It may not be easy for you to find a restaurant that serves a low calorie lunch near your office. Some restaurants have low calorie dishes on their menus, but the choices they offer are often limited. If you want to have delectable and nutritious food for lunch, you can bring one of these low-calorie meals to your office.
1 Leftover Wraps
If you have any leftovers from the previous night's dinner, you can turn them into low calorie wraps that can be conveniently brought to the office. For instance, you can use leftover grilled chicken and steamed vegetables as filling for wraps. Use whole wheat sandwich or tortilla wraps and add flavorings, such as low-fat cheese, mustard and vegetables. The filling can be any meat or vegetable, as long as it is low in calories.
2 Stir Fried Dishes
One advantage of preparing stir fried dishes is that you can use a wide range of ingredients to enhance the health value of your low calorie lunch. The best thing to do is to use lean meat and fresh vegetables as ingredients. Some of the vegetables that are suitable for stir frying include onions, peppers, mushrooms, celery, carrots, asparagus and sugar snap peas. For convenient preparation, you can buy some of the frozen stir fry vegetables that are available in supermarkets. You do not need a wok to prepare stir fry dishes. Just sauté the ingredients in a large skillet with canola or olive oil, and top them with a nutritious stir fry sauce. Then, serve with brown rice or other kinds of healthy grains.
3 Pasta
Pasta is another excellent low calorie lunch that you can bring to your office. Both hot and cold pastas can make a delectable meal, and they can be prepared with a wide variety of ingredients. You can make your pasta more flavorful by adding low-sugar marinara sauce or olive oil, and top it with chicken, vegetables, beans and other ingredients.
4 Cheese, Meat and Fruit
A cheese, meat and fruit plate is easy to prepare and convenient to consume in the office. This meal does not need reheating, and it is a perfect option if you do not have the time to eat outside during lunch time. All you need to do is pack chunks of low-fat cheese, lean meat, such as chicken or turkey, nuts and fruits, such as pear and apples, in separate containers, and bring them to your workplace.
5 Salads
Salads have great nutritional value, but they are often tasteless and bland. However, you can use some simple ingredients to make your concoctions more exciting. Roasted vegetables, pickles and spices can turn a boring salad into a tasty meal. You can roast a tomato or carrot with a small amount of olive oil and add salt and pepper to make your salad more flavorful. If you want to have a spicy lunch, you can try a roast chicken salad with a dash of Tabasco sauce or pickled jalapeno peppers. For a more filling meal, add leftover meats from your previous night's dinner to your salad.
