If you love healthy food where do you buy quick lunches?

[honkifyalikebeans]

I'm on mounjaro - I've spent my life hating veggies and craving fatty, fast food. I'm often caught out and need to buy lunch out and have spent my life picking up a McDonald's or KFC.
Since the medication I can't stand the thought.

I was in London yesterday and it was swamped with quick easy interesting salads. I live in a small town, I can't seem to find anything I want to eat.

Where do you buy your quick healthy lunches?

@WoopsLiza we have the same approach. I sat in my car eating kefir and blueberries at motorway services a few weeks ago on the M6 😁

You could try the poke bowls, Aldi Tesco and Lidl do one with rice, salad, and smoked salmon with soy dressing

I’m GF and on MJ so I normally take something from home but was away recently in the hot weather & had no choice but to grab on the go. I had a babybel cheese for protein, bag of salad leaves, mini tomatoes plus ham bits and a getpro yogurt & bottle of water. Relatively low carb, high protein and healthy. In the evening I had a McD chicken salad with only a small amount of dressing as that was the best I could get to eat in travel lodge.

@honkifyalikebeans I also recently discovered napolina tinned bean salad. They have it in my corner shop. You just need to drain and rinse it, then add a bit of lemon juice and olive oil. I add chopped peppers and spring onions too. That's good with salmon. You can microwave salmon if you cover it, just put a bit of butter and lemon. You have to check it but it only takes about 2-3 mins. I then just use that for a couple of lunches with the beans and bagged lettuce.
I live in the city but still don't rate most ready made 'healthy' lunches.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate the replies.

@BobbyBiscuits I love that idea!

Pret do really good salads with separate dressing.

@Droolylabradors aww, thank you! X

I either make my own salad or get Pret .. love their salads.

We don't have lots of options in my small town but I can get sushi from a supermarket or Subway do salads....it doesn't need to be a sandwich and you can choose your sauce. I normally have all of the salad with chicken and sweet chilli sauce.

So many quick options available are so processed it isn't worth eating them. M&S is good or your other option is a decent deli, but it depends how time strapped you are. I just make my lunches at home and take it with.

Does your local supermarket have a salad bar?

This. I go to Morrisons and use their salad bar. Then you can limit things like pasta, which seem to have invaded most prepackaged salads. I also add stuff from the olive bar to give extra flavour.

I often go to M&S and look at their salads, take inspiration and then just make them at home. Far cheaper but I have the luxury of making time to make my own salads. If I’m pushed and can’t make anything, I’ll just grab something from M&S. I like buying the nutty green salad, or the tabouleh and buying falafel and hummus to go with it.

I take my own lunches out- esp to work

Homemade soups, dhals, curries, stews, veggie rice type things (often leftovers) in a hot food flasks in winter. In summer, falafel or chicken salad wraps, salad boxes. I try to use wholemeal or seeded breads to make it healthier. Snack wise I take out nuts/ seeds/ fruit

I’m veggie and have food allergies so I take my own.
Home made soup is easy and doesn’t need masses of prep. Use frozen mixed veg, frozen onion, vegan bouillon powder. Mushroom and kale soup is delicious, healthy and low calorie. I even use frozen mushrooms for this as I find fresh mushrooms go off quickly.
Salads — hard boiled eggs, chopped beetroot, tomatoes, leaves. Buy a tin of mixed chopped vegetables and mix with a very small amount of mayo. Cottage cheese. Very filling and doesn’t leave he craving anything sweet.

I fast on days in the office because I can't be bothered with the faff of finding lunch, a space to eat it and I don't want to heat stuff up in the office kitchen. I might take some fruit or veg sticks to stop my stomach rumbling in meetings.

Supermarket side salad (from veg section, not meal deal selection). Pre-cooked chicken, salmon or falafels. Pack of apples.

Without having a dig, it's also worth starting to plan your meals ahead, so that when you have finished your MJ, you have broken your bad habits and are no longer tempted by rubbish food.

Love this thread thank you OP

I work 12 hour shifts so try to take 2 x meals (one cold one hot usually) otherwise I end up buying a not so good meal deal at the co op.

I realised I spent years making nice lunches for everyone else but I ended up with what was left. Thankfully I have days off in the week so a bit more time to prep. Things that really helped me are getting some proper containers that only I use (I store them clean in my work bag). If I can’t be bothered I find M&S salads the best also they do a sliced apple/peanut butter dip combo that I love.

Most weeks I try to do a mini ‘lunch shop’ so I have decent ingredients to choose. Tomorrow I’m taking a basic Greek type salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, cheese cubed) with a wholemeal pitta to warm up. And a frozen jacket with some cottage cheese. Fresh melon chopped up. Usually have nuts/cheese portions/mini packs of crackers available at home. Individual yogurt tubs or muller rice from my own fridge or supermarket, (keep a spoon with work stuff)
I have an apple most days too.

Waitrose has poke bowls next to the sandwiches, Tesco has similar too (others may but not near my work) I also suggest buying a side salad bowl from the supermarket salad section and something from the deli, cheaper too.

I do carry a fork, a bread knife a chopping board, sachets of mayonnaise and few other "essentials" in my car to make impromptu food on the go, dp thinks it's hilarious

Quite a few of the m&s ones have the dressing in a little pot so you can add it or not

I'm also on mounjaro and been losing weight really well. I've bought a small tupperwear box that has 4 sealed sections (or just buy 4 small snack sized pots). I don't make anything elaborate, I just put anything that I have in the house in each pot.

Some of my usual are:

Frozen edaname beans from freezer with sea salt and chilli flakes (will defrost by lunch time)
Cubes of cheese
Olives
Chopped tomato/mozzarella
Chopped apple (with some lemon juice squirted on them so they don't brown) - any fruit in house will do
Left over roast chicken
Mixed nuts

I make them - salads and frittatas with lots of vegetables and herbs. I like the challenge of making things from leftovers of last night's supper, also we grow a lot of vegetables so always looking for ways to use a glut.

I usually find an independent sandwich or cafe type place and have a salad or baked potato. Most towns have places like this, If not, a subway salad works too but never tastes as fresh as non chain places