Low carb folks -- I need lunch help

[happypamama]

I need to drop some weight and lower cholesterol and triglycerides, and I need some help. The main things I need to cut out are sugary things and bread products, and those should help a lot, but I need some ideas for lunch that are not carb based.

 

Breakfast is easy -- I pretty much eat a couple of eggs scrambled with goat cheese or cheddar, or fried every day, plus coffee with a little cream and some stevia. Sometimes an avocado. Rarely bread products for breakfast. I'm usually full for several hours and feel good.

 

Dinner is usually some sort of meat (most often chicken, fish, or turkey, occasionally pork but not much because I don't generally like it, rarely beef because it's expensive), and one or two non starchy vegetables (green beans, peas, broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower, Lima beans, snap peas. . .not carrots or squash often because DH doesn't like them). Often salad with homemade vinaigrettes and not generally croutons or similar. Potatoes, rice, bread, pasta pretty infrequently, although as the weather cools, I find us eating more starches and fewer salads, so we will work on that.

 

So I don't really feel like breakfast or dinner are terribly bad. But the middle of the day. I hate lunch. Everything has so many carbs, or it's so expensive. I can't afford much more meat, and I will get sick of the same thing day after day. There are not generally leftovers for lunch. Sandwiches, quesadillas, etc. are all great but way too many carbs. What are y'all eating for lunches, especially in cold weather? I guess I need to go find low carb soups.

[Anne]

Listening in..... I've been a pb&j sandwich girl all my life, and am really struggling with giving those up....

 

:-(

[Annie G]

A white chicken chili has a good amount of carbs but they're beans and that works well for me.   You can go really light on the chicken and use mostly beans. 

 

I like a salad at lunch better than I do at dinnertime. Adding in some avocado helps give me some fat to keep me full until dinner. 

 

If you're open to more eggs, a veggie frittata is nice at lunchtime. Plus it reheats well so you can make one and reheat it for a couple of days. 

 

Hope you get some good ideas. I'm looking for a few things to shake up my lunch routine!

[Plink]

Whatever the kids eat as a sandwich I turn into a salad. Literally. I just dump cut up chicken or cheese on top of mixed greens.

 

If they are having peanut butter I put it on yogurt. If they are having leftovers I pick and choose the pieces that are good for me. If they want something like Mac and cheese, pizza, or something else that is 100% off the menu for me I make a smoothie or eggs.

 

I hate thinking of extra meals. Having this system keeps me sane.

[zoobie]

Salad or lettuce wrap

[SparklyUnicorn]

I find it helps to plan ahead.  I make larger amounts of dinner so i can have leftovers.  Deviled eggs on hand.  Stuff like chicken drums or thighs are not too expensive (or I stock up on sales), bun less burger (I often use ground turkey), crack slaw, soups, salads, low carb wraps, quiche

 

maybe try looking for low carb recipes to try

[Guest]

I eat a tin of sardines, half an avocado, and some veggies with appropriate salad dressing if I'm munchy. I have been either skipping lunch or doing a lunch/dinner hybrid lately. Less to worry about.

[cjzimmer1]

For my DH he will most often have a salad, even in cold weather.  Other things I will serve him are stir fries without rice, soups, roasted veggies (having 3-4 kinds helps it feel less like he's just eating veggies), stuffed peppers with a filling of hamburger and lentils (no rice),

[bolt.]

In winter, I usually cook hot veggies with a bit of meat protein, beans, or eggs for lunch.

 

- Stir fry veggies

- Roasted root veggie "fries"

- A skillet of mushrooms

 

To get out of a not-wanting-to-cook rut, I made myself a big selection of randomized individual meals frozen in containers. Basically I bought 3 bags of different frozen veggie blends, and cooked up a whole bunch of soft moist chicken breast and grilled steak. I sliced and laid the meat on top of a heap of the frozen vegges in each container. I picked 4 sauces (mostly salad dressings) and made 12 (or 16?) completely unique meals.

 

I don't usually serve mixed veggies with sauces and sliced meat as supper, so it doesn't feel repetitive. I usually eat lunch alone so I can cater to my own tastes and portions.

[ktgrok]

I buy packages of precooked chicken, but you could cook your own ahead of time to be more frugal. And I add that to some veggies I broil or roast. Usually broil because it's faster. I love the recipe ready pepper trio and onion blend, but any veggies works. Sometimes I toss the chicken and veggies with a bit of herb/garlic marinade and top with a bit of cheese. Or add some salsa and sour cream. Etc etc.

[Janie Grace]

I'm addicted to tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. Trader Joes has little frozen cubes of basil for when it's out of season. Add olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and mmmmmm. Heavenly.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I've only been trying this for about a month but salads are my savior. Salad with taco meat, salad with chicken, salad with fish, salad with eggs, cheese and bacon, salad with fresh herbs thrown in. I especially like cilantro. Sometimes I'll have a hamburger or chicken wrapped in lettuce instead of bread. I need to find some low carb soup recipes but salad is so easy.

[rebcoola]

Salad, Soup, or lettuce wraps

[TeenagerMom]

I've been low carb for 6 months.  For lunch, I eat grilled chicken strips & veggies.  or Tuna Salad.  Or a peanut butter sandwich with just a teeny bit of jelly on Sandwich Thins.  http://www.oroweat.com/products/sandwich-thinsreg-rolls/sandwich-thinsreg-rolls/multi-grain

 

Not terrifically low carb, but it's better than nothing!

[RoundAbout]

We get salmon burgers from Costco and eat it almost every day with salad instead of a bun.   I think its only $1.50 per patty or something like that. Or we get a rotisserie chicken for $5 and eat off that for several days.

I wanted to add that for breakfast we eat a small amount of  bulk sausage stir fried with a ton of kale, cabbage, onions, peppers, or whatever random veggies we have on hand.  The small amount of sausage adds a ton of flavor and would work well for a lunch instead of breakfast.  

Edited December 16, 2015 by RoundAbout

[AndyJoy]

Tuna salad on cucumber slices

[redsquirrel]

I usually have a low carb smoothie, using whey protein powder. I like it anyway, lol.  Or I have tuna fish, no mayo, on romaine lettuce leaves. But mostly I have a smoothie.

 

My fave is:

 

1 cup water

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp green tea powder (matcha, not leaf green tea)

1/2 cup frozen spinach

half to 1/3 of a peeled cucumber

2 scoops vanilla whey powder

 

Or on cold days:

 

1 cup water (or coffee, if there is any left)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tbsp instant decaf coffee (If there isn't any coffee left, lol)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

cinnamon

cardamon

2 scoops vanilla whey powder

 

or

1 cup spicy tea (Bengal spice or something similar)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

cinnamon

ginger

cardamon

2 scoops vanilla whey powder

[scbusf]

Salad.  Fresh cut deli meat and cheese. Trader Joe's has a low carb tortilla - you could use that for a wrap or burrito.

[whitestavern]

I like roasted broccoli and mushrooms (any kind of roasted veggies actually) if I do an Italian blend I might add some fresh mozz in my bowl. It gets melty - yum.

 

Frozen turkey burgers with a big mound of salsa or sauteed onions, mushrooms and peppers.

 

Grilled or roasted portobello mushrooms, stuffed with roasted red peppers, sauteed spinach and a bit of mozz.

 

A can of tuna with a few white beans and squeezed lemon juice.

 

Salads. My fav right now is this kale salad: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/kale-salad

It is the best salad I've ever had I believe. And kale holds up so well you can make it ahead of time.

 

Soups with lots of veggies, some protein, maybe some beans.

 

Eggs in any shape or form.

[Guest]

We get salmon burgers from Costco and eat it almost every day with salad instead of a bun. I think its only $1.50 per patty or something like that. Or we get a rotisserie chicken for $5 and eat off that for several days.

 

I wanted to add that for breakfast we eat a small amount of bulk sausage stir fried with a ton of kale, cabbage, onions, peppers, or whatever random veggies we have on hand. The small amount of sausage adds a ton of flavor and would work well for a lunch instead of breakfast.

I forgot about those salmon burgers. I eat them for dinner with mayo all the time.