Healthy pregnancy lunch ideas

courttaneee44

What are some healthy packed lunch ideas. I also have a microwave available at work.

cattiva8

I'm going to be taking heaps of different things fruits to snack on. I used to buy sandwiches for lunch as im not a huge salad fan. Am thinking I'll take a bagel or pita bread and fresh avocado (I can't do dairy but otherwise I'd do cottage cheese or the like). Will also take some single serve microwavable oats / porridge. You could do a microwave baked potato or sweet potato. All quick and easy. I'm going to try to have a couple of smaller meals and eat 5-6 times a day rather than a large lunch.

caityrose

I was thinking of doing some egg salad sandwiches. I used to do frozen meals or sandwiches but I thought it would be weird to microwave my sandwich because of the lunch meat lol. veggies and hummus. Leftovers like chicken breast or pork. I'm still brainstorming! lol. 

DorkyMama

Call me boring, but I'm a leftovers fan. I'd say 4 out of the 5 work days in the week, I eat what I had for dinner the night (or two nights) before. If you cook healthy in your home, you should just pack some leftovers.

If not, I eat soup or sandwiches. I don't see my diet changing much during pregnancy (except avoiding the no-no foods) so I don't see my lunches changing. Bottom line: eat what you enjoy and cut out the crap and the foods that are restricted for pregnancy.

korileighb

I do healthy choice (no preservatives). Im sure there are better options...so....im following

3houlagirl

I'm planning on packing lots of snacks for the days I can't come home for lunch: nuts, cottage cheese, cheese and crackers, hummus and veggies, and portable fruits are all on my list.

I feel better when I eat a little bit every hour or so, rather than just a few bigger meals.

DorkyMama

korileighb said:

I do healthy choice (no preservatives). Im sure there are better options...so....im following

Oh, I used to be a huge Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, microwavable frozen meal kinda girl... but look at that ingredients list! If you want to look into better options, do you have the ability to pack a fresh lunch for yourself? I (and I'm sure other ladies) can definitely give tips on how to cook in bulk so you can have leftovers, or suggest other things. Just let me know!

korileighb

Well one of my goals for the year is better meal planning - so im hoping to totally make it happen! I do smoothie packs each weekend for the week, so really i SHOULD be doing lunch at the same time. I agree about the ingredients - the sodium is terrifying especially!!

DorkyMama

Yep, @korileighb - the sodium is truly obscene with those frozen meals. Ick. (I actually have very low blood pressure, so I have to eat more sodium, but I still steer clear of those frozen meals because I like having control of what I'm eating.)

Do you eat a home-made dinner? If you double the recipe of your dinner, you can freeze or refrigerate your own home cooking for lunches. I usually cook something in a crock pot on Sundays and it feeds me and the hubs for lunch for at least 2 days during the week. Even weekday meals have enough left over after my hubs' and my portions that we can have leftovers for lunch the next day. (Today for lunch at work I'm eating leftover rice and chicken that I made last night.)

I mean... sandwiches also only take 5 minutes to put together. I'm not a salad fan, but salads also take minimal time to throw together. Add a slice of bread and a piece of fruit on the side of either, and you have a good lunch.

korileighb

Im a HUGE crockpot fan, so when there are leftovers from dinner im all about taking them for lunch (today is chili and zucchini corn bread yummmm). my problem is the lack of planning (usually) and we will end up eating out and then i end up snatching a frozen meal for the office And really, it affects my hubs too, if i dont have lunch for him to take, he ends up getting ALLLLL the fast food. 

DorkyMama

That's why I only use my crock pot on Sundays, @korileighb - I don't have the time to do so during the week at all - so, I make sure that I cook a big enough portion in my crock pot to have at least 4 portions left over (usually it's more like 6-8). I freeze half and refrigerate the other half. Refrigerated portions are eaten during the week for lunch a couple of times. Frozen are take out if I forget to cook or run out of leftovers earlier than expected... it's just like a store-bought frozen meal but, ya know, better.

I can't really help with the planning because I'm a type-A personality and hyper-organize, so it just kind of... happens.

But, work on the staples you keep in your house - those things that if you realize you don't have time to make dinner, that you already have on hand to make something simple. For instance, I always have tons of meat (chicken, beef, pork) and seafood (usually shrimp) in the freezer, I always have white rice (I buy in bulk), I always have frozen veggies (never canned - again, sodium... and they taste like crap!), pasta, eggs, jarred tomato sauce, sausages, and have spices/flavorings like minced garlic, spices, olive oil, tamari soy sauce, srirarcha, etc fully stocked at all times. Seriously - I never ever run out of those things.

So, on those days where I get home from work an hour late and am not in the mood to cook a damn thing and have no leftovers to reheat, I can at least boil some white rice, toss it in a pan with olive oil, minced garlic, scrambled eggs, sriracha, frozen peas and carrots, black pepper, and tamari... and in less than 35 minutes I have at least 4 portions of stir-fry ready to go. Or I boil some pasta, heat it up in a pan with olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and spinach - bam! pasta dinner (and leftovers) in less than 20 minutes.

Figure out what you and your husband enjoy to eat, come up with a handful of easy, under-40-minutes recipes that can easily be doubled in size, and you can easily have good meals that can be used for lunches, too.

emadlma

I pack Progresso soups each day. I have a special soup mug to microwave them at work that has a lid on it. I also pack a bag of chips, a piece of fruit, a granola bar, and a pack of crackers for an afternoon snack. Most mornings I also pack a bagel and banana for breakfast. I am a creature of habit but it works for me. 

bfonz619

I am also a left overs fan and tend to pack whatever we had for dinner the night before.  If for some reason we don't have any leftovers we always have greens, sandwich/wrap stuff, hummus, veggies and fruit that I can bring.

missrachelMrsO

Have you girls seen the microwaveable zip loc bags? They're only good for one use but you could throw meat and vegetables and a light sauce in and microwave it like a frozen meal. I do it when I can, but it takes effort.

dragonmommy422

I also do leftovers.  I eat pretty healthy so I won't be changing much up, except adjusting my portions.  The one thing I do have to change is breakfast, I was drinking a shake every morning, but I'm not comfortable with the amount of vitamins that was in it plus my prenatal, at least until I talk to my OB.  Which is hard for me because I'm not really a breakfast person.  I just finished making a weeks worth of freezable breakfast sandwiches, which I can grab and heat up at work.   

SWBrigadoon

I usually eat leftovers, otherwise I make a salad. We eat a lot of salad around here. I usually throw together greens, some kind of fruit like apple or pear, toasted nuts, fennel or beets, and homemade dressing. Super yummy and healthy.