My Lunch Staples

For me lunch is the weird meal of the day especially in the summer. I don't eat much lunch meat (deli meats generally contain extreme amounts of sodium) which makes finding a quick and easy lunch difficult for me. I have found a several good alternatives to the traditional lunch sandwich however most of them do take a little longer to make but I find the extra 5 minutes are worth it.

These are wonderful and I got them at Adlie's so you know they're cheap! This is a great way to get some lean protein in your diet. This is made of Wild Alaskan Salmon which means it's very low contaminates and high in protein. I eat this with LTO (lettuce, tomato, and onion) and a wheat thin burger bun. I also pair this with a side salad. Yum!

No joke I have five packs of these in my freezer! These have been an obsession of mine for the past two weeks. These are the best veggie burgers I have ever had (please cook it on the stove top though and not in the microwave like my mom). Needless to say these couldn't be any better for you and its a great way to get your vegetables. I eat this with a slice of fat-free American cheese, LTO, spinach leaves, and some red pepper humus. For a side I have a serving of asparagus and a purple potato (I don't know if it has a different name but it's literally purple on the inside) that's been sliced and steamed with a tiny bit of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and some rosemary.

This is just really nice to have because it's super quick and easy. I either eat this as a side or bulk a serving size up with a bunch of roasted vegetables and eat as a stir fry. If I'm not eating any bread at lunch I make sure to have some rice because your body NEEDS carbohydrates. The Adkin's diet is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of! Carbohydrates are your energy and you need them to power through workouts and just the day in general. All carbs aren't created the same so try to pick whole grains, whole wheat, multi-grain, and brown rice. The reason white bread is white is because the grains have been bleached...scary that we eat that.

When Trader Joe's is on the label it means that the product contains NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives; NO genetically modified ingredients; NO MSG; and NO added Trans Fats. In general and especially when it comes to meat this stuff is important to me. The hormones that are given to animals can cause some major side effects to those who eat their meat. I choose to spend maybe a dollar more and not eat those nasties. Anyway, I really like to buy thin sliced turkey breast because it's an easy replacement for lunch meat. I just cook up one piece and put it on a wheat thin bun with LTO and a little bit of BBQ sauce or LTO, red pepper hummus, spinach leaves, and some cucumber.

Arugula is underrated in my opinion. I love this for side salads or seafood salads. Like spinach this is very good for you! I'll make sure to post some recipes for this later in the week.

Tuna is one of the easiest thing to make and one of the easiest things to mess up! Always make sure that you purchase your tuna in water not oil (the oil just add extra calories). Try avoid adding a lot of mayo to your tuna because as we all know mayo is just calories. I only have a very small container of fat-free mayo (which I really only use for tuna) and I rarely use it. If I am having a "cheat day/meal" where I have already decided that I've eaten well earlier in the week and this would be a nice treat I'll make a tuna melt with a really thick slice of Swiss cheese and some extra mayo in the tuna : ) But typically I eat this close to dry with several different sides. I typically pair this with one sliced apple, a hand full of baby carrots, and a few crackers with some cheddar cheese.

With the exception of tuna, I don't use mayo. I love hummus because it add some extra moisture, flavor, and protein to my sandwich. I eat this either as a mayo replacement or as a dip/spread for crackers.

 











This is the best replacement for traditional burger buns! It's only 100 calories and it's multi-grain which keeps you feeling fuller longer. I've been eating these for about a year now and I absolutely can't live without them!


I hope you enjoyed this! Hopefully this helped you think of some new possibilities for lunch because food ruts suck! I will be taking pictures of the meals i prepare this week and posting them along with the recipes and calorie counts next week. I completely understand the "I don't know what to make for dinner" feeling and it took me a while to learn how to cook when I moved out of my mom's house so everything with be beginner friendly. Talk to you all Wednesday!