Healthy/Low Cost Lunches

I get bored from eating the same things for lunch. I like going to Subway because I know what I’m getting, but after a while, I just can’t eat it anymore! Also, I like to pack as much as I can to save money because $5 a day adds up over time! I have been packing side salads and half a sandwich, but I’m curious if anyone has any other good ideas for a healthy lunch. I hate eating just salads because it never keeps me full and I’m usually looking for something else around 3pm. Any yummy ideas?

I usually eat for lunch what I had for dinner the night before. I weigh and measure it before putting it up. I even make extras to freeze in those Glad/Ziploc containers so that on evenings when things are too busy, I can just grab one out of the freezer and microwave it.

I bring my dinner leftovers, which saves me money and prep time - I cook a couple of meals on the weekend, portion it out right away, and that's lunch for the week. I'll fill it out with other fruits, veggies, and protein snacks, but the hard part is there waiting for me.

If you're consistently hungry in the afternoon, try building in a snack. I bring a lunch that has a main course of 250-350 cals, then have a few other items that I munch on throughout the afternoon- some greek yogurt, nuts, string cheese, a piece of fruit, a hard boiled egg, celery with peanut butter...those type of things. It's healthy to snack as long as you're buiding it into your daily calories, plus it ensures that I have energy for the gym after work.

I like bringing a salad for lunch. My new favorite is lettuce with turkey, craisins, blue cheese crumbles, and raspberry vinagrette dressing. I usually have a yogurt around 10ish, then my salad around 12:30, and I bring an additional snack for around 3ish. This is always something different but today it is cucumbers.

I almost always prepare my lunches on Sunday night. I switch up my snacks with different fruits, yogurts, crackers, etc.

A FS buddy recommended pitas to me. I have had a pita everyday since and havnt gotten bored with them. I was going to subway and getting veggie subs for 5 dollars but now I can buy whole wheat pitas (6 for $1.50) and veggies and top with red wine vinegar (spend about $8-10 on veggies a week) so I get something filling and quick for about 160 calories. sometimes I pair it with soup. I also bring apples for a mid morning snack and an afternoon snack they are full of fiber and way filling. sometimes I bring string cheese or almonds.

Leftovers!

I don't have much time during the week so I cook on the weekend, usually a good casserole or chili or soup. Then I eat it once and freeze the rest in screw top ziplock round plastic containers. Then I bring one of these frozen containers along with some useful snack to work. The snack might be some sort of exotic salad or a homemade turnover of some kind (less calories than the kind you buy). Then at work I go down to the company cafeteria and buy a salad and eat that and the small container of soup. Satisfying and usually not too many calories.

Then at 3 I eat the snack, either a little interesting salad or the turnover (fruit or something like a samosa with savory ingredients like meat crumbles -- soy meat substitute -- or other savory ingredients).

This works reasonably well and gives me some variety.

I mostly hate salads.

I tend to make big batches of stews or soups or frittatas or something, and refrigerate them in individual servings. I bring those to work along with some yogurt and usually a piece of fruit for an afternoon snack.

Tuna,eggs,bean salads,pollock. You can make yoursel so many different types of wraps, you should never be bored eating them.

steak salad! I get bored with my luches too. So making steak salad with some cranberry, feta cheese, almonds, and some low fat dressing tastes sooooo goood.

You don't need to eat leafy salads to get in your veggies. A couple times a week I make horiatiki (Greek salad) by chopping cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers (usually yellow to add colour), feta or mizithra, and sprinkling with lemon pepper. It lasts for days and improves with age. I also make a big batch of coleslaw by shredding cabbage and coleslaw, but instead of mayo (which I despise) use Greek yogourt for the dressing. Again, it lasts for days as does roasted/grilled vegetables. I use whatever is in season at the farmers' market or the freshest winter produce, chop, drizzle with olive oil, then barbeque or oven roast. This is great atop pasta or rice and can be a stand alone meal with the addition of legumes, cheese, tofu, tempeh or whatever dead animal you prefer. Enjoy! Another trick is to forget prepping produce entirely. A few celery stalks, carrots, and an apple are all great ways to get in "salad' ingredients with nothing more than a quick rinse.

I like having hummus sandwiches--I just buy 100 calorie sandwich rounds and my favorite flavor of hummus. Ends up around 175 calories for a main course, and it's healthy too!

The dinner leftovers approach works well for me -- even when I'm eating lunch at home. Even when I was woking full time, I cooked almost every night. But I shorten up prep and cooking time by preparing a big batch of hulled barley and a batch of quinoa at the beginning of the week for my starch, and I make extra vegetables, so that I don't have to prep and cook vegetables every night. So mostly I'm dealing with proteins on a daily basis. If I'm grilling chicken breast, I make three portions -- then I make up a lunch for the next day in a glasslock container with some of the vegetables, starch and protein. I do the same thing if I'm cooking fish, or even the very occasional skirt steak. For variety, I also keep a stock of chicken andouille and turkey Italian sausages in the freezer. I can put them still frozen in the container with starch and veggies -- by lunch they're thawed, and I pop the whole container into the microwave on reheat and they cook up. My colleagues at work were astounded by my lunches, and especially surprised to find out that they usually added up to about 300 calories total.

Frozen shrimp is very good - low in calories and high in protien, and if you split a bag into 4 portions, its not to expencive. I think I pay $7 for a bag at Wegmans, so that equils out to $1.75 a portion - Thats not to bad!!! Of course you have to put it on something, like a salad, but thats not to bad price wise either, if you make it yourself.

+1 on the pitas - I love Joseph's with wheat, oat & flax. I bring either romaine hearts or baby spinach, then either a reasonable salad dressing or some Wholly Guacamole 100-calorie packs (usually 1/2 a pack is sufficient) to keep things from being too dry, then add in a mixture of some sort of proteins: sliced turkey breast, some turkey pepperoni, leftover porkchops, string cheese in tiny shreds - whatever. Stir the insides together and try to get it all into the pita. So many possible variations I have yet to get bored!

I've also started taking a CARBmaster yogurt pretty much every day (Kroger/Ralph's brand); I don't low-carb per se, but I am starting to watch my ratios more carefully) and these have the BEST flavors, especially for a store brand. My favorite is either Strawberry Colada or Raspberry Yumberry. I think they're right around 60 calories & 4 net carbs! They're a delicious treat.

These are great ideas. Thanks everyone!

if you're hungry again eat again... but be sure that you are getting 64 ounces of water a day... you will find you are not as hungry when you are getting the right amount of water.

rice cakes with peanutbutter! or cheese! whole grain type, about 30 or 40 calories for these. plus they are crunchy

I have a frozen smartones everday --quick and easy at work and the calories are usually under 350

Michelina's Lean Gourmet has some excellent meals for around 300 calories, and they are only $1 at Wal-Mart($1.20 @ Publix). Also, you can get a coupon from Michelina's website for $1 off when you buy 5--that's 80 cents each! That's a pretty economical lunch, I think. My favorites are Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans, Three Cheese Chicken, Meat Loaf and Buffalo Chicken Snackers.