There is a company called Tasty Bites that makes all-natural meals ready to eat (after a quick go round in the microwave). They’re Thai and Indian dishes ranging from tofu to vegetarian,. They’re really healthy and really really good. Check em out at www.tastybites.com. I would highly recommend Jaipur Vegetables and Patong Yellow Curry. mmm.
Wow, what a vague question, where to start. First, how many meals to you try to eat a day. If your only getting 2 or 3 its probably easier to grab a subway or something. If you are trying to get 6 or 7 meals in, why dont you make your food in the a.m. and bring it to work. that way you know what your eating and you can have as much protein and carbs as you want/need. I personally scramble about a dozen eggwhites and add 1 cup of brown rice. it lasts about 4 meals and I am getting 3 eggs and a little carbs every meal.
What you should do is get in the habit of making your own lunches the night before to take with you the next day. At one time I used to eat lunch in restaurants every day. Once I started making my own lunches it was amazing how much $$ I was saving over a year.
Not having a microwave seriously limits your choices. You may want to try to change that. Even if it means buying your own little microwave, then charging your co-workers to use it.
I would say Subway has some decent choices that won’t kill you. Obviously stay away from the steak and cheeze and pass on the chips and soda.
Like they say, everything in moderation. A regular hamburger from McDonalds certainly isn’t the fat bomb that a Big Mac is. All fast food restaurants have nutrition information sheets available, get them and pick the best stuff. There are some things that will surprise you. You might think that the chicken sandwich is the way to go, but it may actually be very high in fat.
Maybe you should try some army surplus MRE’s. I understand they come with their own heater.
Actually, there is no need to even eat lunch. Going without is a good way of stimulating fat metabolism that is useful during races. three meals a day is simply habit, not necessary for well-being.
MREs rule. Especially stripped done for compactness and light weight. I could live on them indefinately. Taco Bell also rules. Basically, I rarely am in a position to eat. Too much going on. Especially now.
The egg whites and brown rice is a great starting point for lots of lunches. At our house we use cartons of “All Whites” and “Better 'n Eggs” mixed about 50/50. I have some variation of this almost every day. You can add any or all of the following:
Canned green beans, microwaved sweet potato or white potato, cooked or fresh tomatoes,tomatoe sauce, julienned beets, dried cherries, pinapple, apple, carrots, celery, rasins, or sesame seeds.
Top it off with 1 tbs. each of extra virgin olive, flax oil and balsamic vinnegar and you’re all set.
Another favorite with egg whites is to cook up a batch of “Oatmeal Eggies” Stir a generous portion of quick oats or regular oats with some cinnamon and then add egg whites instead of water. Then microwave for a few minutes until it takes on a bread-like quality. Remove from the container and cut into bite sized portions. Top with frozen blueberries and a little flax oil (gives it a kind of walnutty taste) and maybe some more cinnamon. Tastes great hot or cold and travels well in a Tupperware type container.
If you don’t want to prepare anything in advance just go to any Chinese restaurant and order steamed chicken breast with steamed vegetables delux. Tell them you don’t want it stir-fried but want everything steamed, no sauce, no oil, no cornstarch. Then get a small portion of the sauce of your choice on the side. Try hoisen or whatever you like. Many restaurants have this already on the menu and offer various sauces without any oil or MSG.
Three words, “wide mouth thermos”. Yes the wide mouth thermos your mommie used to pack your school lunch in (well mine did, wanna’ do something about it?!!). Anyway, you can make almost anything you want in the morning, stick it in the thermos and you can have a hot meal anytime of the day. Burritos and other foods that tend to go soggy might not be a good choice, but things like veggie chili, soup, pasta, and veggie meats like hot dogs, etc. would work just fine.