Easy lunch recommendations?

[jumblebee]

Just had my first meeting tonight and I'm really excited!

Trying to put together a meal plan so I can get all the right things in tomorrow's shop and I'm struggling to get my head around things.

If I have plain porridge for breakfast with milk, that's my healthy extra a and b used isn't it? So I'm struggling what to have for lunch? I would do a salad but porridge doesn't usually fill me up a lot and I don't know if a salad would feel like "enough"?

I'm going to try and have breakfast and lunch the same every 3 days (until I get used to the plan anyway)

Now to think of evening meals :-/
It all feels so daunting, can anyone offer up some suggestions?

[chloeb2002]

I'm not an expert.. But I make water porridge .. Tastes the same! I need every drop of milk for my coffee!
So today for lunch I am having the 99% fat free noodles. With grapes as super free.
Tomorrow is salad with beef roast( fat removed) fat free dressing.
Not sure how many syns it is but I make sushi. Grilled chicken and plain rice so not sweetened. Sometimes in nori. Sometimes not!
Jacket potato with salad?
Prawns.. Salmon.. Chicken,, log list

[jumblebee]

I was thinking about making porridge with water but the last time I did it just tasted like glue

I didn't think about chicken with rice, I shall try that! I've just done a big food shop and have everything I need for the week ahead (hopefully!)

Thank you for replying, I have a feeling it will take me a while to get used to the plan!

[backinaminute]

I'm only a week and a half in, but I've made lots of chunky soups - packed with veg, big chunks of chicken and soup mix (lentils, barley etc), that's been really filling. Salad wise, you can put lots of meat or eggs and maybe some pasta in it to bulk it out.

If I'm at home, I've been having a big ham or chicken salad (yesterday I had chopped up lean bacon) and then poached eggs on the top.

So far, that's pretty much what I've had (either/or) every day

[Whyjustwhy]

You could try looking at your breakfast.
I have 1/2 b portion of apricot wheats or crunchy bran with chopped grapes, banana and blueberries covered with a fat free (usually mullerlight) yogurt for breakfast.
That way I have still got the other 1/2 B and my whole A to use later in the day
For lunches I generally have something like cous cous with roasted veg, & salad
Or a simple risotto w salad
(Generally a lunch time sized portion not Dinner sized iyswim)
Anyway good luck, I think it's a great diet x

[PhoebeMcPeePee]

I'm still quite new to SW so watching with interest but like you find the breakfast portions don't satisfy me. My successful meals so far:

Spaghetti hoops (free) on wholemeal toast (HEB) or grilled mushrooms & a fried egg. Remember no oil - use fry light or get some fry lining sheets)

Various soups in hearty portions with potato, rice or pasta for bigger meal & added bulk!

Spaghetti Bolognese

Beef, baked bean & potato hotpot

Roast chicken (skin off) with dry roast potatoes, lots of free veg & syns for gravy

Thai prawn stir-fry with noodles

Cheats kedgeree - Rice with boiled egg, flaked fish, curry powder & peas!

[Midori1999]

Ways to make the breakfast cereals go further are to make porridge with water, then stir in a syn free yoghurt. (Saves using your HEa too) to make the oats into porridge/magic pancakes, to eat a HEb portion of muesli on two sliced bananas and a dollop of total 0%. Or have an omelette, which is quick and doesn't use any HE's.

For lunch you could have soup made with potatoes/pulses, egg and beans, sandwich (if you still have your HEb left) noodles, pasta, couscous, big salad. I sometimes just have a big plate of crudités with some boiled egg/ham/crabsticks.

Tinned potatoes are handy to keep in the cupboard to use in omelettes or salads.

[Fatphase]

Are you doing the EE plan?

What type of milk are you using? You can only have 35g of porridge oats so it shouldnt not use all your milk.

I used skimmed milk which you are allowed more of. It is absolutely fine for porridge and means there is milk left over for tea/coffee etc.

You could also pad out your lunch with a banana and a muller light. Infact that is all I have for lunch some days.

Later on - when you get used to the plan you may want to play around with the different plans. Much as I love EE for my Tuna Jacket spuds and spag bol etc I do find Original and Green days gove much more flexibility and work better some times because you are allowed 2 HE a and b's on those days. - which allows doe cereal/porridge for breakfast and a cheese sandwich for lunch. But its probably not wise to confuse your self with all that until you get to grips with EE.

[PhoebeMcPeePee]

Goodness yes omelette - my go to if all else fails chuck some mushrooms & herbs in a pan & make an omelette

[chocoshopoholic]

I generally have a hearty salad...

Grilled Peri peri chicken, quinoa, tomatoes, peppers and onion

Noodles, prawn, ginger, stir fry mix veg

Curry chicken, rice, salad

Tuna and pasta, tomatoes cucumber and celery

Pear, smidge of blue cheese (need to count), rocket...

[RedorBlack]

Mini crust free quiches with salad make great packed lunches, totally free and you can eat them hot or cold

[jumblebee]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions everyone I'm not a very good or adventurous cook so when I do eat healthily it tends to be the same thing every day and I get bored.

But today I made chicken soup (which is a first, made my own stock too!) and used my HEA(is it a or be?) for 2 slices of whole meal bread to dip in. Yesterday I went out for lunch and had chili con carne (quite high in syns but I didn't have anything else that had syns.

I think tomorrow I will make an omelette for breakfast so I can have beans on toast for lunch

What I need to get my head around is counting syns for light margarine, it feels like because it's something so small it doesn't count but really it does and the syns will add up!

Can I be cheeky and ask how much everyone lost in the first week and how much they have lost so far? I would be ecstatic to lose 2lbs (well, lose anything given the amount of food I seem to be eating)

[jumblebee]

Redorblack is there a recipe online for the crust less quiche? I love quiche so having a syn free version would be great

[0FrillyKnickers0]

Re porridge made with water, I chop up a banana once the porridge is cooked and then stir it in! It is a lovely addition to fairly dull breakfast. And it's filling!

[RedorBlack]

Jumble- quick instructions for you:

Chop and fry your veggie fillings, I usually use onions mushrooms peppers etc.
Chop any other filling eg ham
Put fillings in the bottom of muffin tins
Beat 3-4 eggs
Put egg mix over fillings
Bake at 170 for 20 minutes

You can sprinkle cheese over the top for healthy A or count the syns but I have them without

[jumblebee]

Thanks frilly knickers, I shall try that :) maybe with some seeds sprinkled on top for a bit of crunch, if they're not too high in syns (I have rationed out posh chocolate and a sachet of options hot chocolate for tomorrow's treats! )

Redorblack that sounds yummy (and easy!) Mushrooms and onions are on my shopping list for tomorrow so I may give them a go for lunch

[RedorBlack]

Put choc shot on your shopping list. It's a chocolate sauce version if got chocolate but is fab drizzled on porridge fruit yoghurts etc and only 1/2 syn per teaspoon