Need help with lunch

[Anonymous]

I WFH and am under a lot of personal and work stress. Im taking medication and have a therapist.

Im having a really hard time feeding myself adequately. Like, 5-6 bowls of cereal a day. Maybe a PB sandwich or avocado toast. An apple. Im hungry. I go to the kitchen and look around and I can’t think of what else there is to eat. I can’t remember what I used to eat for lunch. Salads? I can’t possibly make myself a salad and I don’t want to eat it. I went to the grocery store this weekend instead of ordering and still nothing jumped out at me.

I just want to be not hungry in the easiest possible way. I mostly avoid dairy.

Help!

I just grabbed a bag of baby carrots.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered sandwiches (lunch meat, cheese, lettuce or spinach)? Crackers, cheese, fruit or cured meat and pickles? Turkish type breakfast, pre-cut and stored in the fridge (bread, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, maybe a hard boiled egg)? If you're not feeling excited by options in the moment, minimal planning ahead while shopping so you can just grab stuff.

[Anonymous]

Premade soup from the grocery store

[Anonymous]

I eat toast with labneh and a drizzle of olive oil. I haven't been inspired for lunch recently.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry. I get like this sometimes. You need to eat something satisfying each time you heat so you don’t have to graze and graze. That means you need protein, fat and carb at one sitting. Some easy-ish ways to get that:

Greek yogurt and fruit
Simple smoothie with a scoop of protein powder, a banana, and peanut butter
Cheese cubes and nuts and fruit
Protein bar

[Anonymous]

I have a couple go tos and I’m also in the midst of intense stress/Wei’s combination of hunger but not wanting to deal with eating if that makes sense

A slice of toasted bread with a scoop of chicken salad lettuce tomato. When I don’t feel like eating I still feel like this.

Protein shake with almond milknfrozen banana Chocolate protein powder ice cubes and almond butter. This is good when I really don’t want to eat but know I need to.

Toast with avocado deli Turkey and cheese

Trader Joe’s lentil soup with Greek yogurt.

[Anonymous]

You need to meal plan your lunches, and every time you eat, it needs to include protein. On the weekend, buy what you need/want and do all the prep. Eg, I will make a large veggie/lentil stew on a Suday and put it in 5 containers for weekday lunches. Or, sliced turkey, and buy lettuce and tomato and wash and slice on the weekend, so at lunch you are just assembling. You could do the same with interesting salads, buy a box of spring mix, and cut and prep all your toppings, and assemble when its time for lunch. Snack is an apple with peanut butter, or a hard boiled egg, wrap turkey around a pickle, mixed berries in with Greek yogurt

[Anonymous]

My lunch:

Low carb wrap
Turkey breast
1 slice provolone cheese
1/2 avocado
Small serving of fruit
2 rice cakes with PB fit spread and a little greek yogurt

I do IF so this is usually my first meal of the day. If I'm still hungry I have a protein shake.

[Anonymous]

Grab a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, make some rice in the rice cooker. Easy lunch with some protein. If you don't feel like making a salad, then buy some ready-made mediterranean tomato cucumber salad and have it with your rice and chicken.

Another quick lunch- tuna salad on toast. Stock up on cans of tuna. Make a quick tuna salad with a teaspoon of mayo and chopped up celery.

Another quick lunch- make a batch of turkey chili on the weekend in the instant pot. Heat it up for lunch with a side of rice, or put it on spaghetti like bolognese.

[Anonymous]

Buy bagged salad and rotisserie chicken. That’s literally my lunch today.
My kid is having the same chicken but in a quesadilla.
Bagged salad/spinach is a lifesaver.

My other current favorite is tomatoes cut up with the mini mozzarella balls you get in the huge tub from Costco.

[Anonymous]

Just go to Trader Joe’s and get some premade wraps, salads and soup.

[Anonymous]

Agree with 11:21 and 18:13.

[Anonymous]

Try one of those pre-made meal shakes like Soylwnt or Huel or Keto Chow or any of their many many competitors

[Anonymous]

I agree with bagged salad and rotisserie chicken

I do Greek yogurt a lot. Put in a container with frozen cherries in the morning, by lunch the cherries have defrosted and sweetened the plain yogurt. Add a little granola and slivered almonds.

[Anonymous]

Green smoothie: 1/3 c Nuts, 1/2 banana, 1/2 avocado, raw kale, and water or nut milk.

Overnight oats -- 1/2 c oats, sprinkle of nuts, fruit, yogurt and/or nut milk.

You can make a couple days' worth at a time, or make them the night before. Just schedule time to make it even if you're not hungry at that moment. And buy whatever you need, jars/blender/etc. The right equipment makes a big difference.