Any ideas for easy lunches at work? Getting bored!

[OvertiredandConfused]

So I'm seven months in now. 5st down and bit over 4st to go. No urge to rush to the sandwich van or fill up on sugary snacks, but I am struggling with ideas for what to eat when I have to take lunch to work.

It needs to be minimal prep (due to a disability). Not my main meal, but enough energy to keep me going until 7.30pm as other medication means I can't eat before then in the evening. Usually have about 300 calories at the moment but can go up to 400. I can use a microwave but prefer to avoid as often as possible

Currently it's varying combinations of cuppa soup, apple, banana, baby bel, cold chicken, tomatoes and maybe cottage cheese.

Please inspire me!

Not at all inspiring but my go to is cucumber, crabsticks and cottage cheese. Sometimes throw in a bit of ham instead of the crab sticks.

I am a big meal prep fan for example;

-wholewheat couscous (could prepare and eat cold, or it simply needs hot water) if you roast a load of veg and a protein, mix it all together and portion out into lunch containers.

• courgette tuna boats. Cut courgette in half, scoop out the middle. Mix tuna, cottage cheese, normal cheese, fill the 'boats' and roast. Reheats well in the microwave (if you dont mind the smell. Could use a different protein.

-soup. Roast and load of veg, add to a pot, bone broth and what ever seasoning you like. Blend with a stick blender. Portion out.

-cheesy egg bites. Eggs, cottage cheese, normal cheese, a protein like ham, veg that you like. Mix all together and bake in muffin cups/tray. Can be eaten hot or cold

Apologies if this would be too much with your disability. I find prepping once a week (twice at the most) works for me.

Can you manage a home made soup? I am making a big pot of thick filling lentil soup now using Tesco preprepped bags of carrot and swede, I had to wash/chop leek as their preprepped chopped leek and not washed and has woody bits in it but otherwise minimal prep if that is possible for you?

If not soup I tend to go for protein such as a precooked (by Tesco again!) salmon fillet, with a sliced boiled egg, some mayo or sweet chilli sauce and bagged salad perhaps a sprinkle of seeds on top. The Unbeleafable bags of salad have really got me into salad again - really fresh and tasty without needing a dressing - a bit more expensive than normal salad but worth it as even ds eats it!

I’ve started taking a couple of rivitas with either cottage cheese or tuna mayo with some cherry tomatoes and or cucumber sticks. Then I take a load of fruit (normally 3 portions of different fruits)

Today I had 2 boiled eggs mushed up with cottage cheese, ate that by scooping it onto Cucumber slices and pepper slices, and also had some left over chicken breast, . I cooked chicken let go cold and pop in fridge for snacking..

@MrsMiagi it all sounds delicious. Probably a bit much without help, but some good options when I can get help to prep.

@afromom I always forget rivita! Same with boiled eggs @morbidcuriosity. Both easy

Frozen plain chicken strips from Sainsbury's and their frozen stir fry mix. Throw in some pepper, chilli flakes and salt.
Nice and really filling

Toasted pitta, hummus, cucumber sticks and grapes.

I use a flask a lot (same for my daughter's lunches for school) to avoid using the microwave as there's often a queue. Quite often heat up homemade soup or leftovers up in the morning fling them in the flask. Usually still perfectly hot at lunchtime.

I was going to suggest a food flask too, my DD uses one for packed lunches in the winter. Fill it with boiling water first put the lid on and leave it for 5 mins to heat up, then empty and fill with your hot food. Just make sure you heat the food really good and hot in the morning and it will still be hot for lunch.

I WFH so meal prep a few days worth at the time and use the slow cooker, 400g chicken breast/lean beef/pork tenderloin/lean mince, a bag of frozen sliced peppers, a bag of frozen sliced mushrooms, a bag of sliced red onion from the fresh veg section, a load of whatever seasoning you like. 3 hrs on high or all day on low. Then I stick it on the hob for 10 minutes to cook off some of the liquid, you can add more veg here if you like, stuff that doesn’t handle slow cooking like broccoli or green beans.

That makes 4 portions, each portion about 200 calories depending on type of meat and how much extra veg you add. I eat it 3 days in a row and put one portion in the freezer, so I cook ever 4th work day and slowly build a bit of a freezer stash for days I can’t be arsed to cook.

At the start of the week chop up cubes of tomato, Pepper, cucumber, red onion, lettuce, cheese and whatever else, then every day add pre cooked chicken breast or tuna mayo in a Tupperware.

I cook 3 chicken breasts at the start of the week with salt and herb seasoning on them.

I make a pyrex jug of couscous with a tin of cooked chickpeas added in and flavour with a stock cube, lemon and herbs.

Batch into 3 - 4 portions and add cherry tomatoes and a handful of salad leaves.

I sometimes mix it up by putting the chicken and salad in a pitta bread instead.

Another easy one is to make a 0% fat yoghurt based dip and have it with pitta breads and carrot etc dipped in.

Feta cheese (around 40-50g), couple of tablespoons of natural 0% fat yogurt (like Skyr) and a handful of fresh herbs makes a great dip. Or make your own hummus dip. Then can have carrot, celery, pepper sticks with it.

Wholemeal pitta (put in toaster a bit so you can cut it open) filled with ham/chicken/cheese and salad.

Eggs and peppers/mushrooms or ham/cheese etc added to muffin cases and cooked to make crustless quiches. Can last a couple of days in the fridge.

You can buy plastic omelette makers that cook omelettes in a microwave. Just have salt/pepper and some dried mixed herbs at work to add.

Jacket potatoes - if they’ll take too long in microwave at work, pre-cook at home. Add tuna, baked beans (can also heat in microwave) or cheese.

Iceland do some Slimming World lunchpots that are quite nice although they take about 8 minutes in the microwave as cooking from frozen, but if you have them in the work fridge all morning, I guess they’d thaw out a bit.

Filled wraps. Iceland do a Slimming World wrap that’s healthier as it contains plenty of fibre. I’ve got a Crimpet and you can fill a wrap, seal it and then heat it up in a microwave.

Microwave rice or couscous (assume you gave hot water as well as access to a microwave at work) with something added like left over chilli, tinned tuna with teriyaki sauce (or something added to make it less dry).

Thank you. I’ve got a few ideas to add to next week’s shopping.

@Jeska7 my son bought a crimped home from uni - might try and find it

Tuna nicoise type lunch (I avoid potatoes but can be added in)

Tuna (tinned)
Baby Spinach
Boiled eggs
Greenbean (tinned)
Black olives
Cherry Tomatoes

Small amount of shop bought lemon and caper dressing

With crispbread and cottage cheese

So easy full of protien

if you have a Lidl near you there frozen protein ready meals are very good. The chicken naked burrito one is very nice and 342 calories and very filling , 6 mins in a microwave and not full of random ingredients or additives. It is high in salt content but a few lunches a week is fine by me. Take it out of freezer and let it thaw at your desk and it’ll not even take 6mins to cook. Also only £1:80 . I saw on TikTok recommendation!

I make mini poke bowls - this week I put in sticky rice (microwave pouch), prawns, edamame, mango, spring onions, sugar snap peas, sesame seeds, pickled ginger and soy sauce. No cooking involved and not much prep. You can mix and match what you put in, I sometimes have smoked salmon, cucumber, carrots, radish etc. They taste good, are healthy and keep me going til dinner.