Low calorie lunch ideas

[SMJYellow]

Can I get a little bit of help please on some low calorie lunch ideas please.

Currently, the main thing I have for lunches is everyday is
A homemade beetroot dip with beetroot and creme fraice
A a packet of nairns oatcakes.
A piece of cheese.

Sometimes I might have soup instead of the beetroot dip.

I seem to be slowing at losing weight now. I'm down nearly a stone since March from nearly 17 stone to a 15 stone 13lbs and it looks as if the scales is now sitting there ant 15 stone 13lbs.

I think it's lunch that's tripping me up. I did a rough calorie estimate and it's approx 825 calories.

Any ideas please for a low calorie, filling lunch?

For breakfast I have poached eggs or salmon with ratatouille for breakfast.

I'm not hungry in the evenings for a big dinner and I might have a yoghurt in the evening or some cheese and a cup of tea.

825!

I am aiming for about 250-300 calories for my lunches at the moment (have been as low as 200 but I was losing weight too fast)

Ditch the cheese - it's very high calorie. Also I suspect your homemade dip could be made lower calorie - could you use a lower fat substitute instead of the creme fraiche? And limit how much of it you have - when I have a dip like Houmous I measure it carefully and only have 50 calories worth at a time.

Try Ryvita instead of oatcakes. 2 Ryvita with a thin spread of Philadelphia light is only 100 calories. That with a big salad with a low-cal dressing is a good lunch.

A wholemeal tortilla wrap filled with loads of salad and 2 or 3 falafel

Bowl of soup with one slice of bread (my soups are so thick they could be used as mortar on a building site, and are very filling but have virtually no fat)

I find reducing carbs at lunch helps keep calories down. Suggestions include:

Soup with one cracker and cheese
Salad leaves with roast chicken and avocado (small amount!)
Parma ham, asparagus and poached egg
Tomato and mozerella salad
Ham and fried eggs
Tzatsiki and one pitta
Stir fried broccoli and prawns in garlic sauce

I don't understand how that's so high in calories! Oatcakes is just a snack to me!

Oatcakes are calorie dense. If you really like that lunch you could have three oatcakes (not a pack of 6) and make sure you're using reduced fat creme fraiche to cut the calories? and halve the size of your piece of cheese? or have a soft cheese like Camembert which is about half the cals of hard cheese.

Thanks for all of the replies. Definitely some ideas for me to work with here. I do love the beetroot dip. I will go for the low fat creme fraice instead and aim to have that for about once a week instead the 2 or 3 times a week I have it. I love home made soups so I will aim to have that more often. My favourite foods lately is ratatouille and I'm just after googling can you eat ratatouille cold and the answer is yet. I'm delighted. I can have some ratatouille for lunch now.

I've just had half a pita toasted, stuffed with 2 scrambled eggs and a slice of orange (processed) cheese with some cucumber.

Other things I have are,
Open (one slice of bread) sandwiches with e.g. smoked salmon and rocket, bacon and egg and tomato, lots of ham, mustard and salad, etc.
Small jacket potato with beans and a bit of cheese, or some prawns in a quick sauce
Small portion of leftover dinner bulked up with a big salad.

Ratatouille is lovely, easy to make with very little fat, and makes a gorgeous breakfast with a poached egg nestled in there oozing out its yolky goodness into the tomato. I had adapted the HelloFresh recipe and roast the veg then add passata and seasoning, and make a big batch which keeps in the fridge for ages.

Nearly always have a sand which , today bacon roll, grilled in muffin.
Love eggs tho, msybe that ,scrambled on toast

I have the same lunch every day as it’s really filling: small sweet potato, lots of salad leaves (no dressing), cucumber and a small tin of canned fish.

Have you tried quark into it? It is naturally low fat so it's not topped up with starch etc. Plus I like the flavour. Very refreshing!

If your lunch is your main meal, because you are not eating dinner, I would aim somewhere around 500-600 cal and actually made it into proper meal. Concentrate on protein and veg there. Similarly to your breakfast.

I love salads and try to add different stuff to keep them exciting, sweetcorn, boiled egg, sometimes gerkin but only a couple if I do. decent ham but again not much, baby plum tomatoes, carrot. keep it changing, keep it exciting. Bread can be quite calorific so I try to cut it down at lunch so I can have the things with more flavour.

For 825 Kcal's you could have an amazing meal. It’s a lot to be using on what is essentially a snack. Why aren’t you eating a proper lunch OR dinner?

It’s only tripping you up if it brings you over your total calories for the day. What’s your max cals?

Basin Haircut,

It's enough to fill me up.

I focus in on breakfast for my main meal of the day so that would be poached eggs or salmon with veg or ratatouille. That breakfast keeps me going til lunchtime.

The lunches I have although it probably doesn't appear to me much, it's enough to fill me up. I don't have a dinner or a big meal in the evenings because I don't have an appetite for one.

Jacket potato with beans.
Scrambled egg on toast.
Omelettes/frittata.
Chili & rice.