NEW IDEAS: What's Your Favorite Low-Carb LUNCH?

When you are focusing on healthy low-carb lunches, what are your favorites?  What's the standby?  If you're packing a mid-day meal for work (or because you'll be away from home for any reason) -- what do you choose, for health and convenience and taste?

I'm not very inventive when it comes to lunch, because usually I'm in the middle of doing something else.  My huge insulated lunchbag usually has the following:

Tuna salad
Sliced cheese
Chilled soy milk 
Protein powder shake mix
Carrots or celery sticks

I often include stuff like this:



I could spend my life promoting Trader Joe products.  This is another lunchbox fave:



Neither one of these is carb-free, but they have enough fat and salt and protein that if I give myself a controlled amount, it satisfies a certain something.

Sometimes lunch is an easier meal for me, just because I can only eat what I have packed ahead of time,.

I'm also seriously into Trader Joe's peanut-flour, reconstituted into a lower-carb, lower-wrong-fats peanut butter.  But I'm pretty sure that you're going to be tired of seeing TJ products (if you're even still with me at this point).

Okay -- YOUR turn!

I'm lucky enough to have a breakroom at work that I can "cook" in. I have a George Foreman grill and that will cover the protein side of my meal and in addition to that I bring a salad w/bleu cheese dressing or some steamed broccoli, cauliflower and/or green beans. At home it's obviously much easier since I have a full kitchen and pantry available.

Yesterday I made some lovely low carb meatballs that are about 4 oz (uncooked) each and I'll be pairing that with salad & bleu cheese dressing. The picture below is basically what I'll be eating, just insert a meatball instead of sirloin steak :)



I really like convenience but I also go for taste. This week it's both since all I have to do is pop the meatballs into the microwave and there is no prep to the salad except for adding the dressing.

Big, big fan of Wild Planet Tuna on mixed salad greens with olive oil, lemon juice, and capers.

Wild Planet tuna is super high in omega-3 and super low in mercury. It is actually canned then cooked, so all the oil in the can is fish oil. Soooooo good and sooooo good for you!

Wild Planet Tuna

Yes, it's a bit pricy...but it's so delicious... my daughter eats it straight out of the can! I hate to advertise, sorry. But yummmy.

My stand-by is what we call at my house an "ultimate salad." Spring mix salad greens, 4 - 6 oz chicken or roast beef, 1 oz. cheese, 2 T salad dressing, 2 T sunflower seeds. Very easy and filling. I never feel deprived because I'm not eating a sandwich!

One of my new favorites is a warm salad. I know it sounds crazy, but I recently attended a cooking class at the Viking store and this was one of the dishes we made. It's easy and super good...and needs no dressing!!

I usually make two of them at a time (one for me and one for the hubby...kids just prefer regular salad with dressing)

Chopped romaine lettuce in a bowl and set aside

1 half of a green pepper sliced (julienne)
1 half of a red pepper sliced (julienne)
red onion sliced (I use half an onion for two salads)
a few fresh mushrooms cut into quarters
sliced beef or chicken (already cooked)

cook vegetables in a small bit of canola oil in a pan until just tender....it is best when they are still a little crunchy...add the beef at the end.

turn off the heat and add a Tablespoon each of Soy suace and Worchestchire....and 2 Tablespoons of cooking wine.

Pour over the lettuce and eat :-) YUM!

My fav has been the same forever, just a nice salad with lots of protein (preferably seafood) a few veggies and vinegar and oil dressing. Can't beat it and it cleans out the frig. Asecond option would be meat wraps of some kind where you wrap meat around cheese or with cream cheese spread on it.

My lunch fav is the follows:
Low carb tortilla ( I buy the Mission brand from Sams Club)  Large pkg is 4.00
Sliced grilled chicken breast
shredded cheese
Franks red hot sauce
A little ranch dressing