School Lunches please help

Hi
I work in a school system where we can not leave for lunch so I bring my lunch just about everyday. I dont have a long lunch time maybe 20 minutes at the most and its hard to eat then when you are opening mustard packets for the children but anyway I am tired of bringing the same sandwich everyday which is usually peanut butter (170cal) and lite chips (90 cal) with bottled water . Has anyone got any good ideas. I need something easy to prepare and carry. Thanks!

Oh also I have found that the lunches prepared at our school are very high in calories so buying lunch there is out of the question. Help!

Do you have access to a microwave? If so, those lean cusines are a good alternative. They offer some flavor and just the right portion. I have eaten those quite often at work...I have 1/2 hour lunch. If no microwave, well, I'd be stuck with the sandwiches too...you could always try making a wrap of turkey breast and veggies.

try buying an insulated lunch bag and carry a cup of light yogurt which is around 80 calories, some triscuit whole grain reduced fat crackers 7 is 120 calories and a piece of fruit like an orange or apple. This is a very filling, low cal lunch but it sticks with you and gives you a good blend of proteins and "good" carbs.

I also make similar lunches for my son everyday because I refuse to let him have what's on our school menu (we have so many heavy kids in our school district it's really sad but they feed them pizza and chicken nuggets and things like that)

He loves to eat healthy early in life so I hope those habits are going to stick!

Another lunch idea you could use is to take a salad. I make a big salad and store in the fridge every few days and then dip into it for a quick bite. I include low fat lean turkey or grilled chicken pieces, boiled egg whites (remove the yolks they are fattening) low fat cheese, and other veggies like carrots/peppers etc. The egg and lean meat give it some protein and make it stick with you longer. If you're like me lunch can wear off early and send me home famished when I then will eat too much if I don't watch myself.

Hope this helps :)
Christin

Thank you so very much for the replies. Yes your help will be of great help to me. I am glad to hear that you have also noticed the high calorie food in your child's cafeteria. We (talking about teachers) have had several chats about school lunches. We do agree that there should be more healthy choices. I give you a pat on the back for sending "good for you" food with your child. BRAVO!

I am a very busy mum who always seems to be on the run so I make sure I have these items on hand so I can just grab and go.....

Mixed greens
Ready sliced, pre-packed organic apples (from costco)
Organic natural peanut butter
String cheese
Planters reduced sodium mixed nuts (individual servinge, from BJ's)
Baby carrots
Ready chopped, pre-packaged broccoli (from cost co)
Josephs oat bran wraps
Individaul servings of rasins
Bananas
Stonyfield farm organic yogurts
Hummus (which i transfer into a clean babyfood jar and use with the carrots and broccoli)
Apple sause
Mandarin oranges in pear juice
Dr Praegers Californian veggie burgers (from costco, I cook one, slice it up and put it in a wrap with greens, carrots, onions, hummus and broccoli)
Various caned beans which I can just throw on a salad with some tuna and tote a baby jar with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and just pour over salad when I'm ready to eat it.
I also subscribe to eating well magazine and look for meals that are freezable so I can cook up and large batch of several meals, individually freeze them and the just grab on and shove it in the microwave!

Hope this all helps

chris

PS I have some really great muffin recipies that contain all sorts of goodies and are really easy to make. They freeze individually for up to three monthe so I ofter make 3 or 4 atches at once and they're great along with a piece of fruit....let me know if you'd like the recipies and I'll e-mail them to you

hth

chris

WOw thanks for that list..that is very helpful....I do not know what hummus taste like can you give me an idea...I have seen it on my supermarket deli section with various favors added...I could purchase it and try it but I would like someone to describe the favor...thank you and thank you again for those ideas

Hey I'm a student, and I would like to thank you guys for those great ideas!

I simply LOVE lean cuisine and healthy choice microwave meals. This is what Im using to lose weight:) I have found a couple of 12oz meals under 300 cals each! I have one for lunch one for dinner. I dont mind cooking differnet for the family and me when all i have to do is bung it in the mirco while I dids theirs up :)

I really cant use the microwave at school because on those meals it takes about seven minutes to heat and time is the factor for me. I am glad you are doing great on them. I eat them on occasion when I dont have to cook.

lurleen -

hummus can be made with pure olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, etc.. It is a pretty tasty dip or spread, and it usually comes with a price tag of ca. 200cal/100g or less.

thank you igor. So do you think hummus is a good thing to try or just leave it be?

Sure - go for it and let me know how you like it :)

Igor I will go to the market tomorrow and get some hummus and if I dont like it I can always send it to my mom's house...giggles I will let you know tomorrow afternoon how it goes..

Oh - and if she does not like it, you can always send it to me as well =) just kidding! But I do like that stuff.

since im in high school i have the same problem. i usually stick with whole wheat pita and thin cut turkey with lettuce tomatoe and light italion dressing, perfect.

another is tuna in water with lettuce tomatoe SMALL amount of fat free mayo and relish

sometimes even a vegetable sub with whatever you want, peppers onions olives carrots, with some light dressing to top it off is good. sandwiches are easy.

as for sides i usually bring lemon covered apples, bananas, special k bars as a treat. i try to stay away from anything that is pre packaged because it tends to all be bad for you in some way or another even if it says low calorie.

good luck

p.s. if you use mayo on sandwiches ive heard of a healthy alternative being avocado, also fat but better kind, different flavor but still flavor, so if u get curious try it out.

I like these ideas. Thanks everyone. The turkey sandwich sounds yummy and something that I can do easily.

Lureen, As Igor has told you, hummus is a Mediterranian treat that is creamy and garlicky....it has many good properties including good essential fatty acids from the olive oil....I have noticed wuite a few posts now where a lot of fat seems to be avoided.....not all fats are created equal....make sure you eat at least a couple of servings of good fatty acids a day.....best choices are wild alaskan sockeye salmon, half an advocado, eggs that are free range, organic and are labeled 'omega 3', mixed, low sodium nuts, and lots and lots of olive oil. Whilst I appreciate that many people are concerned with calorific intake it is very important to include these fats in your diet, they are not called 'essential' for nothing. they can actually help you to lose weight as they play an important role in metabolism, they are also essential to nervous function and emotional well being, they are fantastic antioxidants (more powerful than your good old vitamin c), they are a skin tonic...to be honest the list goes on...plenty of studies out there about the benefits of these fats...oh, and they also help to protect your heart!....if you want to know lmore I highly recommend reading Dr. Perricone books, especially the one for weight loss....hth

It always amazes me how many books there are by Dr. Perricone - I am pretty sure there are more than 10, but there really could be more than 20..

Anyway, we also have an article here on this site about the good and bad fats, so just in case you are interested - check it out.