What’s for lunch? AKA great food recs

[mommyatty]

I’ve been on a leftovers kick recently, but today I ate ham and brie on a slice of toasted sourdough bread with Dijon mustard and spinach. It was life-affirming. The cheese melted into the warm bread. Aaaand I legit made sex noises in my house alone when I took the first bite. 10/10 highly recommend

What have you guys been eating recently?

Also on my list, I finally figured out how to poach an egg in our microwave (it runs hotter than normal microwaves, I swear), so those have been nice high protein breakfasts. A poached egg on a slice of sourdough or whole grain toast. And I made this vegetarian pasta the other night that was amazing. www.skinnytaste.com/summer-cavatelli-with-corn-tomatoes-and-zucchini/

[186momx]

I've been making veggie quesadillas on my little electric griddle at the office. Tortilla, cheese, peppers, mushrooms, olives a nice light lunch that is kind of filling.

DD and I've been doing a half an English muffin with an egg on top. Kind of an open egg sandwich. She is still having issues taking large bits so half a sandwich works better.

[k3am]

Hah. I order a pizza every Tuesday and eat half that day and half for Thursday. My version of meal planning. That’s the best I get.😬

[supertrooper1]

I usually buy tzatziki and use it to make chicken salad, but my store was out of it on my last trip. I made my own for the first time and had no idea how easy and good it was!

[mommyatty]

k3am- that counts!

[mae0111]

Lots of tomatoes and basil. Sometimes over a salad with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. Sometimes on a baguette with fresh mozzarella. Sometimes in a cold tortellini salad. Sometimes in a panini with mozzarella on rustic Italian bread. Sometimes marinated in garlic and oil then cooked quickly and served over pasta.

I just don’t get sick of tomatoes this time of year

[librarychica]

I’ll steal some of these ideas. . I need to work on better, healthier lunches. Lunch tends to hit at a bad time for my schedule so it tends to be very haphazard. Leftovers if we have them, a quick sandwich, but I skip lunch or let H talk me into takeout too often.

[mommyatty]

librarychica- we have all the fast food places near our house. I was finding myself more and more grabbing fast food for lunch and then feeling like crap. If I have leftovers I’m excited about, or other quick food I’m excited about, I’m much less likely to end up with what a friend calls “window food.” Any food they pass you out a window is probably not a good choice.

[waverly]

I get premade salads from the grocery store. Our local place makes really good salads. I also get salads from the pizza place. Our local non chain pizza place apparently has a great southwest chicken salad.

[186momx]

DD made herself sautéed green beans, snap peas, and sweet peppers for lunch yesterday. We've done this for dinner a couple times and add chicken. The veggies take 10 minutes and the whole meal with prep take less than 30 minutes.

[twinmomma]

I saw a registered dietician to try and get my eating habits on track and she gave me a bunch of ideas. Some of it I scoffed at, but I actually am feeling better already and it's only a week and a half in.

For breakfast, I do a fried egg or two with chicken breakfast sausages. She told me to focus on only protein for breakfast and I actually do feel the difference! I usually throw in some toast too because I love me some carbs. But it's way better than cereal or pastries.

I've created a copy cat version of a salad from a local place. Greens, cold quinoa, goat cheese, chickpeas, cucumber, onion, sometimes bell peppers thrown in, and drizzled with Greek dressing. I'll throw some kind of protein on top too if we have it - chicken, salmon, deli turkey.

I've also started eating grown up lunchable a lot and it's so satisfying! I roll up deli turkey and provolone cheese, cut up some veggie sticks of some kind (celery, cucumber, carrots, peppers), dip in ranch dressing, and have tortilla chips or popcorn on the side. It felt really sad to make at first, but it's actually been a really perfect WFH lunch for me and fills me up.

[mommyatty]

twinmomma, I don’t eat nearly enough protein. And I find if I do actually eat protein for breakfast, I feel so much better all day. I need to go put cottage cheese on our grocery list. I love cottage cheese, and it’s really high in protein.

I was reading this week about the DASH diet, and I think it would work for me. I have blood pressure that runs a little high (enough that I take medicine for it), so it would be good for my health. My only problem really is pasta. They seem to want you to use whole wheat pasta and I just cannot. I’ve tried. It’s like chewing rubber bands or shoe strings, depending on the brand.

[mae0111]

mommyatty, have you tried chickpea pasta? I have not, but I wondered if it was any better. I don't know if that would fit into the diet.

I also love spaghetti squash served like pasta in mac and cheese, or with chicken parm and a ton of sauce. It's not the same at all, but I think it's pretty good.

I do NOT like zoodles. I've tried. I think they're terrible. But I did just make a delicious lasagna where I swapped out the pasta for zucchini. That was great, texture was fine, taste was good... I just can't do zoodles.

[k3am]

mae0111, I LOVE zoodles. BUT only with pesto on them. No other sauce works for me with zoodles. Also I hate the mess of making them. And no one else in my family will eat them. I used to eat them for lunch pretty frequently with chicken and tomatoes, but fell out of the habit.

[cjcouple]

I love a greek salad for lunch.

Turkey avocado sandwiches are delicious on a nice multigrain bread from the bakery with some fresh tomato.

Grilled chicken salad. (whole wheat penne or rotini, grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers. grilled corn, plus left over grilled veggies tossed in (zucchini, summer squash), feta, fresh herbs, balsamic or Italian dressing. it's a flavor bomb

tuna sandwich or in a salad.