When I "think" I don't like something, I won't try it. FOR YEARS.
For instance, when I was eight years old I decide I didn't like hamburgers. My Aunt made me eat one of hers (Sorry if you're reading this!) and it was disgusting. So until a year or so ago I hadn't had a hamburger. FOURTEEN YEARS PEOPLE! The boyfriend got me to "broaden my horizons" and I tried one. Now if you follow my instagram, you know I'm obsessed with In and Out. I am a hamburger FREAK now. Same thing when with Thai Food. Mexican. Sushi.
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| I counted how many of these pictures had on my phone....let's just say I have a problem. |
Anyways, I'm a taste snob. I like eat well. No exceptions.
This past year I've been trying to get more healthy, i.e. fruits/protein bar for breakfast, salads for lunch, cutting out almost completely fries and chips during the week, fighting through a three day juice cleanse, and less coffee. (Less not gone on the coffee and soda).
However, I am terrible about bringing my lunch to work. I eat out for lunch EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Sometimes I go to the grocery store and get salads, I recently have become embarrassed about eating Chipotle so much, and get a lot of smoothies. Not only is it not that healthy, it's EXPENSIVE. And I am by no means a baller. I really SHOULDN'T be spending $5-$7 on lunch every day and the same on dinner sometimes. That really adds up. Until I double my salary, if I continue to do this and have a tight few last days until my next paycheck this is absolutely the cause. I hate that feeling. Don't you?
So I need your help.
What can I bring to work for lunch that will sustain me, is cheap, doesn't have a lot of prep work and tastes GOOD? I'm not a morning person and I need something that I can bring with and will take me five minutes or less.
You should know...I'm weird about certain things being "cold". I don't like sandwich bread cold and I don't like soggy salads.
Help!
Sandwiches? Cracks and cheese? Lean cuisine? Ooh or personal favorite: easy Mac!
ReplyDeleteI try to cook a lot on the weekend and go ahead and put leftovers in a portioned out containers for lunch. I am way more likely to ditch my cold sandwich for eating out but if I pack a hot meal for lunch I usually stick with it over fast food. Good luck and please share what you try out! I am always looking for new lunch ideas.
ReplyDeletegirl you're making me want IN N OUT right NOW!! (and it's 10:12 PM)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Easy Mac. I'm not a morning person too (big time) so I would make a butt load of sandwiches the day before and put it in the fridge and grab them as I go to work. OR, I buy those frozen cheesy rice & broccoli or Mac&Cheese and Broccoli and some Tyson frozen grilled chicken. It probably cost like $3-4 per serving/lunch, which is not bad at all. Or cook a big meal on the weekend and freeze the left overs and bring to work the next day.
:)
I'm a big foodie and I used to live off of hearty canned soups for lunch with a couple crackers and some Tabasco. Seriously, some hearty New England Clam chowder is thick enough to keep you full and if you get it "lite" it's even better for you. Throw in some Tabasco to bring back the flavor and some crackers and you're good to go. Got mine at Walmart and they were cheap. It's not great food, but it works for work.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED In n out until I got food poisoning from there and now I cant eat it any more :( BUT for lunches, I usually try to take left overs, of on Sunday I will try and cook extras! I usually cook extra chicken on sundays and use it in salads, wraps, or with veggies! Its healthy, cheap and you can always spice it up!
ReplyDeletexxS
I'm not going to lie, I used to bring lean cuisines to work everyday for lunch. Not the best thing ever but it was cheap and easy in the microwave. In the winter I brought a lot of soups (you can make your own too!) and also sandwiches are always great. I love a baguette filled with fresh veggies (bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, arugula..) yum! It is definitely hard to keep it interesting though!
ReplyDeleteI need to get better at this too! Looking forward to what others have to say. I usually bring Healthy choice micro meals. They're good and relatively low in calories. I just had all the added stuff. You know the stuff you can't pronounce. I was good at bringing salads to work for awhile. There's just one problem. It needs to be easy. Grab and go types of things. I can't wait to see what others have to say!
ReplyDeletetuna salad on crackers... yummy but may disgust the people sitting around you :)
ReplyDeleteI do what a lot of these other girls do - cook extra dinner and bring it in for lunch the next day!
ReplyDeleteI used to be anti-leftovers but then I realized that I love sleeping in more than waking up to make a lunch ;)
xo
I cookmextra dinner and bring left overs. Or bring lean cuisines! The steamables are the best. I also keep sea salt almonds in my desk drawer for a healthy snack.
ReplyDeleteI'm part of the "cook extra dinner" bandwagon. I live with my boyfriend and cook dinner every weeknight, but I cook for a family of four. My boyfriend won't take leftovers for work (I have no clue why) but I take some which usually means that by Saturday, we have a fridge full of a little bit of this and a little but of that. Its fun for Saturday lunch or dinner to see what creative meal you can make out of all the leftovers!
ReplyDeleteI also like buying the pre-cooked rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. You can make a nice salad, wrap, sandwich, or a variety of other things with that meat. I shred it all once I get home from the store than pick at it throughout the week.
I also like to have a "lunch making drawer". When I get home from the grocery store, I put a bunch of snacks into little ziplock baggies and throw them in a drawer. Then when I am packing my lunch at night, it is easy for me to grab some popcorn and a few almonds to round off my lunch. I also do the same things with fruits and veggies.
I would stay away from leftover fish (I can never get it to heat up right!) and microwave meals - the are full of chemicals and preservatives. When you're re-heating your meal, if you have a big piece of meat, cut it up into a bunch of bite sized pieces so it reheats evenly. If you're reheating pasta, throw about a teaspoon of water in the container, loosely put the lid over top, then reheat it. The extra water helps steams the pasta and loosens up the sauce.
Hope this helps!!
Valeri
suburbanlivingblog.blogspot.com
Leftovers, and make a salad but don't put the dressing on until you eat it. There are tons of variation foods to add to your salads!
ReplyDeleteI have oatmeal in the morning. It's easy and quick to make.
ReplyDeleteTry tuna and crackers. At work I always have a bag of spinach or romaine lettuce, I slice up an apple add berries and some nuts. And have lunch for atleast 3 days of the week.
I love crackers and cheese/peanut butter for lunch. The peanut butter always helps keep me feeling full. I also thought these looked delicious when I found them on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/120823202472543167/ You could always switch up what you put in side (pb with granola, pb with raisin, almond butter, etc...).
ReplyDeleteMason jar salads! You layer the ingredients, with dressing at the bottom and lettuce at the top , and you shake it before you eat it. It's delicious, and not soggy!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Valeri, I make dinner and then pack the leftovers for the next day. I AM NOT a morning person either so I put together my lunch and snacks the night before so all I have to do is grab it from the fridge on my way out the door (usually running late). I do make salads a good bit they are easy to throw together and I always carry my dressing on the side so they don't get soggy. They even make those bowls now that have the dressing container separate but it is all one piece. It's hard packing lunch each day but well worth it and once you get into a routine with it it's second nature. Good luck Hollie!
ReplyDeleteCan you heat things up at work? If so, instant oatmeal is great. I always used the hot water spout that was connected to the coffee maker and it was the perfect breakfast. Also, I ate a bunch (I still do) of lean cuisines. The pastas and pizzas are good. But you will need salt and pepper and maybe other spices to give it more flavor but none of the extra calories. I would usually keep a drawer with almonds and snacks in it too for the afternoons.
ReplyDeletep.s. I am not a big hamburger person. In fact, I didn't eat them until high school and only rarely and from specific places. I'm still the same way about them…I only like them from certain places and In n Out is one of them!
Have you seen the mason jar salads on pinterest? Basically just put your dressing on the bottom, then add all the toppings, and finish with the lettuce/spinach. As long as the dressing doesn't touch the lettuce, it won't get soggy. Then you just shake it up and have a salad for lunch! Instant oatmeal is always filling for me and easy to do. Leftovers from the night before is always a good idea. That's about the best I've gotten. I'm not a picky eater, but lunch is my definite least favorite meal for a lot of reasons. Good luck girl!
ReplyDeletei really like making a batch of chicken salad for the week and then preparing it differently every day. So Monday I might have it with crackers, Tuesday in a wrap with apples and cheese, wednesday or thursday have it on toasted bread with arugula, etc.
ReplyDeleteI make my meals for the entire week then bring them in because eating out is expensive. Last week I made spaghetti squash as if it were pasta and had a bowl for lunch. This week I'm making teriyaki tofu and broccoli. Then I eat it every day, I know it gets boring, but I don't like to think in the morning either, so I usually do it one week night.
ReplyDeleteI love putting a bunch of chicken breasts in the crockpot with Italian dressing or just chicken broth and shredding it and then using that throughout the week on sandwiches, salads, tacos
ReplyDeleteI have a similar problem. I love sandwiches at home, but hate making them and sticking them in the fridge. I also always toast my bread at home. My new plan is to get all my sandwich stuff together and bring to work in containers, and buy a cheap toaster. At lunch, I'll toast the bread and assemble :) It's so much better than a pre-made sandwich.
ReplyDeleteI totally could have written that post for myself. Except suishi. I still won't eat that.
ReplyDeleteToday I brought some chicken-type meatballs from Costco to work. You just microwave them and they are actually pretty good. Three of the meatballs are 130 calories. Four-five of them alone are extremely filling. I am not a health person and this may not be a suitable lunch by any sort of standard. But I find it more satisfying that most lean cuisines.
And please tell me ... how was your 3 day juice clense? Did you purcahse the juice from a store, or did you make the juice yourself? Did you like it and how often do you do the clense? I am dying to try one!
in-n-out is definitely the best hamburger to have one after not eating one for 14 yrs. i tend to do that too not like something and then i try it again and then i am obsessed it is all i eat or all i think about
ReplyDeleteI am the exact same way. I definitely prefer to eat out, and even if I bring my lunch, I'll still go out. It's absolutely terrible, so if you find some magical way to avoid it, please let me know!
ReplyDeletexoxo,
Joelle