Hello out there fellow worker bees!!
If you’re like me at all, you MAY BE a 20-something YoPro (Young Professional, NOT yogurt professional, though that’d be glorious too…) And a common challenge in the world of my fellow YoPros (other than sitting on your booty for most of your entire day) is what to do for lunch. I’ll admit, when I first entered the working world, I had recently broken my foot. So my day to day thought process when it came to lunch was something sort of like this:
“Yeah… I could crutch over to the fridge, get some ingredients, put together an amazing dinner the night before work, put it in an adorable and eco-friendly lunch tote, and crutch to and from the fridge at work to retrieve it and eat with my homemade chopsticks… OR!! I could drive to Taco Bell for an easy to eat cheesy double beefy burrito with a side of 5 layer nachos and a soda!”
In my crippled state, my lazy bones aching with lazy, guess which one I chose?
First, you go in my mouth. Then, my hips. Sound like a plan?
When I started Weight Watchers, though, I realized that planning for your meals can actually SAVE you time, energy, and (hooray!) calories! I don’t normally prepare anything too extravagant, but here are some of my usual go to guys for lunch treats:
- Grilled, seasoned chicken breast – George Foreman = my secret lover. I grilled many en masse, and keep them safe and sound in my tupperware. You can add them to sammies, you can toss them in quesadillas, or just eat them plain!
- Solid white albacore – A can of this, plus Hellman’s Low Fat Mayo (15 calories per serving), is a perfect sandwich filler for me!
- Bird’s Eye Steam Fresh Vegetables – These are a total staple in my lunches. One bag = 2 lunch sides for me, toss them in the microwave, and go to town. Some of them are pre-seasoned, which is nice, but all of them are delicious, seasonings be damned.
- Arnold’s Sandwich Thins – I feel like, if there was some sort of unofficial sponsor of the healthy living blogosphere, these would be it. Totally versatile, totally delicious, a mix of textures and flavas, all great!
- Laughing Cow Wedges – Again, a no-brainer. They are a dream to replace butter, cream cheese, mayo, etc. I use the queso fresco flavor on sandwiches with some lettuce and tomato for a spicy pick-me-up, and the blue cheese on sammies or wraps with some Frank’s Red Hot (Literally, I DO put that $*** on EVERYTHING!).
- Jell-o Mousse Temptations – Best dessert that is portable that I know, to date. My favorite part? To quote Stifler: “I can taste the bubbles!” There are delicious little air bubbles that make it taste sorta like if pudding and tonic water had a love-child, and dipped that baby in caramel. (well that’s just the caramel flavor, but that’s my favorite).
- Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice – I know, you can’t prepare these at work a la minute, but prepare them the night before and you’ve got at LEAST two meals waiting for you in tupperware! Add some lean protein like shrimp or chicken breast, and you could definitely stretch it to three (I say two, and some people are probably like WHOAH THERE, Godzilla, that’s a heaping big serving… Yes. I like big meals. And I don’t think I’m the only one…)
- Extra Dessert Delights (ESPECIALLY key lime pie flavor) – I had a 40 day span of time (some call it Lent) where I gave up sweets/desserts/the whole nine yards. These became my desserts. I picked up a small carton at Sam’s Club once I realized how tasty they are, and never looked back. They maintain their flavor for a LONG time, and they rock for taking care of that sweet tooth.
While that’s not a comprehensive list by ANY means, those are some of my most frequent players in the game of lunch. Curious about what I ate today? Well, after a breakfast of Chobani Champions Honey-Nana (love that name) with some Kashi Berry Blossoms and Tupelo Honey thrown in for texture, my lunch actually featured a fair amount of what I’ve listed.
Note the ADORABLE tote I brought it all in?
Toasted Flax Seed Sandwich thin, tuna sammy with that low fat mayo, some lettuce (thanks, Durham Farmers’ Market) and tomato, and a side of roasted veggies (also thanks to the DFM!!). As for dessert, I’m still chewing it! (Yeah, it’s the Key Lime gum. Violet Beauregarde, eat your heart out!
If you’re a YoPro, what are your lunch staples? Or, if you stay/work at home, how does that change what you eat?
Do you think Violet Beauregarde is the most detestable character from the classic story of Willy Wonka’s baller factory?
Discuss.
Food, Sweat, and Beers 
I just found your blog. I love the beer inclusions!! Congrats on starting your own blog. Keep it up, can’t wait to read more 🙂
Why thank you so much! One thing I noticed is that while many HL bloggettes enjoy the occasional beer, I normally only get pictures and sentence long reviews like “it was good.” I wanna know what everyone chooses to drink!!
Lean Cuisines are often a go-to for my lunchings. Although, I work in KOP so it is not uncommon for a trek over to the KOP mall once a week. I try to be smart (but an occasional Mrs Fields cookie or two end up in my handbag for the drive back).
Looking forward to beer-ing it up with you at the HLS! I’m thinking a visit to Eulogy is much past-due. 😉
I used to be all about Lean Cuisines, but got to a point where they just weren’t cutting it considering the amount of exercise I’d do after lunch. I’d just be STARVATION NATION after the gym. But one excellent thing I learned from the HL community is adding some veggies or chicken to it to bulk up the cuisine. They definitely do good work, though, for quick easy fixes!