What to take to work for lunch?

[bluechameleon]

I am just about to go back to work after maternity leave. While I have been off I have been eating healthily and have lost a fair bit of weight, and I want to keep up the good habits. I took my usual salad to a KIT day and was starving so need new ideas. What do you take for lunch that is quick to eat (will have around 15mins break), is healthy and filling? I'm not sure what the microwave situation is like so something that needs heating may or may not work. Thanks in advance.

naked noodle pots - just need boiling water
pasta salad
salad with a roll
chicken wraps
cheese and crackers

if a microwave -
tortilla with salad - actually canhave this cold too
any left overs - chilli, cous cous etc
soup
jacket spud
beans on toast

If there’s no microwave, I’d invest in a thermos food flask for soup and leftovers. So much easier than making separate dishes, as you can do a big batch.

I second the other posts - soup! (in a thermos if no microwave). I used to make my own, but there are always great offers on fresh soup. Glorious soups have grains/rice in them, so they're nice and filling, and they're lovely flavours, but they're all around 100kcal per portion (and low in salt & sugar, unlike tinned soups). They're more expensive, granted, but on offer they work out at 70p-£1 a day, which is pretty cheap for lunch! I have them with Ryevita instead of bread.

Merchant Gourmet do flavoured lentils that need no cooking/unflavoured ones. They’re great for filling salads. You can chuck just about anything in with them and a dressing if you need to. I live off them on busy days!

those ready lentils and seeds are fab, and you can get little tins of tuna to mix in if you are so minded. That or soup + bread + fruit for me.

Merchant gourmet do Glorious Grains. Absolutely yum and filling.
I cook it, add lean turkey, scallions, peppers, tomato but if goats cheese. Mix it all together, it makes loads, does 2 lunches or me.

I eat a lot of soup in winter, you could also try bulking up your salad with some grains or pulses (so chickpeas, mixed beans, lentils, quinoa) - supermarkets sell pretty nice ready-cooked grain pouches if you're short of time? Depending on what diet you are following, you could also add some cheese, nuts or wholegrain carb (rice, pasta or bread) as well to get some extra staying power from it.

Or if you do have access to a microwave, leftovers from dinner the night before can be good - stews, pasta, curry all re-heat well.

Bit of

Thanks for all the ideas. I like the idea of bulking up a salad with lentils etc, and I will also look into insulated flasks.