To ask what you take for lunch to work? And to ask your thoughts on agave/ stevia?

[dietoverhauler]

I am in a Sainsbury's/ Tesco meal deal rut and am sadly very unimaginative when it comes to food. I cannot face another sandwich though, and the cost adds up over a week.

Tonight I have made a Spanish omelette that I will pop in the fridge and take with me on Monday and Tuesday, maybe with a basic feta salad on the side. Have no idea what else to have for the rest of the week? What are good alternatives? What kind of salad combinations do you find tasty and filling?

I have also started getting a granola cereal, it has lots of seeds which I like and no added sugar and is sweetened with agave. Is this ok or is agave bad?

The other thing I am wondering about is stevia. I got some Tropicana 50 which is essentially watered down juice with stevia, again yay or nay?

Thanks

I'm doing the I quit sugar plan at the moment so I take a lot of salads and soups, I try to make them veggie as my boss/workplace is meat free. So lots of beans, lentils, quinoa, boiled eggs, cheese etc.

Stevia's not too bad. I use xylitol personally, Gwyneth Paltrow approves of it do it can't be too terrible. Agave is a good natural sweetener but does still have calories and will impact on your blood sugars. I guess it depends on what you want to use a sweetener for as to whether it meets your objectives!

I always take soup. Loads of different ones to choose from so I never get bored.

I decided a while back not to eat sandwiches for lunch anymore as they made me so sleepy in the afternoon and never satisfied me.

You really have to bulk out a salad though to make it filling. Hard boiled eggs, quinoa, chickpeas, cous cous, potatoes, pasta, edamame beans, sweetcorn, brown rice can all be made for a few days in advance. Add in some feta, avocado, frittata, sun dried tomatoes, olives, falafel, a dollop of hummus/tahini/salsa. Raw nuts and seeds could be good too.

Sometimes I buy those 'super wholefood' type salads from M&S type places and add some of that to the rest of the stuff rather than eating it on it's own- a bit cheaper, gives you ideas for other salads and sometimes either saves time/money due to the ingredients in them.

Past and rice-based salads are quite a good way to fill up. I did a coronation-type one last week with light mayonnaise, peppers, raisins and mango, and it was yummy.

Pasta, not past

I mostly take leftovers for my lunch at work and heat up in the microwave.
I keep some ryvita, cheese triangles, low sugar jam, and cup a soups for emergencies (because they last forever).

I've just been given some microwave bags for steaming veg, so as I don't have a mic at home, I thought I might take some veg in each day and have steamed veg too.

I try to only drink herbal teas or hot water n lemon.

I use agave on my porridge in the morning because a nutritionist told me it was better than honey, but I sometimes use manuka honey if I'm run down or unwell. Don't know much about stevia, though interested to learn.

Please be careful saying that you don't want sandwiches for lunch every day - there was nearly a revolution last time it was brought up on here!

Jamie Eason recommends stevia so I'm all for it.

I like soup for lunch?

In the summer I'm partial to a noodle salad.
Cook noodles, I find sobs or other whole wheat good for salads. Rinse in cold water and let them drain.
Make a dressing of sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, lime juice.
Prepare loads of raw veg like sugar snap peas, cucumber, spring onions, baby corn, peppers.
Toss it all together with some fresh herbs.

I sometimes make those pre-flavours cous cous mixes, with salad.

In the winter I make vats of homemade soup.

Mainly leftovers here too.

Tesco's tinned three bean salad with lots of other vegetables and a dressing is a good quick fix. I like it with a tin of tuna added, too.

I keep oatcakes and peanut butter at work for when I forget to pick up my lunch. The oatcakes go well with anti pasta raided from jars at home - artichokes and peppers in oil, olives, gherkins and usually a bit of cheese and a slice or two of salami or ham.

Cous cous with loads of vegetables is yum.

If I am using toasted almonds or seeds I try to put some aside to chuck on whatever I'm having for lunch. Seasoned yoghurt makes a great salad dressing or can be dolloped on tagines or curries. I'm sad enough to have bought some tiny plastic pots to put such things in.

I make a fairly routine salad of green leaves (spinach in winter/spring, lettuce or rocket in summer/autumn) with pumpkin seeds, olives and a dollop of protein (ham slice torn up, hard boiled egg). If feeling a bit needy I add some chickpeas. Then I take a mini jam jar of dressing, usually balsamic vinegar.

I also thoroughly recommend Ainsley Harriot instant soups - the best I've found. The Thai Chicken one was fantastic but I'm now preferring the Butternut Squash one.

Stevia tastes exactly the same as chemical artificial sweetner i.e absolutely disgusting! Xylitol is very good indeed though so I heartily recommend that.

Marking place as I really need some inspiration!!

Xlitol and stevia are supposedly ok but stevia tastes awful and xylitol tastes just like sugar.

For lunch buy those packs of 3 mini homous tubs and cut some veg sticks to dip in one if the pots at lunchtime.

Salad with quinoa, seeds or nuts or avocado?

Xylitol is a laxative!

Gwyneth Paltrow 'approves' a particular sweetener? Did
I miss something? Is that a reason to eat/drink different things nowadays? What's her take on Greggs Sausage Rolls and Fruit Shoots? I' m intrigued

Ditto Jamie Easton. Whoever she is.

cheese and onion crisps, twix and a can of coke for me

I have a great salad box from Lakeland where you can freeze the lid. I usually make up a salad with rocket,tomatoes, cucumber and/or beetroot depending on what I have, some houmous and a sliced chicken breast ( 4 for £6 from tesco).
I sometimes bring in soup but find that even if I have made a thick one it doesn't fill me up for the afternoon.

Best not mention I get a free three course lunch every day. I hate sandwiches and I know I'm very lucky. I pack DH up with left-overs, or layered salads along the lines of M&S ones. I cook with a view to there being plenty of left-overs.

Sushi - easy to make, tasty, filling and easy to eat in 5 mins here & there when lunch breaks are non existent.
Cheese / crackers / fruit (today's lunch)
Pasta quiche & salad
Soups (in those mugs you can reheat them in) with crackers
Pizza pinwheels (or just cold pizza slices)

I think the Truvia branded stevia is fine. It is as natural as these things can be once they have gone through the production process (I edited a book chapter on stevia production - yawn).