<p>One of the reasons I make so many different soups is so DH can take leftovers for lunch. Since weight is not a concern for him, he packs lots of healthy bread to have with his soup. He is also very slim and exercises regularly, so to get extra calories he eats a handful of walnuts every day. </p>
<p>I also make a batch of hummus each week and he used that for lunch as well.</p>
<p>In case anyone needed any more motivation: </p>
<p>[The</a> surprising reason why being overweight isn’t healthy - CNN.com](<a href=“The surprising reason why being overweight isn't healthy - CNN.com”>The surprising reason why being overweight isn't healthy - CNN.com)</p>
<p>We stock frozen salmon burgers and canned lo salt salmon for quick lunches.
We get the burgers at Traders and Costco (Costco has a couple of additives, including a smoke flavor, but they taste better).
I think hummus is great for lunch, but dear H doesn’t agree.
I will buy a rotisseire chicken once in a great while but I don’t like all that added salt. In a pinch, I will eat the lo salt turkey breast from traders.</p>
<p>I love sandwiches from leftover meat, fish is good too. On the vegi end - hummus, baba ganoush, tapenades and vegetable pates are all possible. In some places you can get a cheese called quark ( <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(cheese)[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(cheese)</a> ) which you can add herbs to.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any ideas for a lunch that doesn’t include a sandwich (other than soup which I love)? I am trying to cut down on carbs from bread, but not from vegetables or fruit. I eat lunch at home so it doesn’t have to be portable. Also, this is kind of a dumb question, but for those of you who pack lunch for yourselves or your spouses, how do you do it? Like soup – do you heat it at work or do you take it in a thermos?</p>
<p>Soup - DH has a small microwave at work so he packs a large mug and transfers the soup into the mug at lunch.</p>
<p>Lunch w/out carbs - Twice a week I get a huge salad from market with chick peas, hard boiled egg, and some nuts. Then divide in half and make 2 lunches from it. Sometimes I add a can of tuna packed in water, or strips of smoked salmon, or make my tonnato dressing (uses sardines which grossed out a lot of people). I am essentially a vegetarian, but last year I decided I needed more fish in my diet so I have added it to lunch. Another item I will add is tempeh (look for it in refrigerated produce section). I saute in small amount of soy.</p>
<p>At home I also make oatmeal for lunch with walnuts, blueberries, cinnamon and some agave.</p>
<p>I also have scrambled eggs for lunch - three egg whites/one yolk.</p>
<p>I have mentioned this before, but since I work out of my house I need to have some kind of healthy munchy snack on hand for those days when I am working on an onerous report. I bought a popcorn maker from W&S so I could keep popcorn healthy. I only use 2 teaspoons of oil for a huge batch, so that is a great snack for me.</p>
<p>Also trying to limit carbs.
Lunch today: Leftover shrimp from dinner (you could also use frozen shrimp…easy to thaw and can be sauteed in a minute or two). Organic cucumber slices with red pepper hummus. A few dark choc raisins.
I also eat salmon burgers with mango or peach salsa and a small side salad.
Black beans on the side are great too and very filling.
Wegmans has a terrific organic low salt tomato soup in a carton (great to have a cup with lunch or dinner)</p>
<p>My husband makes himself lunch. He makes it Monday morning and it’s always the same formula. A huge pile of frozen vegetables, a meat (rotisserie chicken, frozen shrimp, pork roast are his regulars), a store bought sauce. They look disgusting to me!</p>
<p>I mostly eat leftovers for lunch - often a large salad with cut up meat and/or nuts and blueberries and perhaps some leftover vegetables as well as the usual standard vegetables. Sometimes I’ll make some sort of chicken or tuna salad to eat with salad. I basically try to get 3 oz of meat or equiv protein, 6 oz of raw vegetables and 4-6 oz of cooked vegetables. Sometime fruit will substitue for some of the vegetables.</p>
<p>TheAnalyst, I cook large packages of chicken breasts about once a week. This method is easy (adapted from a Frugal Gourmet recipe for a whole chicken), and you avoid anything bad injected into deli meats or rotisserie chicken. The chicken is also very moist, which I like. It is great for sandwiches, salads, use in mexican dishes, etc.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Take a pot with a tight fitting lid and fill it 2/3 with water. I use a small soup pot for 6 chicken breasts.</p></li>
<li><p>Bring water to a rolling boil. Add chicken and leave for one minute in water.</p></li>
<li><p>Remove chicken to a plate, let water come to a boil again.</p></li>
<li><p>Add the chicken back in and put the top on the pot. Turn off the burner and let it sit for 1 hour.</p></li>
<li><p>Refrigerate or freeze the cooked breasts.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This takes about 5 minutes to start, and then you just have to put it away and wash the pot (which is not super scummy, so it is not a big deal) at the end. I usually just start it when I am doing the dishes after dinner. If the breasts are a little bit frozen/frosty, I will leave them in for another minute or so in the first dunking, then extend the time to 1:10.</p>
<p>I buy chicken breasts when they go on sale and stick 'em in the freezer, then pull them out to do this. But I do buy the ones that don’t have stuff injected into 'em already like our local store brand does – that might kind of defeat the purpose :)</p>
<p>One other thing I have been doing to lower the calories & saturated fat out of our diets is using ground turkey or chicken (low fat, not all of it is!) in almost everything instead of ground beef or pork. I honestly don’t think my kids know the difference. Again, I watch for sales and stock up.</p>
<p>I thought the rotisserie chicken had stuff that didn’t look healthy–maybe it was just the salt. I can put a pot roast in the crock pot and have sliced beef for the week and I guess I don’t mind baking a turkey, slicing it up and freezing some. I made flank steak on the grill last night and he took some of that today. I mixed corn, black beans, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, and lemon juice for a great topping. I added some of that onto some salad greens for my lunch today. We love hummus and I often make it myself in the blender. I hadn’t thought of that on a sandwich, but I bet H would like that a lot, maybe with some sprouts for texture.</p>
<p>intparent, I like the chicken recipe and will try that.</p>
<p>intparent, I bet that makes a good home-made chicken broth without all the salt that comes in a lot of the canned broths. I do make a lot of soups since they are so filling.</p>
<p>My answer to cold cuts - gas grill on the deck. I lightly marinate chicken breasts in garlicky oil/vinegar and grill them, then use pieces in salads and other dishes. Grilled chicken stores well in the fridge and can be frozen, too.</p>
<p>Last night the weather was so miserable, H and I finally got to test our “dreadmill”. It is really hard to run on that &%#@ thing! I “ran” about 3 miles @ 8.5 min/mile pace with variable incline, and I was dripping sweat like a wet dog at the end of my run! I also felt dizzy for a little bit, but I think I can get used to it. H said it was easier for him than running outdoors, but his head was also spinning a bit. Of course, H had to put the cats on the belt! The cats were curiously sniffing the “contraption” but, as expected, totally freaked out when the belt started moving and went flying through the room almost knocking me off my feet!</p>
<p>That’s really fast for a 3 miler BB!! I like the 9.5-10 min/mile pace for the treadmill. I think your need to be careful not to get into an anaerobic state though I forget why…</p>
<p>Another lunch idea: Wrap lunchmeat around string cheese. Don’t forget yogurt, if you like it.</p>
<p>Melsmom, I’m not a marathoner, so that’s how I sometimes run outside, and I wanted to have a somewhat direct comparison. I will definitely slow down next time I do it because I felt that I was really pushing it! Dreadmills (as MOfWC calls them) are hard!</p>
<p>Some folks in our neighborhood walk holding a golf club. Others hold an umbrella. My mom just walks & tries to keep her wits about her. If she hears or sees a dog, she crosses the street. So far, so good! I don’t believe she could bring herself to use a golf club or umbrella on an animal that approached her anyway (tho it is scary that there are some pets that are out loose–fortunately not in her neighborhood).</p>
<p>We have been attacked by three loose dogs on walks–one was a pit bull. I now carry a sturdy walking stick my neighbor made for me, and I won’t hesitate to use it. I didn’t read the post that relates to this, HImom, but encourage your mom to carry some stick-like thing with her, especially if she is walking her own dog. My experience with the pit bull was traumatizing, even though my dogs and I weren’t injured.</p>
<p>I just got back from a one-hour walk with my dogs (including a steep hill), all the way to a pretty area with horses that is a real milestone for me to read on my walks. It’s about two miles total. I have gained about 10 pounds over the winter–such a disappointment. I have to lose that and more–40th high school reunion this June!</p>
<p>My mom doesn’t have or walk dogs. I am concerned about loose docs. I will encourage her to bring an umbrella, which I believe she might do, since she doesn’t like the sun anyway & it would be dual-purpose.</p>
<p>She lately has been going to the enclosed shopping mall to exercise & walk; there are fortunately no loose dogs there. She still also does walk around the neighborhood as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the lunch suggestions! I am getting hungry reading them but now I’m motivated to make the extra effort. I guess it’s a matter of getting used to planning ahead. Sandwiches are easy but I try to avoid them. </p>
<p>Off to go work out. After a week off from a lousy cold, I’m getting back on the horse. You guys are a real inspiration.</p>
<p>Mousegray - I hope the workout went well!</p>