Lunch ideas at the office

I'm looking for some different options for lunch at work.  Soup, sandwiches, salads - seems like all I can think of.  We do have a microwave so that helps.  What do you eat?

for a fun lunch that fills you up, takes time to eat, and has tons of protein.. try whole grain crackers, slices of lower-fat cheese and low-fat kolbasa meat. i have kolbasa that's 100 calories for 100g and only 3g of fat and 19g protein. you can make little sandwiches and putting them together and crunching them takes time and fills you up quicker.

and have that with an apple and a bottle of water, or a baggie of baby carrots.

I've recently started preparing my meals in advanced with some great low cal recieps that I found.  My favorite so far has been salsa chicken, its simply 1 chicken breast, 1/2 cup of fresh salsa and 1 oz of low fat cheese.  Heat it up for a minute in the micro wave and its fantastic! Best part is that is works out for under 300 cals so I can add either a piece of bread or a La Tortilla Factory Tortilla.  Filling and warm which makes me happy at lunch. 

I used to do a lot of salads and found myself quickly turned off to them. Though I do like them occassionally.  Something like a turkey taco salad is a nice twist on the old taco salad is nice too :-)

A sweet potato with roast white meat chicken breast--

Your favorite salad combination in a low cal wrap with some walnuts/raisins/craisins in--

Black beans and rice, cooked the night before--

Oatmeal /w cinnamon and honey, and fruit--

No bake nachos: tortilla chips with salsa and 2 tbs cheese sauce on, diced olives, peppers etc--

! 

I normally pack some lean cosine, smart ones, or healthy choice meals.  They're tasty and filling, but low in calories. 

I like to pack veggies (you can buy the pre-cut ones to save on time) and a little container of hummus.  You can dip the veggies in the hummus and snack on them a little at a time all day.  The protein might help keep your energy levels up at work.

Another good protein source is trail mix.  You can buy it pre-made, but I like to make it myself with different combinations of dried fruit and nuts.  Just keep the portions small, because the calories add up.  You'd be surprised at how filling a small amount can be, though.

If you like muffins, you could bake up a batch of healthy muffins (whole grain) on the weekend, and then freeze them and reheat them at work for a pick-me-up.

You could take some whole-grain crackers with a little low-fat cheese or natural spread on them.

If you're sick of regular sandwiches, you could try pita bread.  Stuff a half of a pita with whatever you want, sweet or savory.  Some things I love are hardboiled egg whites, tomato, and hummus; peanut butter and banana; peanut butter and jelly; vegetables and hummus; rice and beans; chicken salad; tuna salad--the combinations are endless.

Fruit is always a great snack.  Load up on apples, bananas, grapes, and other portable fruits.

What about a baked potato?  You can nuke one in the microwave, split it open and top it with salsa, light sour cream, light butter, whatever you want.  Or, a baked sweet potato with a little brown sugar is fantastic and makes a nice alternative to regular potatoes.

That's all I can think of for now--hope I helped some!

Today I had a medium hard boiled egg, tuna in water, nonfat cottage cheese and diced tomato. A total of 216 calories and it travels well.

Leftovers! Make extras of whatever you have for dinner (stir fry and rice, casseroles, chili, chicken and broccoli, even an extra burger or veggieburger!), then pack it up in a container and voila! instant lunch. Plus a lot of people will be jealous if it smells good when you reheat it ;-)

I stick to rice cakes, raw vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, celery), low fat cheese, tuna and water.

Spread out through my work day, they keep me full and fairly low cal. :-)

I make a huge batch of fresh, homemade chilli and then eat that all week long for lunches. Its great plain, with low fat cheese, or even as a potatoe topper.

Sometimes I get a rotisserie chicken and then debone it and seperate the meat into 5 containers. I add mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes and whatever veggies you like (I like corn and peas).

Its weird but for me I have to have a hot lunch in order for it to fill me up. Im starving an hour or two later if I have a salad or sandwich.

I really enjoy the Eating Right line of frozen lunches from Lucerne (the private label brand at Safeway, Vons, etc). 

Here's a good review of the chicken enchilada: http://urbzen.com/2008/10/30/frozen-lunch-rev iew-eating-right-chicken-enchilada/

Some others I enjoy are the vegetarian masala and the ravioli. MMM!

Original Post by kay27:

I make a huge batch of fresh, homemade chilli and then eat that all week long for lunches. Its great plain, with low fat cheese, or even as a potatoe topper.

Sometimes I get a rotisserie chicken and then debone it and seperate the meat into 5 containers. I add mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes and whatever veggies you like (I like corn and peas).

Its weird but for me I have to have a hot lunch in order for it to fill me up. Im starving an hour or two later if I have a salad or sandwich.

 The chilli suggestion is really great - my husband makes a huge batch with SOOO many veggies and lean ground turkey, it's great, and we take it to work for the rest of the week.

I make a salad with mixed  greens, grilled chicken, craisins, sunflower seeds all the time.  Or you can do tuna salad, light on the mayo, stuffed in a small, whole wheat pita.

I'm guilty of eating lots of frozen entrees at work, but I check CC before I buy them to make sure they're graded as at least a B-.

I make whole pots of chicken noodle soup (I have the best recipe in history), split pea soup, and beef stew, and then freeze them in small tupperware containers to take to work.  

I also make about 6 single-serving salads weekly with carrots, tomatoes, sesame seeds, greens, chicken, chick peas, sprouts. I package them in those tupperware containers, and add dressing on my way to work. Otherwise, the greens get soggy.

You can also make an "omelet" in your microwave by bringing in an egg in tupperware, and microwaving it with some veggies, meat, spices, and cheese.