munch on during the day if needed.

I'm a creature of habit. I pretty much eat the same things for lunch and breakfast everyday. I eat toast or hardboiled eggs for breakfast and a very plain sandwich for lunch. Fruit is also involved. Also my one allotted diet coke as I love it so much.

Dinner is whatever I can find that's low in calories. I hate cooking.

TODAY though, my boyfriend let me steal his lunch. It's grilled chicken and vegetables on wheat rice/brown rice (whatever). And it's got a tablespoon of some sauce he made that he claims has no more than 20 calories. It sounds good. Better than my sandwich, that's for sure.

I have work and then class a couple of days a week- on those days I pack at least 1000 calories worth of food (i'm on campus until 9pm)->

I usually pack a lean cuisine (300), 1 oz of 2% cheddar cheese (90), a wheat mini-bagel (100), a couple pieces of fruit (125), 100 cal pop secret (100),  sugar free jello cup (10), a slim fast (190), and a Kashi chewy granola bar (140).

 

On days when i just have work- I often take just some fresh veggies and pick up a low fat fruit smoothie (300ish) from Smoothie King for lunch.

I definitely change it up. I usually include a salad with lots of colorful veggies,

but sometimes, I make a batch of stirfry with chicken, brown rice and veggies and freeze small portions and take that as well as my salad,

sometimes I have a sandwich with whole grain bread, and some sort of deli meat (either roast beef, turkey or ham)...I don't like mayo, so I either spread a wedge of laughing cow cheese on the bread, or I have mustard

Sometimes I take a lean cuisine or Smartones dish...it just depends. If you get bored easily, give yourself lots of healthy options and you'll be able to stick to it longer.

htracey...i like to add chopped celery to my tuna salad and eat it on whole wheat melba toast.  it's a nice change from plain old bread.

i like your idea of eating tuna salad on slices of cucumber.  i'll have to try that!

Mr Bento is a type of lunch pail and folks post pictures of their Mr. Bento lunches on the internet, here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/mrbento/pool/

Lean Cuisine! They are only about 300 calories and they are pretty filling and tasty, in my opinion. I also pack a fruit with that, such as a banana or an apple. Sometimes I pack a salad or a lowfat yogurt as well. For snacks, those 100 calorie packs are really good, light popcorn, and  I also like sunbelt strawberry bars.

I'm gone for 12.5 hours a day, so my lunchbox is my breakfast, lunch, and snack box.

Today: 1 C Cheerios, 6 oz Yoplait Thick and Creamy Light, 2 cups grapes, 1 cup of 1% cottage cheese, homemade salad dressing (dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, honey, olive oil), salad (romaine, carrots, yellow pepper, squash, tomato, turkey), Laughing Cow Light Cheese, Crushed Black Pepper Triscuits.

B: Cheerios/yogurt
Snack: Grapes
Lunch: Salad, triscuits, cheese
Snack: cottage cheese