Working in corporate America, it is always interesting to me to see what people eat for lunch. There are the people who always bring their lunch from home and there are the people who go out to lunch every single day. Besides the fact that eating out usually isn’t healthy, it also is a drain on the wallet so it is something I try to avoid. I mostly bring from home now but I didn’t used to be like that.
When I first started in the work force, I would go out to lunch most days (and my wallet and wasteline suffered because of it). My favorite lunch places were Chipotle and Noodles & Company and while I realize now that you can find healthy options at both of those places, I was not choosing them back then. If I “brought from home” it was a lean cuisine or smart ones (does anybody still eat those?). I never used to cook and thought the frozen meals were healthy while being relatively inexpensive so I would eat those. As I started to become more aware of what actually was healthy, I realized that frozen meals are full of sodium and aren’t exactly filling meals, so I ditched those.
When we started counting calories back in 2009, I decided to start making larger batches of healthy lunch options on Sundays that I could eat throughout the week. My go-to’s then were tuna salad and chicken salad using recipes from a healthy cookbook we had. This seemed to work for us because while I had to invest extra time on Sunday, it limited the time I needed to invest in cooking and meal planning during the week. Making meals from home also saved us money, which was a bonus! However, I was also conscious that I would still be eating out from time to time so I would research restaurants to find what the healthy lower calorie lunch options were. That way I could still go to lunch with my co-workers, but I could stay within my calorie allotment for the day.
Fast forward 10 years and I am still making large batches of food on Sundays to eat for lunches throughout the week. I’ve moved past just eating tuna salad and chicken salad and now try to make a variety of soups, salads and so on for lunches so we don’t get bored with what we are eating. As I am writing this, I realize that I eat the same three breakfasts over and over again and somehow I don’t get bored with them but for lunches, I need variety. If eating the same thing works for you each week, then do it! It would eliminate some of the meal planning time each week.
Our lunches are usually around 300-400 calories (not including any sides). For lunch “sides” I usually just have a piece of fruit. Ryan does fruit and veggies with guacamole or hummus. It just depends on how hungry you are and how many calories you are going for. Oh and I usually have a LaCroix as well (better than the diet cokes I used to drink everyday!).
Here are some of my favorite lunch recipes:
- Asian Quinoa Salad (pictured above)
- Quinoa Mango & Black Bean Salad
- Lemon Orzo Chicken Salad
- Crockpot Lentil Soup
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Another lunch go-to of ours is making a salad with chicken. Basically we do a base of lettuce and either get a rotisserie chicken or cook some chicken breast and then chop up veggies (e.g. peppers, onions, avocado, tomatoes) to put on it. We will either use a homemade balsamic vinaigrette or else a store bought dressing (like Bolthouse yogurt dressings). I make the salads and put them in containers for the week on Sunday and then we just add the dressings the night before or morning of so that it doesn’t get soggy.
So what about the weekend? Well, we are usually home these days with the kids because our youngest naps right after lunch so our weekend lunches are either dinner leftovers or salads with tuna. Similar to my chicken salad example above, we do the same thing but with tuna. If you like tuna, it is a great option to get high protein with low calories (not to mention very affordable!).
If we are eating out for lunch, either during the work week or the weekend, our go-to’s are still Chipotle (we get healthier things now), Jimmy Johns, PotBelly or else I will get soup (broth based) from local places.
Most sandwich places have smaller sizes or “skinny” options that can cut down the calories. Also, skipping the mayo is a HUGE calorie saver. I don’t like mayo so that is easy for me to do, but if you like mayo, go light on it or try mustard instead (I know, totally not the same but you have to make some sacrifices). If I am eating at a sandwich place, I will usually skip the chips or get the baked ones if I am really craving them. The other chips are usually too high calorie for me to justify. If I am bringing it home, I will eat a side of fruit or veggies instead.
For Chipotle, I get the salad, no rice and usually decide between a meat or beans (not both). For other toppings, I get the fajita veggies, salsas (not the corn one) and I do splurge on the guacamole. If you don’t like guac, the cheese and sour cream are less calories so you could chose one of those instead. I do NOT get chips at Chipotle. Are they amazing? Yes. Are they a million calories? YES! If you want chips, go buy a bag of tortilla chips on your way home. You can probably eat half the bag for the same calories in a serving of Chipotle chips.
So there you have it. That’s how I lunch.
How do you lunch? Do you eat out or make something?
