I’m looking for easy and cheap options for lunches on weekdays. I mostly eat deli sandwiches and hot dogs right now and I always feel like shit after eating them. I think I need something healthier but I don’t have time over my lunch hour to cook anything too fancy. What do you all do for reliable healthy easy lunches?
If you’re feeling shit after sandwiches and hot dogs, presumably in bread rolls, you could be gluten intolerant.
IANAD.
Or you could be having too large of a meal!
this is what i struggle with.
I’m not intolerant to gluten and I still feel like shit when I have a carb heavy bread based lunch. Anytime I cut out the bread I always feel better afterward
I make big batches of lentil or chickpea curry, freeze half, eat the unfrozen during the week, then next week do a different recipe, freeze half, eat the unfrozen half, then thaw the first variety I made, and so on, so I have a constant flow of frozen and different curries.
You can also just thaw one if you can’t be assed to cook that week, too.
To make em into a lunch, I usually make rice and a coleslaw or other quick prep veg so you get some nutritional variety up in that batch
Black coffee.
Actually, that’s breakfast. I just drink water at work and eat when I get home. After the first few days, my body adjusted. I don’t get hungry at work anymore.
Coffee is a superb natural appetite suppressant. I usually have a cup of coffee, a glass of milk, and a cup of unsalted peanuts around breakfast time. Keeps me pretty full most of the day.
I just drink coffee and eat nails, it’s good for digestion
If I’ve had a cooked dinner the night before I’ll have that for lunch the next day.
My partner and I have done meal prep on weekends in the past as well. That can work well if you have the space to keep food frozen for a week or two.
This right here. Because I suck at cooking I usually get 2-3 HelloFresh or other meal prep kits with recipes, then eat on them for dinner that night and lunch the next day. Pretty healthy to boot.
If I’m at home, udon noodle soup: just vegetable stock cube in a pot of water, boil it, chuck the noodles in, chuck in whatever you want to put in the soup (I just chop up tofu and one vegetable of my choice), boil for a few mins, and it’s done. Put Laoganma on to serve. Obviously use whatever other noodles you prefer if you have a preference other than udon. Takes like 15 mins total and it’s so simple for something that’s an actual full meal. I don’t take it with me when I’m on the go though, as it’s hard to carry a bowl of noodle soup with you.
For something you can take with you on the go, I’ve been making this vegan smoked tofu carbonara recipe lately. You’ll still need a microwave to heat it up once it’s lunchtime, unless you want to eat cold spaghetti for lunch, but it’s really tasty, especially the tofu.
Udon broth is also available premade and is very quick and easy to make from scratch.
Try avocado and hummus sandwiches, nutritious and tasty.
I cook large batches of stew every now and then, freeze in 2 or 3 portion packages. Then each sunday I prep some carbs, defrost and pasteurize stew and put it all together. Boom! Lunches ready to go into the work microwaves.
some things that worked for me and advice
If you are not very active at work, and you have the flexibility to shift your breaks, try taking a bunch of shorter breaks and start working on preparing side dishes like you are cooking for a holiday or a family gathering.
Food can last ~2 weeks in the fridge. For me, if my food variety feels repetitive, it is because my cooking needs some work. I can eat the same thing every day easily, if the food is really good.
Here’s the thing, “healthy” and how you feel is complicated and likely has to do with IBS to some degree. You likely have many very poor quality options available, but are not looking at the ingredients in detail. Like the oil used is a major factor in how you feel just under the surface of most people’s awareness. Unhydrogenated oils may make an enormous difference, as will either sticking to grass fed dairy or eliminating dairy all together.
I was 350lbs and lost all of it down to below 190lbs while riding and eventually racing bicycles. At around 3500-4000 calories per day, a lot of subtle problems become much larger and require attention. Processed industrially produced foods are universally terrible. Almost everything in the center isles of an American grocery store are garbage to avoid. Only eat things that look like how they grew.
All you need to do is shop for nice containers to use for all stages of cooking and transport. This is the “convenience” conditioning we were all trained to forget as dumb little American consumers.
The healthiest person I ever worked with in a bike shop back office was an Olympic athlete. He never ate “meals.” He came to work looking like a tupperware salesman. He ate small amounts of a bunch of different side dish like foods he made in their own small containers. His diet shifted to exactly what he was doing physically each day and he was amazing on a bike.
“Meals” are the primary problem. How much you eat at one time determines a whole lot. Your body does not keep cycling that glucose through your bloodstream. It does a few laps and turns to fat. Then you have low blood sugar until your next pie hole infusion. All your muscles can deal with that except for your brain. That one requires glucose only, and so you feel bad when it is resource poor.
The solution is to eat more often, but far less, and things that take time to break down as they will provide more glucose over longer periods of time. Processed means predigested; means the nutrition info is garbage. It will go through you quickly and that will inevitably lead to low glucose for the grey goo. I cook several large casserole dishes full of meat and veggies every 8-12 days.
How much you eat at once and how often is the most important factor. Second is the micro nutrient density. Third is isolating IBS factors.
I make a chickpea/garbanzo bean spread:
(1) 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I also take the skins off but that’s optional) (1) tbsp of Nutritional yeast (.5) tsp garlic powder (.5) tsp onion powder (.5) tsp salt (1) tbsp lemon juice (.5) tbsp dijon mustard (.5) cup of mayo (any mayo works)
Optional: 1 nori sheet (seaweed adds a fishy flavor)
Instructions: smash everything together with a fork in a bowl until mixed or use a food processor/blender to puree, it should have the consistency of a cheese spread or dip. Serve on anything and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days
I was about to comment this one. Its one of my fav lunches cause its so easy to make. The name I have for it though is ‘chickpea of the sea’ because its similar to tuna. My recipe is similar except I like to add onion and pickles to mine. Also I usually use some Old Bay seasoning instead of salt.
Damn I’m gonna try the old bay next time! Thanks
Not sure if you work from home, but if so, canned chicken can go a long way. You can make quick quesadillas, chicken salads, make rice the day or morning before and mix that with some sautéed canned chicken with olive oil and seasonings of your choice.
Another quick go to for me is gluten free nuggets and chicken patties. IMO they’re even tastier than the other common options. A little pricier though but well worth it.
Canned chicken is a go to, but also whenever I go to Costco in the weekend I get a roasted chicken and debone it for the same purposes.
Rice + microwave frozen stir fry veggies + teriyaki sauce is a halfway decent and quick lunch.
Canned chicken over rice is my favorite poor food. Usually I mix the chicken with mayo and spread it over rice cakes. One can to 3 rice cakes is a full meal.
When I still worked my favourite lunch was ramen. I had square plastic clip-top boxes, perfect shape for ramen blocks. Pop in the ramen, sprinkle with the seasoning packet (or seasonings of your choice) and top with whatever veg you have to hand. Sugarsnap peas, baby corn, spring onion (scallions), zucchini, greens, shredded carrot, bell pepper. If you have cooked chicken, add a slice of that. Clip the lid back on.
At lunchtime, open the box, add boiling water to cover the ramen, close the box again and wait for three minutes or so for the ramen to cook. I guess access to boiling water might be tricky in the US - in the UK our staff canteen had a boiling water dispenser for tea-making.
My dirty dirty secret: I get lunch at a McDonald’s near the office where I work once or twice a week. Double quarter pounder with cheese.
I love that and I’m not ashamed to say that. 😅
Usually a protein, veg, and rice. Could be chicken, or chickpeas, with beans and rice, perhaps. Just that rice bowl variation.
Came here to say hot dogs. 🌭 looks like you’ve got that covered. 😉
I’m someone who doesn’t mind repetition/eating leftovers.
So I would swap between leftovers, and then my quick lunch would be 2 hardboiled eggs, some babybel or string cheese, and then some kind of fruit.
Minimal cooking, easy clean up, easy to take with you.
2 eggs, 2 cheese, and a banana is surprisingly filling.
