Ideas for Lunch

[yasicat]

I'm hoping some of you can give me some good ideas about what to start eating for lunch. I'm going back to graduate school this fall, and I really don't want to fall into the trap of unhealthy, fattening cafeteria food all the time. I'm trying to come up with stuff that is somewhat quick to prepare (either the night before or in the mornings), healthy & low-cal, and still filling (I usually get pretty hungry mid-morning and mid-afternoon). Anyways, if anyone has some good ideas to get me started or recipes to look at, that would be most appreciated. Right now, my fall-back is PB&J, which really does not seem very appealing. Thanks in advance.

[SusanMac]

Hi Yasicat, and welcome to the BB! You might want to also try posting this message in the "Good Food" section, as you might get more responses. Some people on the board only hang out in one area or the other. I don't think there's a way to move this message, so you'd probably have to start over. Just make sure you're viewing the threads in the "Good Food" section, so when you select "new thread" that's where it will appear.

Onto your question, though....there's a recipe from FoodTV that a bunch of people around here have tried and given great reviews. It's called Carrot Slaw. Mainly a side dish for sandwhiches (although I think I've made a meal out of it because I liked it so much). It's great for lunch because it's easy, stays fresh a long time, and tastes better after sitting in the fridge overnight. Go to www.foodtv.com and search on "Carrot slaw."

Another thing I made often for a quick lunch is hummus. I eat it either as a sandwhich, in pocket bread, or just with crackers and carrots. Very portable, is ok if not refrigerated for a few hours, and keeps several days.

[KathrynY]

Welcome yasicat! You may also want to try running a search - the topic of lunches has come up several times before. Use the "search" button in the upper right hand corner of this screen. Under keywords type in "lunch", then be sure to select "Titles Only" - otherwise you'll come up with way too many responses. That should give you a couple pages of old threads to look through.

I also agree with SusanMac that if you post this on the Great Food board you'll probably get more response.

Good luck!

[yasicat]

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I have been doing a search and saw some really interesting things so far, so it's helping.

Since I'm doing the stressed-out student thing, I don't think I can count on leftovers anymore, making the lunch dilemma much more difficult.

[Peggy C.]

Will you have anytime to cook on the weekends? I just hate to keep suggesting other things for sandwiches, but you can keep it interesting. Use different breads, rolls, wraps, totillas and then mix it up with hummus, or baba ghanouj, refried beans, salsa, veggies, cheese and meats.

Make soups, chili, or stews and freeze to just grab and go...hope that helps a little, oh and welcome.

[julia]

Something I keep on hand for quick lunches at work is this new product, I think from Cloverleaf. It's an 85 gram can of tuna mixed with sundried tomatoes. The can doesn't need a can opener as it has the little ring to lift the top off (although I do keep a can opener in my desk). It has something like 90 calories per can which isn't bad and it's so flavourful it doesn't need mayo to make a sandwich. I either take crackers or a slice or two of bread and make my sandwich with it at lunch time - I really hate making my sandwich ahead of time because it tastes too dry.

If you have access to a nuke where you are Amy's makes a really good frozen spinach pie as well.