What do you have for lunch?

[Eeve]

If not salad or soup? I love salad but I feel like I've done it to death. Never been hugely keen on soup but will have it occasionally.

What can I have at work? I've got access to a micro wave but I generally need something I can grab out of the fridge and eat at my desk as I often don't get time to faff with heating!

I have porridge oats with added seeds and sometimes berries as well. I don’t eat breakfast so I have it at lunch instead.

Sometimes have a wholemeal bagel topped with banana.

I have a cheese and pickle sandwich 191 calories
And a square of healthy banana brownie 154 calories
sometimes I have a packet of seabrooks crisps 129 calories
and a freddo 95 calories instead of the banana brownie.

I would throw in the towel if I was eating salad or soup every day.

3 stone down thanks to weighing and logging everything on My Fitness Pal.

@HazelandChacha how can you have a cheese and pickle sandwich for under 200 cals??

I tend to rotate

• Wholemeal wrap with ham/chicken/turkey and salad
• Tesco’s lemon and herb chicken heated in the microwave with salad in a wholemeal wrap
• wholemeal wrap folded in half with 2 slices of cut up ham & a sprinkle of grated cheddar, dry cooked in a frying pan
• pasta mug shot

Not very exciting, but does the job

[quote Eeve]@HazelandChacha how can you have a cheese and pickle sandwich for under 200 cals??[/quote]
Hmmm, I'm thinking the same. A slice of bread is just under 100 calories so it must be a half sandwich, no butter and a shaving of cheese 🤷🏼‍♀️. I'd like to know if its possible though!

[quote Eeve]@HazelandChacha how can you have a cheese and pickle sandwich for under 200 cals??[/quote]
Schar wholesome loaf a slice of bread is 64 calories, they are small slices.
Branston small chunk pickle 7g 13 calories
Medium cheddar, grated 12 g 50 calories.
It doesn’t need any butter because of the pickle.

The homemade banana chocolate brownie is massive so, with a cup of tea, I’m adequately full.

I aim for high protein/low calorie food so I have 150g cottage cheese with chives on 3 high protein ryvita which is a lot tastier than it sounds.

@HazelandChacha

I have a cheese and pickle sandwich 191 calories And a square of healthy banana brownie 154 calories sometimes I have a packet of seabrooks crisps 129 calories and a freddo 95 calories instead of the banana brownie.

I would throw in the towel if I was eating salad or soup every day.

3 stone down thanks to weighing and logging everything on My Fitness Pal.

Would be interested in your brownie recipe please!

I use sandwich thins or thin bagels to make a sandwich, or the usual soup or salad.
Like a pp I sometimes skip breakfast and have porridge or overnight oats.

Warm salad is my go to and comes in at around 200 calories dependant on quantity.

I steam a combination of green beans, mushrooms, baby corn, asparagus, tenderstem broccoli in the microwave for 3 minutes.

Add a teaspoon of real butter and plenty of seasoning, then tear in 3 slices of wafer thin chicken or ham.

Another option is an omelette, 2 medium eggs at 60 calories each with plenty of veg cooked in, I like spring onions, chilli and peppers or onion and mushroom.

@wildthingsinthenight

30g butter -melted (I use Lurpak spreadable)
125g S.R flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g cocoa powder
1 large egg
2tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
280-300g ripe mashed banana
25g dark chocolate broken into small bits-I use the little bars from Aldi that come in a pack of 5, the 85% dark choc. Whatever you use will affect calorie count

Preheat oven to 160(fan)
I line an 8inch square cake tin with grease proof

Combine flour, bicarb & cocoa powder.
In a separate bowl mash the bananas whilst you melt the butter. Add milk, vanilla, beaten egg & melted butter to the mashed bananas & mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients & mix then stir in half of the chocolate chips/chunks. Pour into tin & sprinkle remaining chocolate on top & bake in centre of oven for 20 mins.
I cut into 9 squares after its cold. It is most delicious the first day but I keep it in an air tight box ( in the fridge as over the summer it went mouldy quickly) and have a square -sometimes 2 most days. You can zap it for 10 secs in the microwave to warm/soften, I don’t know why it’s called a brownie as it’s more cake like tbh but I got the recipe off insta. Enjoy.

Some sort of bean salad, I add a bit of cheese too.

Eg www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mixed_bean_salad_89055

Oops pressed post too soon.
I’m only suggesting it as it’s not too salady a salad!

A weight waters wrap with quorn ham/chicken is very low calorie and they're not tiny either.

Huel, so 400 calories but it takes me through to dinner, is plant based, easy and cheap

A salad from Gregg's when working (under 400).

Nothing else til 6pm.

When wfh, a salad on a meal deal from Tesco. Again less than 400 cals.

• Bean chilli with chunks of roasted sweet potato
• Tofu poké bowls with lots of veg instead of noodles/rice (or half a pack of rice vermicelli)
• Sweet potato steamed in the microwave topped with cottage cheese and steamed veg
• Buddha bowls
• Roast veg, couscous, cottage cheese - I eat this cold
• I know you're sick to death of salads but finding and making salad/buddha bowl recipes that aren't what I usually make! The Body Coach veggie book and the Leon cookbooks have some really interesting salad recipes

Crackers with low fat cheese spread or cottage cheese. Carrot/cucumber sticks or cherry tomatoes on the side.
Houmous with flatbread and/or carrot/cucumber sticks.
Pasta salad made with loads of salad veg like peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and some feta.
Microwave rice sachets.

Cracker bread and cheese triangles.

Depends on my breakfast but typically:

Tuna (with super light mayo) salad or chicken salad wrap

Soup and a bagel thin

Bagel thin ‘pizza’

Turkey bacon sandwich/roll/bagel (i love bagels!!)

Beans or eggs on toast

Leftovers from night before

Typically with either a bag of quavers/wotsits, yoghurt, sugar free jelly or fruit - or a combo.

For work days I used to take a chunky salad: deseeded cucumber (doesn't go watery) halved baby tomatoes, small gherkins, diced avocado, etc. plus chunks of ham/chicken/omelette No leaves as messy and not filling!

All eaten easily with a fork at my desk.

Or a sandwich thin, piled high with chicken/ham/omelette with sliced tomato.

You could have a 20g babybel light for 42 calories.

Ive just eaten a sandwich made from a large brown bap (230 cal) 3 slices of chicken (72 cal) and a couple of lettuce leaves which are negligible. That's 302 cal total, but I added a smidge of mayonnaise because i had a light breakfast. I'll probably have some baked crisps or an apple as well