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Monday: Sesame Noodles With Chicken
Toss half of the fettuccine noodles, half the red peppers, and the julienned carrots with half the Asian dressing/noodle sauce. Top with half of the chicken strips. Eat hot or cold. Calories: 568
Fat: 29 g
Carbs: 50 g
Protein: 30 g
Tuesday: Black Bean Burritos
Lay two tortillas out on a plate. Spoon some of the black bean mixture onto each. Add some of the salad, then wrap. Heat in the microwave or toaster oven (if your office has one) for a crisper shell.
Calories: 511
Fat: 7.5 g
Carbs: 69.5 g
Protein: 15 g
Wednesday: Asian Chicken Salad
Put a few handfuls of salad into a bowl. Add the orange, and top with the chunk of chicken that wasn't cut into strips. Bring the other half of the Asian dressing/noodle sauce to work with you to toss in. Bonus: Throw in chow mein noodles or broken tortilla chips for crunch.
Calories: 499
Fat: 28 g
Carbs: 15 g
Protein: 24 g
Thursday: Hummus Salad Wrap
Lay two tortillas out on foil. Add two generous spoonfuls of hummus to the center of each. Add some salad and wrap.
Calories: 447
Fat: 8.5 g
Carbs: 39.5 g
Protein: 7 g
Friday: Lemony Pasta With Chicken
Friday: Lemony Pasta with Chicken
Combine the remaining fettuccine, the diced tomatoes and the remaining red pepper slices with the lemony pasta sauce. Toss to combine, and place the remaining chicken strips on top. Nuke and eat.
Calories: 565.5
Fat: 26 g
Carbs: 49 g
Protein: 32 g
The snacking dividend
You'll have salad, hummus, black beans and tortillas left over, even on your meager budget. One idea: Bake the tortillas until they crisp up; break into "chips" to dip into the beans and hummus, along with any leftover veggies. Make a mini-wrap snack anytime you're hungry.
A few points, from one cheapskate to the next
- Don't cling to the notion that you've got to eat meat at every meal. Getting protein from beans or nuts will cut costs and calories while still filling you up.
- Don't immediately go for pre-packaged produce. Stores try to sell bundled veggies to push inventory -- but they will give you a smaller quantity if you ask. Nobody likes a veggie graveyard in their fridge.
- Cheap, flavorful ingredients like lemon and garlic are essential to making canned and packaged foods taste fresh.
- Multi-purpose anything you can for lunch. A dressing that can double as a noodle sauce, or tortillas that stand in for pitas are perfect. Last night's pasta sauce can make you a pita "pizza" for lunch anyday.
Comments:
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Wednesday 07 October
By giovanna
this article really helped me out. Being unemployed college student on scholarship is hard enough in this economy. I just wanted to say thanks for posting such great meal ideas!
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Wednesday 04 November
By Michelle
Very interesting article. Would appreciate veg alternatives in the future as I do not eat meat and soy "chicken" is very expensive.
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Wednesday 04 November
By Dara
Try O Organics whole wheat linguine sold at Randalls!
It comes in a green box and is by far the tastiest whole wheat pasta I've tried (most are gross), and it's a little healthier than normal linguine!
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Friday 19 February
By Juice
These nutritional totals are insane. I'm on weight watchers and the points for each one of these "healthy" lunches is DOUBLE what the average lunch intake should be. Monday = 13 points Tues= 11 points Wed =12 points Thurs= 9 points & Frid= 13 points . . . The fat content and carbs are through the roof as well .
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Monday 10 May
By Taylor
weight watchers is a joke. these are great meals that should be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet. weight loss is extremely difficult through dieting alone - get out and get some damn exercise.
Friday 26 February
By amberwitch
With prepping sunday I wouldn't want to eat chicken the following friday.
My rule of thumb says that food can keep for four days, making it difficult to make food for whole week during the weekend unless you freeze it.
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Monday 10 May
By Michelle
This is what I was thinking. I wouldn't cook chicken on a Sunday and continue to eat the same chicken till Friday. My rule is usually 3 days and then it just isn't worth it to me to find out if it is still "ok". I would eat most of these as dinners at work instead of lunch since the heavy meals of pasta isn't something I eat for lunch.
Monday 10 May
By funfriend
I agree. If you take a food safety class, you are taught that you throw out prepared food after 3 days in the refridgerator.
Sunday 28 February
By Momo
I don't use all the recipes, I really did not like the lemon sauce but the asian noodle sauce/salad dressing is actually better the next day. The person who made the comment about chicken on Friday, nothing says you have to follow all the steps exactly -trade off the bean burritos or hummus for Friday or just have the lemon dressing with tuna and some salad. The vegetarian, you can always replace with cooked soy beans, lentils, cubed tofu or tempeh instead of the chicken to get enough protein, I did and some tasted and worked better than the chicken. I did find that if I don't add the tomatoes and sweet peppers to the salad mix especially if made with romaine or a heartier lettuce than iceberg until I'm just about to eat, the salad will last until the end of the week and not look sad, also make sure you get as much water off all the veggies as you can when you rinse them. I did have to make a trip to the dollar store to have enough containers to keep everything sealed until I was ready to eat. Fettucine is really expensive where I live so I ended up using udon and regular spagetthi because that was more affordable.Most times I spent way less than $20 for the week plus I was able to afford a small piece of fruit that was in season with lunch and a cheese stick if I just had salad.
All in all, thanks much lemon drop, that was a helpful article.
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Monday 05 April
By Leelee
This is so cool! A series would be super cool.
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Monday 10 May
By Sandy
This is also good for quick and easy dinners for two all week. I agree with Leelee a series would be totally awesome!
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Monday 10 May
By Ellen L
The carb counts on these are really high..use whole wheat pasta and pita/wraps
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Monday 10 May
By Genna
Whole wheat products and whole grain pita pockets cut down on some carbs, they also give you more fiber intake which is a positive. I did find that some of the lunch items that were prepared with meat should be eaten earlier in the week vs. friday (my tummy rumbled on chicken older than 3 days).
Also, for those on weight loss programs, you can sub the tortilla wraps for a lettuce wrap because leaf lettuce is perfect for a quick lunch wrap!
An additional alternative to quick lunches is buying processed meats if you are on a budget, I know I just said the nasty word PROCESSED (lots of sodium can be in the meats, check lables) , but it is budget friendly. I purchased a viriety pack of butterball lunch meats at kroger yeaterday for $2.99, it has turkey and chicken in the package so I can make wraps, sandwiches, and salads with the meat. It is a quick fix and budget friendly. I do reccomend that everyone learn to read nutrition lables so that they are getting the healthyest product for their budget.
And for the individuals that reccomended a series (would be neat) , well the internet is a friendly source. Also, go down to your local Barnes and Noble, or a local book store in your area and look at different books that give easy alternatives to meals and solutions. I think more people are visual and books are a great tool. While scanning the books and magazines jot down notes, as you will not have to make a book purchase :)
I hope this helps someone rethink quick meals, and money savings. I love alternatives to the both as I do apply them in my household. I also make menus for the week based on what I have in my pantry, fridge, and freezer that way I know what to prepare and I do not have to do a whole weks worth of shopping every week. I spent $23. 48 this week for groceries and that included fresh produce to go along with my pantry items.... Happy shopping, planning, and healthy eating to all!!!!
Monday 10 May
By Angel
I agree. the carb content for someone on any sort of meal plan is about half of what is listed.. even for a male. might need to nix the pastas and replace with a salad or something less carb wise. My nutritionist liked that we are using the sandwhich thins, as they only count as one carb serving and 100 calories unlike bread which is 70+ calories a slice and 2 carbs. they are really good and i prefer the orrowheat brand. also, those salad sprays are a great way to add flavor with little calories. anyone who is diabetic also needs to watch sugar intake.
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Monday 10 May
By Heather
I really liked this article and agree with the other people that this should be a series.
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Monday 10 May
By Gina
This is really neat! I agree, a weekly series would be awesome. I can't wait to try this out. I might change up the days, and substitute healthier carb options. But all in all, this is a great article.
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Monday 10 May
By mary
The carbs and calories ARE high for someone one a diet, but look at the serving size. You won't be eating two wraps or tortillas when you are dieting. I agree with some of the other comments. This is a great idea with a few needed substitutions.
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Monday 10 May
By Victor
I am a thin guy and always have been... 44 years old and eat anything I want however I still think its a good idea to eat healthy, besides I get tired of greasy cheeseburgers & fries so this is a nice idea to try out every once in awhile
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Monday 10 May
By OL' woody
This is a great start to inspire beginners in healthy eating. Compared to a fast food meal these will give you a higher level of satisfaction.
Each meal does need to be tweaked for the individual, ie athlete, fat loss, thin but sedentary.
The un-saturated fat used was great, but the calories from fat in a couple of instances were over 40%. Which is high, you need to reduce them and keep that close to 20%. Take those extra calories and add them to Carbs and protein. Making carbs 50-60%, and protein 20-30%.
Protein balance was best represented on the Weds and Fri, but fell short most of the other meals.
I'm going share this with my clients who are just starting out with eating whole foods to give them a visualization, and then work together to tweak the ingredients a little to make it more balanced.
Love the price of all this!
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Monday 10 May
By jmj5948
Great ideas for mixing ingredients.
For those worried about eating chicken after 3 days, just freeze individual portions. The sliced chicken, especially, will thaw quickly.
My first comment was about the prices of the ingredients. They're really low compared to what I've seen lately.
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