Super Fast Lunch suggestions

my boyfriend tells me i have the worst diet ever. im not overweight or anything but after plugging in what i typically eat, my analysis came back at D- :/

I work in adversting and do not have any time to prepare lunch. Lunch is my biggest meal of the day with 3-4 cups of coffee. (I know what your thinking...)

Can anyone suggest some tasty very healthy quick microwaveable solutions for me?

Thankkkkkkkks!

Spend a couple of hours on the weekend cooking large portions of healthy food - things like chicken breasts and brown rice and veggies, or a nice beef stew.  Then you can package them in microwave-safe dishes and put them in the fridge, ready to go to work with you and pop in the microwave.  If you make a little extra, then you will have some left over to put in the freezer, and in three weeks you will have a variety in the freezer to choose from.

Prepackaged meals work in a pinch, but they almost always have a large amount of sodium in them, so they aren't something you want to have every day.

Something I took very frequently was a can of tuna, a baggie of carrot sticks, and a container of no sugar added applesauce, with a handful of crackers.  And then, of course, there is always salad.  Just make sure it has plenty of protein so it will stay with you.

What do you usually have?

Different sandwiches like tuna,turkey,veggie burger can be made in a micro,then you can change the fillings and use different breads from wraps,to whole grain bread,bagels. Add some sides like the other person stated.

Grilled chicken salad with dressing/whole grain roll/fruit

Amys though expensive makes some good microwave meals

Baked potato in the micro and you can top with cheese,salad etc sides

Healthy pizza. You can take a pita spread with tomato sauce/cheese/veggies premake at home and then heat in micro with salad/dressing

PB sandwich,greek yogurt which is high in protein/fruit and veggies

Try to make the meal a combo of protein/fat/carbs with some produce for lasting power

i make sandwiches for myself to bring to work... my side is a bag of baby carrots. its convenient for me because i save money and we do not have a microwave at work so i dont need to heat anything. i guess its sort of convenient in that i can eat my lunch when im really busy while doing work at my desk if it comes down to it and i'm having a crazy day! hah.

Canned Mackerel, Sardines, Salmon, Tuna, Crab, Shrimp, Chicken Breast - all of these things are super fast all you have to do is pop the tin open or rip the package open! And if you want to make it a complete meal... you should then put the contents of the canned tin on a bed of greens which you can find prewashed in a plastic tub at your grocery store - so pretty much that's your salad bowl... and you can add to it the canned protein and then maybe some cherry tomatoes and olives??

Thanks a bunch you guys! Imma work on preparing ahead a time to save money and eat better :}

It seems this thread has been wrapped up already - but I'd suggest if your in such a hurry in the mornings tins of beans and soups are a cheap healthy option...  If you just have the tins in - its so easy to pick up some beans and a jacket potato to cook in the microwave at work... making your own big pan of soup is a good option and just bring in a portion each day (it can even be frozen).  Oatcakes or ricecakes are a good alternative to bread to have with the soup.

I totally agree with Gillypolly on this one. I try to make a large pot of soup on Sundays or make a large batch of grilled or baked chiken. I have the soup for dinner when I get home and teh chicken over salad for lunches.

I tend to eat the same foods. If I dont do chicken I will do some other lean meat. I will try to find lean pork chops or steaks. I never fry my meats. I either bake them or cook them in a little bit of olive oil in a pan on top of the stove.

another meal I made last week on Sunday and it lasted me all week wAS stuffed peppers. brown some meat, cooked rice - i guess u could use brown if u really want to, tom sauce, pepper and garlic. stuff this into a grreen or red pepper and bake in oven for about 1 hour. they turn out amazing......and are very healthy for you and fill u up. I took one a day for lunch microwaving when i have lunch. add an apple and a few other things and u are set.

~Sally (eating like this I went from 130 to 120 so I know it works. BUT i also do the elliptical for 20 minutes 3 -4 days a week.

One of my favorite (easiest) standbys is a whole wheat pasta salad... on Sunday cook up a box of whole wheat pasta (penne, rigatoni etc)... add to it a ton of fresh chopped veggies (i do green and red peppers, cucumber, zucchini, corn, carrots and red onions)... bake one or two thin chicken breasts with just some pepper, garlic powder and celery salt and add it to the salad..  then i buy one of those dressing packets (italian, garlic and herb etc) and make it with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar..  add the dressing and a bit of hot sauce and put it all in the fridge! it is WAY more than enough to last me an entire week of lunches, all you have to do in the morning is scoop some into a small tupperware and you're good to go.  it makes so much food also that if you are too tired at the end of the night to cook dinner just heat some of it up for a nice warm dinner :)

Make sandwiches the night(s) before or prepare meals as earlier poster said...

My current favourite food for filling me up and reducing the carbo-crash is the following (makes 3 x small but delicious and filling meals and takes 5 minutes to prepare).

1 tin Tuna in brine (drained)

1 tub low-fat cottage cheese

1 packet (instant - any flavour) cous-cous eg: mediterranean tomato, mushroom, peppers and olive, etc

Divide the above equally over 3 bowls.

then my favourite bit....

add beetroot and olives onto the top

et viola!!!!

It might not sound that attractive but it tastes GREAT!!!!!  And it's GOODFORYA!

any other quick healthy meal ideas welcome! 

Lokona,

The easiest thing around are the Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers.  They do not have to be frozen or refrigerated and take minutes to prepare in a microwave.  Also Hormel has shom shelf stable lunch combos that take like 90 seconds to heat and they are ready to eat.  There are also microwave ready soup bowls like Campbells Select harvest Healthy Request.  Any one of these and pice of fruit or yogurt and you are healthy and good to go! 

For ultra easy lunches I like to eat veggieburgers.  They come in so many flavors, even chicken patty which is delicious.  Just microwave for one minute and it's done.  Put it between two slices of whole-grain bread (pita, tortilla, whatever!), add some mustard, lettuce, tomato, or a nice slice of avocado, makes for a filling and low-cal lunch.  I lived on veggieburgers when I had my first baby and was breastfeeding all the time.  They have gotten a little expensive lately but you can get coupons or wait for sales.

I don't always get to cooking meals and whenever I do, I have them packed in a microwavable container. Also, my fiance will get to them before I do. when I'm at the grocery store, I grab Michaelina's Lean Gourmets. By far, they are better than the other frozen meals: Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisines. Along with that, I have fruit snacks with a Mozzarella cheese string stick or nuts (almonds!).

I buy a loaf of whole grain bread a bottle of mustard (zero fat grams) and a package of low fat cheese and some turkey breast. I take it to work on Monday and I have healthy sandwhiches all week for less than one day's lunch. I keep pretzels on hand for a side if I have a hankering for something more. I can eat this at my desk if I am too busy to take a lunch without making a mess at my desk. I have lost 7 pounds per month for the last 3 months by cutting out most sweets, no french fries and very little beer, which is my favorite bevarge. Between that and eating turkey sandwhiches for lunch, I have had great success.

I buy frozen precooked grilled chicken and frozen broccoli at Costco. Every night, I'll throw a breast and some broccoli in tupperware and refridgerate them. At work the next day, all I have to do is microwave it for 2 minutes and I have a high protein, high fiber meal...and no cooking. :)

Also, some heathy snacks through out the day could be baby carrots, fat free yogurt, fruit (berries, apples, watermelon - any fruit you like)

Also, I have a single serve blender that I make shakes in. I'll do 1 cup of vanilla soy milk, .5-1 cup of frozen fruit and one packet of splenda...it makes a perfect treat.

Good luck!

just one suggestion since the food has been covered. Maybe try replacing 2 cups of coffee for 2 cups of water. Thats if you put sugar and milk in or just replace one cup of coffee w. one water.

The first idea is a good one. Made your week's worth of lunches over the weekend and then you'll have everything ready and won't haveto waste time and money every day of the week. It's also going to give you a healthier choice too.  I would suggest eating a whole banana and an apple in the morning along with drinking some green tea (and they come in many flavors) instead of ingesting coffee. It's a little known fact that an apple in the morning does more to wake you up than a cup of coffee.

Coffee is also addictive and you want to limit your coffee consumption as much as possible. I drink coffee about once a week, on days when I am really dragging. I work two jobs and somedays I am working for 15-18 hours straight, and then doing it all over again the next day with only a few hours of sleep. That's bad too. Get at least 6-7 hours of sleep and in a few weeks, you won't need anything to wake you up.

The green tea is a much better choice and it is colorie free (or at least low in claories if you get some of the flavored kinds). I drink a big thing of pomegranate green tea once a day and I love it.

Salads are a good lunch choice most of the time and if you are afraid of them not filling you up, just drink some water or tea to feel a little bit less hungry.

Exercise is also important. And if you use the tools on this site to figure the amout of calories you should ingest daily, you can estimate how much food you should be eating throughout the day and how much exercise you need to do throughout the week to make everything balance out.

Vitamins can be good too, but make sure they are legit and stay away from "miracle" drugs. They are bogus!

Also, if you are eating poorly now and you have a great body, it's because you were blessed with a great metabolism. But, as with everything else, that will probably not last forever. And if you stay on the bad eating track, you'll end up looking like Rosie O'Donnell very quickly when you get a bit older. It's best to get used to a healthy lifestyle while you're young and stick with it throughout your lifetime. Good luck!

If you are short on time, yes, like the other posts, cook your good food on the weekend.  But keep some Lean Cuisines, cans of soup and frozen vegetables as back up.  You won't always have time on the weekend to do all that cooking.  Also consider prepackage programs that deliver or one of those places where you make your food in their facility and bundle it up and take home.

A slow cooker/crockpot can be a godsend for making a large meal with little effort.  You can easily make something like chicken cacciatore, veggie chili, or ratatouille on the weekend by throwing all of the ingredients in there and letting it cook for hours.  You don't even have to stay home! 

Then you can divide it up and put it in the fridge or freezer like the people above mentioned.  There are a ton of recipes online.  I usually google "easy, crockpot, ratatouille" or something like that.  Good for when you want something hot for lunch.  Warm meals make you feel more satisfied than cold ones.

Good luck eating healthier!

Another option is to make something like chicken soup. It can be really healthy for you, and you can easily freeze it for months. Then when you want to eat it, take it out the night before, let it thaw in the fridge and you're good to go. You can either make noodles to go with it, or go without. It's a delicious idea and quick and easy later on.

I also do big batch meals over the weekend for myself and my boyfriend. It saves alot of money as well as calories. One great meal is a chicken grape and walnut salad. It's SO delicious and you can turn it into sandwiches or eat it on crackers. Another big batch meal I love is Colcannon... it's just mashed potatoes that you mix with some chopped boiled cabbage and some chunks of ham. If you buy the precooked ham chunks or slices, and the steam in bag potatoes... all you have to do is boil some cabbage and mix it all together. It's great on time and delicious with a little bit of mustard or apple sauce.

You can even throw together an easy delicious meatloaf that's pretty healthy as far as meatloaf goes and is the perfect comfort food. We adore it and make it maybe once a month.

Original Post by kodiaksgirl:

I buy a loaf of whole grain bread a bottle of mustard (zero fat grams) and a package of low fat cheese and some turkey breast. I take it to work on Monday and I have healthy sandwhiches all week for less than one day's lunch. I keep pretzels on hand for a side if I have a hankering for something more. I can eat this at my desk if I am too busy to take a lunch without making a mess at my desk. I have lost 7 pounds per month for the last 3 months by cutting out most sweets, no french fries and very little beer, which is my favorite bevarge. Between that and eating turkey sandwhiches for lunch, I have had great success.

Awesome! Way to go. I have a similiar idea. I purchase a bag of extra sour rye bread and cans of tuna (Bumblebee low sodium). I keep those along with Olive Oil Mayo and brown mustard and have tuna sandwiches.