Lunch ideas - no salad!

[Pamelaaa]

Am trying to start eating healthily tomorrow after months of eating rubbish. Would love to lose about a stone. I am ok with breakfast and dinner ideas but can anyone suggest what I take to work for my lunch, especially as I really struggle with salad.

I tend to eat very little at lunchtime. Cup of soup, mug shot, just enough to fill me up ready for a nice tea. Nothing wrong with not filling your face at lunchtime.

I roast loads of vegetables on Sunday ( sweet potato, butternut squash, onion,peppers ect..) and at last moment add halloumi and eat that 3 days in a row....

I have a big breakfast, lunch, then try and have a smaller dinner.

For lunch I usually have the nights before leftovers but will often make a massive soup, lasagne or curry and freeze it all and take it into work for lunch

Soup, or ryvitas with cream cheese and ham and tomatoes or similar.

I take reduced fat egg mayonnaise sandwiches. Small wholemeal bread slices, lots of lettuce, tablespoon of the filling. Bag of low fat crisps. Low fat yoghurt. Banana.

As I write this I can hear horrified MN shrieks of, 'BREAD?!?!' 'LOW FAT?!?!?!' 'ACTUAL CARBOHYDRATE?!?!?!' 'SUGAR?!?!?!'

Fuck it. Have lost over a stone in six weeks or so.

All salads? or are things like pesto pasta with a few cherry tomatoes okay.

Chopped new potatos, parma ham, spring onions, tiny amount of extra light mayo to bind it.

Spicy meat bites like cajun chicken, a few small cubes cheese, veg

I like ryvita minis (especially the salt and vinegar ones) with a pot of cottage cheese but I know not everyones keen.

Stuffed peppers with spicy cous cous or savoury rice.

Stuffed mushrooms

Italian style antipasta mix - some lovely bits in lidl for italian week.

Do you have a microwave?
Soup.
Baked potato with baked beans
Loads of microwavable ready meals are healthy, like the Innocent pots or Sainsbury's do a range that has smoked haddock, rce and spinach - but they do add up in cost, of course.
Pots of those instant noodles - the Sainsbury's Laksa one is v tasty, ditto some of the ones made by the Japanese chain...Itso? Not Pot Noodles, anyway.
A cold chicken leg (no skin), and an apple
A mug of Miso soup (in sachets, on the shelf with the Japanese stuff) and a ryvita with half fat cream cheese

Some of these are low calorie rather than specifically healthy.

Thanks. Some good ideas for me to try.

Armi - i was trying to avoid carbs but maybe I am wrong! Sounds like you are doing really well. Have you any other tips?

I have home made soup with a couple of oatcakes or tesco flatbread crackers with houmous. Lidl make a nice cous cous with roast veg for £1- that does me two lunches. I then have 2 tablespoons ofYeo valley full fat yog with some fruit most days

I make a large frittata by roasting veg (I do mushrooms, garlic,cherry toms,courgette,onion, sweet potato, green beans) in balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs, no oil.

When they are cooked I lightly oil a medium lasagne dish with olive oil, whisk up 6 eggs and put all the veg and eggs in, top with low fat mozzarella or cheddar and bake. It normally does 4 portions at around 200 calories each and is lovely cold and very filling. I smother mine with jalapeno sauce.

Stone Fox, that sounds gorgeous!

I make Vietnamese cold rolls. Are actually pretty simple and feel like a treat! Otherwise leftovers from the night before but they are very salad heavy! But also things like veggie chillis, stir fry etc. I never used to like salad but have been trying some more exciting ones that don't involve much in the way of lettuce/tomato. Lots of red cabbage, avocado, carrots, tofu (could sub chicken), nuts and seeds, peppers, tahini based dressing. Low in carbs, high in protein and yum!

It really is hilly and easy.

Watching for more ideas.
Another easy lunch is skinless chicken thighs marinated overnight in low fat yogurt, spices, onion, coriander and lemon juice. Bake in the oven and keep in the fridge to eat cold for lunch, only around 100/120 calories each. I munch a couple of poppadoms with them, only 36 calories each.

At home or at work ?

At home

• scrambled egg on a slice of ham
• small tin of baked beans on a slice of ham (proper ones, none of the "low" stuff)
• tin of soup
• stir fried veg with a couple of strips of chicken

But actually, the less you can manage for lunch, the more you have available for other meals

At work

• a slice of frittata
• egg muffins that you can eat cold or reheat
• microwave soup