So What IS Healthy Food? Lunch Ideas Needed!

I've got a really fabulous green chili that is made with tomatillos and other vegetables, white beans and chicken. It makes a lot and is fabulous as leftovers (ie: easy to reheat for lunch). It's a really healthy meal but is so flavorful and filling you'd never know it :) Let me know if you'd like the recipe and I'll type it up for you.

Make a large quinoa salad that can last you 3-4 days. Cook the quinoa and then mix in a little olive oil, a little basalmic vinegar, veggies (lots, all kinds), some cheese like feta or mozzerella (a little for taste), some chopped up avocado. Each day put this on lettuce in your tupperware. This is a good cold salad that is healthy. Or make a big pot of lentil stew with veggies and a side of brown rice. Each day put brown rice and lentil stew in your tupperware and heat it up at work. You should make a little time on Sunday (or whatever day works for you) to make a couple different things for your lunches. It will help and then you won't be tempted to go for junk foods. Another idea is to make black bean and brown rice burritos with lots of different veggies, cilantro, olives and some cheese and hot sauce. Another idea is a bowl of yogurt and a fruit salad and a side of nuts or homemade nut mix. You could make a cold bean salad... I just saw a recipe for a lima bean salad that looked good (kind of like that quinoa salad). Good luck finding some new lunches :)

Congratulations on trying to become healthier!

Basically, healthy food is food that is in it's original state, not processed, not with lots of other additives. For an example: think cream of mushroom soup. The canned stuff has a few small mushroom pieces, and about a dozen other ingredients and has been cooked and canned and super-heated, and contains unnecessary ingredients. Now compare that to a homemade cream of mushroom soup. It will have mushrooms, sauteed in a little olive oil, and a soup base made of some butter, flour and milk. 4 ingredients. When you know what is in the dish you just made, when you controlled the ingredients, it's better. And when you use good ingredients like real butter, real parmagiano cheese, etc., you can use much less because the quality is far better.

So take a look at your cupboards. Are they filled with packages, boxes, seasoning packets, canned meals? "Just add water!" kind of stuff. Look at your fridge and freezer. Are they filled with frozen convenience foods and bottled sauces?

You don't need to eat plain lettuce. You can make a beautiful salad of fresh baby spinach leaves, orange segments, and some almonds. Substitute different greens, fruits and nuts for a change. Make a simple salad dressing: 1 part extra virgin olive oil, 1 part of either real pomegranate juice, and a little black pepper. You can substitute red wine vinegar for the juice, or try different juices.

The most important thing is: the food should consist of simple ingredients. Cheese should be made from milk, not cellulose and things added to "prevent caking". Salad dressing should be made from oil and juice or vinegars with herbs if you like. Spaghetti sauce should be made from sauteed onions and/or garlic, crushed tomatoes, oregano and basil, not corn syrup and fake things. Just think "simplicity".

A really good salad is: kale (drop it in boiling water for about 3 minutes, rinse it under cold water, chop the leaves but discard the tough stems), blueberries, chopped tomato, edamame beans (soy beans), and some healthy nuts (almonds, cashews). You can add other dark berries and also add pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. Drizzle over some pomegranate/oil dressing, and it will be filling and delicious.

Combine chopped turkey with chopped apples and raisins, stir in a little bit of yogurt and spread it on whole grain bread with fiber. If you eat fruit, combine it with some unsalted nuts like almonds and cashews or pistachios.

Take some of your go-to meals and try making them without cans or mixes (except for things like canned tomatoes, or black beans, etc, as long as they are only tomatoes or beans, no sauces or chemicals).

Make a big pan of roasted vegetables: root vegetables are good. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions. Cut them all up into similar size chunks and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast them at 425 degrees until they're browned and tender (toss them around a couple of times to keep the cooking even). Make as many as you can. Then you can puree them, and add in a little pure chicken stock (like Kitchen Basics brand, not a canned broth), and you'll have a really filling soup. You can throw some of the roasted vegetables into scrambled eggs, or put them into a wrap.

Good luck!

If breakfast and dinner are all set why don't you eat similar foods or leftovers for lunch.

I make stir fry for dinner frequently, and then just set some aside for lunch the next day or the day after.

You're asking about healthy foods, but it seems like you're looking for low calorie foods?

Veggies are very healthy and low in calories. Salad dressings aren't because they're usually high in fat. However, there are low calorie and low fat salad dressings. One of my favorites is Cape Cod Seasame which only has 40 calories. If you make a salad that contains all kinds of veggies rather than just lettuce and one or two other items, you'll find it's much more tasty.

As far as soups, make a huge pot on the weekend and then freeze it in individual sized portions. Then you can just grab a container and along with a few crackers on your way out the door.

A 6oz low fat yogurt is only 90 calories.

Not sure about the fruit comment. Are you only eating a piece of fruit or a small fruit salad as a lunch? If so you really need to eat a well balanced meal with some protien to stay feeling full.

Skinnytaste.com has some great low fat recipes
soups, pasta's, even sweets.

I will just a few things to what has already been posted.
For dressing on the salads you like, use balsamic vinaigrette that does not have high fructose corn syrup in it.
Two of may favorite lunches are eggplant parmesan and zucchini/tomato casserole.
EP--slice up the EP and put Real Salt or sea salt on it along with pressed garlic. Sprinkle on bread crumbs. Then top with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
Z/T casserole--saute chopped onion and pressed garlic in olive oil, reduce heat and add sliced zucchini. Continue cooking and stirring for about 2 minutes. Then turn off heat and add chopped tomatoes and Real salt to taste. Transfer to baking dish and top with mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.
I also love green protein smoothies.
Hope this is helpful.

Hello! Two ideas come to mind. 1. PB&J. I know it sounds weird, but it can be made healthy and different from what you had as a kid. Go with whole wheat bread (ensure first ingredient is whole wheat or more so stoned ground wheat) and then add natural peanut butter and a jelly. I said natural peanut butter as it's not as sugary as regulars. I personally use Skippy. The reason I suggest PB&J is that you get whole grains from the bread, protein from the peanut butter and a little sweetness from the jelly. Have that with a water and a fruit and you'll be good. Also, very easy to eat on the run! For salad, try olive oil on it. It has the good fats and it'll keep you satiated. You could also add almonds or another nut to keep you full.

oh, if you want a sweet without the guilt, go with marshmallows. Throw some mini ones in a baggy and go. It'll give you sweetness with little calories. Raisins are another fruit/sweet that's good on the go.

Hi, C.:
It is amazing. I just saw a book at the
health food store about Healthy eating for
Thyroid Conditions written by and Doctor.
I don't rememberr exactly the name but
it had the word Thyroid in the title.

Also the 17 day diet that Dr. Phil promotes.
Good luck
D.

For lunch, right? How about?
Rotisserie chicken wraps
Tuna w/just a tad of light mayo w/crackers
Salad w/chicken, cranberries, grape tomatoes, diced red onion if u like
Low fat, high fiber cereal
Use light dressing or oil & vinegar
You could do a light lunch: sliced reduced fat cheese, crackers, sliced fruit
& a granola bar
Leftovers (sliced rotisserie chicken, veggies, yogurt etc).

You've gotten great ideas. Another idea - buy the frozen vegetables that you steam in the bag in the microwave. That can be viewed as the "entree" and you can pair it with half a sandwich and a fruit/salad/soup. Green beans with almonds is delicious, and I also love the broccoli or mixed vegetables. Sometimes I mix it with a bit of bottled sauce (low-fat sesame teriyaki for example).

Also - precut veggies like carrots, celery, etc. with a low-cal dressing or bean dip/chummus. Or mix shredded cabbage with olive oil, salt, and lemon. Or it's delicious with soy sauce/rice vinegar/sesame oil.

Good luck!

Cut out all the soda, sweat tea if you drink it. Also, eat 3 meals with 2 healthy snacks - it can help jump start your metabolism. When you make dinner, make extra so you can have that for lunch. Eat smaller portions at lunch and dinner. I don't think you need to completely cut back on dressing just keep it to 1-2 tbl. and increase protein in salad. I love tacos and fajitas. You can make chicken, lean beef, pork, fish, etc and even make it into more of a salad with lots of lettuce, salsa, and your choice of other vegetables. Add a side of some whole grain spanish rice, black beans and I think you'll find you're full.

I am also hypothyroid, and two years ago it seemed impossible for me to lose any weight, even though I was doing everything right. I know a lot of people criticized me, told me to make a food diary, etc, saying that I had to be doing something wrong that I was just forgetting about. You've already gotten some good lunch ideas, but I'm writing b/c i've been there and it still didn't help. What has helped tremendously is going from generic to Synthroid. Since I did that, I feel better. I got Leslie Sansone walking DVDs that I do at home, which also seems to help more than any other fitness DVD I did, like Tea-Bo, or going to the gym. The weight is coming off slowly (healthily), but steadily. In the last four months, I've lost 15 pounds. Doesn't sound like much, but I did let myself splurge a lot for Christmas and my daughter's birthday, and there have been a total of 4 weeks where I haven't exercised, because of a cough, holidays, or just very busy weeks. This may not relate to you in a my way, but if I were you, I'd consider switching medication brands (I've heard from others that Synthroid doesn't work for them, but something else does.) or asking your doctor about increasing your dosage. Remember, the numbers they use to prescribe dosage are averages, and you need a doctor willing to work with you based on how you feel. I know being hypo will still make it harder than most people, but it shouldn't be near impossible, and unless you really go crazy for lunch (fast food, high fat, etc), you should still be losing with good breakfasts and dinners and regular exercise. Please feel free to send me a private message about this. My thyroid issues took me up to 250-260, and I'm finally down to 211 with more weight coming off every week, and I feel amazing!

chicken salad with lowfat mayo or greek yogurt instead of mayo, same w tuna salad, or hummus and salad on a low cal whole grain pita. Or grilled chicken and roasted red peppers w spinach on a low cal wrap. Or yogurt and granola. Or lentil soup.
Madras Lentils from costco are delicious and they have some other stuff too that's pretty good.