Ideas for Packed Lunch for Work

Can anyone give me some ideas for a health lunch to take to work for me. I usually end up not eating what I take in and going out and buying something.

Take leftover protein from yesterday's dinner or lean deli meat and mix up crisp and colorful veg + something sweet or crunchy + dressing
for example:
romaine, carrots, raisins, smoked turkey, sunflower seeds, scallions, 2 tbl dressing your choice.

Cucumber, grilled shrimp, feta, olives, tomatoes, 2 tbl dressing your choice.

Bring sliced lemon and/or orange and/or cucumber to add to your water and feel special eating your healthy tasty lunch. Picture youself at a spa --- the Inn at Ojai serves water with lemon, orange and cucumber at their spa. Yum. Be good to you.

I have become known at work for making my own microwave dinners. Its really easy, especailly if you have a slow cooker(crock pot). I will make a huge batch of chili(loaded with beans and veggies) and divide all of it into ziploc containers and freeze it. This way its ready to go, pre-portioned, and a major time saver in the mornings. Usually mine is still slightly frozen at lunch time, so you do have to have a mircowave. I have also done this with stir-frys, chicken breasts(steaks tend to get too dry), fish, steamed veggies, pasta, soups and so on. Chili is one of my favorites cause one pot full will make 6 or 7 containers. Then each moring you grab your veggie/fruit snacks, yogurt, ect and a "microwave dinner" and your off to work.

If you have a fridge/freezer, take the Smart Ones/Lean Cuisine/Healthy Choice meals.
Salads are always good to pack, buy lots of different low-fat dressings & used different meats & veggies so you don't get tired it.
Use Nature's Own light breads or Weight Watchers bread to make sandwiches. Mustard or fat-free Italian salad dressing are great in place of mayo. Or use wraps.
Apples, oranges, bananas, carrot sticks, celery.
Great Value makes a lot of sugar free zero calorie drink mixes - You can get the servings that make a 1/2 gallon or the individual ones that go in bottles of water.
Slimfast is always good, or Equate makes a cheaper version with less calories.
Go-gurt only has 70 calories while other lowfat yogurts have 90 or 100.

I don't only bring my own lunch but I pack mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks as well so that I eat every 2-3 hours.

Lunch Ideas:

- Homemade rice & lentil salad [pay attention to calorie value of lentils] - supplement with 1/2 cup fruit salad and vegetables

- 2 oz of Smoked Salmon with a garden salad + whole grain slice of bread with a red delicious apple [or other whole fruit] - replace salmon with canned tuna/salmon or white roasted chicken meat

- homemade vegetable soup with 4-5 whole grain crackers [or melba toast]; supplement with skim milk and other foods for lasting duration

The key is to eat the lunch you bring - that way, you'll know exactly what you're eating, and how much.

I totally agree w/ Sweetalot, bringing your lunch is key to success - making last minute food decisions when you're hungry is never a good idea.
I make myself a fresh salad with protein most everyday. I change it up sometimes its a greek salad w/ spinach, lettuce, tomato, olives, cucumber, red bell pepper, a bit of feta cheese with fresh lemon squeezed on it. Another fave is chinese chicken salad: greens with celery, mandarin oranges, cilantro, and whatever else sounds good. I dress it with Soy Vay Cha Cha Chinese Chicken salad dressing cut w/ rice vinegar to control the fat and cals. This week I'm doing a leafy version of caprese salad: greens (usually spinach or spinach/lettuce combo) tomatoes, some fresh mozzarella, white beans, a little avacado, basil, and either balsamic vinagrette or italian dressing.

To add to my salads I often just buy a rotisserie chicken from the store on sunday and bring a few ounces each day for a little protien to go w/ my salad.

I find that having salad for lunch really helps me get in all of my veggies, and fills me up.

good luck. it takes time to pack a good lunch, but if you make it tasty you'll find you look forward to it.

lots of things you can do...
make tuna salad, chicken salad or egg salad and make a sandwich. Bring RAW almonds to snack on. They are only 7 calories each and it doesn't take a lot to fight of the snack cravings. A can of soup with some saltines. Make your own stews and/or soups and put them in resealable microwave-safe containers. You can make a meal for dinner and when you are putting away the leftovers, you can use the lunch size resealable containers to store everything in. You can go ahead and plate-up some lunches as you put away leftovers.
The Gladware 3& 1/8 cup square containers work GREAT for this. You can put a 3 course meal in one container. And they stack in the fridge or freezer. They even freeze well. You can make your own frozen dinners. What I do to cut microwave time on a home-made frozen dinner is just leave it out or in a bag at my desk to help thaw it. They are usually still frozen when lunch time rolls around, but they are partially defrosted, so microwave time is reduced.