Everyday Systems

Because if I have one more sandwich, I'll probably fall asleep from boredom. Turkey...ham....peanut butter and jelly.....yeah, yeah, they're all great, but I AM BORED. Today I put my turkey and cheese on whole wheat inside a ziploc back and put it in the zipper part of my bag...next to a pack of gum. Uhhh...yeah....wintergreen turkey? Yum? No, not at all, actually. Has kind of turned me off of lunchmeats for right now. I know all the usual lunch ideas: oatmeal, sandwiches, soup, etc...so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas they really enjoy as of late? Portability is not essential, but definitely a bonus. Thanks for any ideas you all come up with!

Best,
Jocelyn

I like a stuffed potato of some sort. You can bake some potatoes ahead of time, or microwave one if you didn't think about it. Stuff I like to put on them, one at a time or all at once...

pinto or black beans or garbanzos
feta cheese or goat or cheddar or whatever kind of cheese
leftover meat or poultry or a crumbled veggie burger
cooked broccoli or raw spinach (it will cook when I reheat the spud at the office)
frozen cooked shrimp (will be defrosted by lunch)
frozen peas (ditto)

It's an easy one-container meal that requires little prep other than cooking the potato. I just open it up/cut it up, toss the rest of the stuff in, and then heat it all together at lunch time. Filling, healthy, yummy.

grilled chicken (browned on stove or leftover grilled) in a whole wheat tortilla, add cheese. heat then add a topping such as honey mustard, ranch dressing, salsa, lettuce. yum!

I LOVE the potato idea!

have been loving my steamed veggie plates - potatos, corn on the cob, green beans, squash, red onion and carrot, cut up and throw in microwave steam bags, when done mix with a bit of Olive Oil and salt and pepper .. YUM

Amy's brown rice bowl and black eyed pea bowls ... www.amys.com .... serve alone or with side of fruit, nuts, salad, baked tofu and/or steamed veggies

Blueskighs

Lately I've been doing cold soups -- gazpacho, cucumber, cucumber-avocado, borscht. Any of these with bread and fruit. Nice and light for hot summer days.

I like to take leftovers from dinner. Saves time and money because I don't like to eat leftovers for the next day's dinner, but I don't mind them for lunch. I really like hot lunches.

I think the idea is to have whatever you like for lunch as long as it is not sweet and will fit on one regular plate! FOr me it could even be fish and chips (I am English). It's not supposed to be a nasty diet meal!

Soup and Bread or Large Salad w/ Bread
(without the bread I get too hungry!)

I hear ya! When I first started No S I was so happy to be able to eat bread again I had sandwiches EVERY day for lunch.

The best solution for me has been to eat lastnight's leftovers for lunch. I think it's actually healthier since I usually have lots of veggies at dinner. Sometimes if I have alot of food leftover from dinner, I put some of it in smaller freezer bags and freeze them. Then it's easy to pop one into the microwave.

I like salads too and sometimes will do a "Lean Cuisine."

I love leftovers. That's my lunch-of-choice, hands down.

I also do a "pattern" for lunch that I like. It's not hard-and-fast, but is pretty much the standard: entree (varies), plus 2 fruit/veg. Somehow, having 3 different things makes it feel like a full meal. And the more fruit/veg the better, in my book.

The entree is usually leftovers. But if we don't have any, I have several "defaults."
1) Sandwich, of course. PB&J usually, since I don't keep lunch meat on a regular basis (but if you're sick of that, move on...)
2) Quesadilla (we have a microwave at work- I pack a flour tortilla and shredded cheese in a baggie)
3) Whole-grain bagel with toasted cheese (there's a toaster oven at work, and I don't own one, so toasted cheese is a bit of a treat to me)
4) In a desperate pinch, a container of yogurt and a single-serve pack of peanuts from the convenience shop downstairs. That's enough protein to hold me, and that's probably the least-nasty thing available.

And of course, you could do oatmeal for lunch, like Reinhard does.