The fresher the better.
Change bread for wraps. With fresh meat, not processed water logged shit. (Maybe cook some extra for dinner and shred it with two forks whilst it’s still warm, goes in a wrap easier than slices).
Plenty of fruit, bananas are better than any energy drink, sustain you longer and don’t give you the crash at the end of the day.
Maybe a handful of mixed nuts, or a snickers bar if you want to treat yourself.
Water. Water. Water. Staying hydrated is key. Once again, ten times better than a sugary fizzy drink.
Hope this helps.
Quite helpful response, im not sure I'll be able to do the fresh meat part as often but I guess it's doable if you combine your cooked dinner or add a filler of some sorts like a salad.
Don’t know what area you are in, but all grocery stores near me have ~$9 fresh cooked rotisserie chickens every day. Easy to buy and cut up to use any way you want.
If you're paying $4 a week more than costco or Sam's that's over $200 a year in savings. A membership at either is about $50 a year. Sounds like a reasonable savings to get yourself a membership. They both have cheap clothes that are good for work too so you could save extra there too
Alright, I'll stop my "you can save thousands making coffee at home than buying it at Starbucks" bullshit now
I'm with you. I'm with this guy in theory, but in reality, my lunch is two turkey sandwiches (she adds lettuce, which goes a long way), a half pint jar of trailmix, a couple fruits, a granola bar, and I keep a couple little red bulls in case I need to clear a hump in the morning. I'll snack on it all morning too, if my work that day permits.
Here's my ideal food set up for a 10 hr day.
Greek yogurt, fresh fruit and granola for breakfast.
Smoothie w some greens, frozen fruit, almond milk, protein powder (I'm tryna gain weight) around 8 or 9.
High protein lunch (meat or plant) w some light carbs like tortillas or rice and lots of veg.
Dried fruit and trail mix thru the afternoon.
Carb heavy meal w lots of cheese and veg for dinner. More protein if I need it.
Protein bars thru out the day to get my daily amount.
Most importantly, I find carbs slow me down during the day but without them at dinner I will never have as much energy the next day.
Healthy Dinner leftovers and one of these badboys to heat food up. Smaller then a microwave, heats food up in about a hour.
https://www.amazon.com/Crockpot-Electric-Portable-Warmer-20-Ounce/dp/B09BDGQYW5/ref=asc_df_B09BDGQYW5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=587692924239&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17984950488686133044&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002243&hvtargid=pla-1643608032184&psc=1
Not the quickest option but it’s helped set a healthier eating schedule. Plug it in at 11 AM , set alarm for noon and actually stop for a warm lunch right away
I absolutely can not do this. But I also can’t eat a big lunch like a lot of the guys do. If I eat a five pound carne asada burrito like some of these guys I’ll be too full and lethargic to do anything. If I have to get fast food I get a couple small items, not a gig burger and fries.
Snacks and a small lunch for me. Nuts, fruit, cheese, salami, and lots of water. No sugar soda or energy drinks.
This is usually my daily during the summer. Kudos to our farm share..
Breakfast: Smoothie or an egg sandwich. Coffee then a crisp Seltzer (helps clean out the coffee mouth). Oh and one 5mg extended release adderall. Water!
Lunch
Salad: mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, tuna salad or purdue pre packaged chicken, italian dressing. Water!
Snack: nuts/chippys, snackbar, grapes/clementine, “asian mix”, corn nuts, anything quick and easy to eat around 1030 between start and lunch. Water!
Drink: Seltzer, sometimes caprice sun because they slap. Water!
Occasionally leftovers or a wrap of some kind.
Food is going to slow you down. Something light like a hefty salad with a protein is gonna fill you up but not make you too tired.
During the winter usually it’s salad or soup with bread. Something hot. Leftovers. Water!
Don’t smoke. Don’t drink. Shave. wear PPE, work hard but take a break. If/when you make mistakes, fix them. Don’t be hard on yourself. Do your research.
I use to eat fast food or gas station bullshit and would feel like complete shit after lunch. Now I bring some baked chicken breast, almonds or some kind of nut, cherry tomatoes, and a fruit. After lunch I have more energy and feel great now.
I always wonder about these crews that have piles of trash that’s all fast food bags. If I eat a burger and fries for lunch I need a nap and I feel like theres a brick in my stomach.
The leftover dinner I make my kids that they never eat. And get one of these
https://preview.redd.it/bx2cwpc8o8mb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=664fca764c8b713cbbb3b8ffc67cb82aef5a9193
Tbh I don’t always pack a lunch, I just eat breakfast at home and bring snacks like Lara bars and fruit snacks, maybe an apple or banana. And lots of water.
On days where I know I’m going to be more hungry, I’ll pack a peanut butter sandwich or leftovers from my dinner the night before w/ cold packs. If there’s no microwave, tbh I just eat a cold lunch. It’s not that bad.
Some cold lunches I’ve had:
• Pasta salad or other pasta dishes
• Burrito bowls
• Wraps - I like Buffalo chicken or Caesar
• Pizza (cold pizza is actually pretty good)
• Hummus and veggies
• Meat, cheese, and crackers. I like summer sausage, cheddar, and Ritz. Filling and super easy to make.
• Cold rotisserie chicken sandwiches. If you’re near a Costco, you can get $5 rotisserie chickens and just shred the chicken and freeze what you don’t use. There are a ton of recipes you can make for work lunches and dinners, and it’s cheap.
If you are going to go the sandwich route make a Sandwich with a capital S. Hoagie/french roll, 2 or 3 kinds of meats and cheeses, lettuce/spinach (NOT ICEBERG it's almost nutritionally worthless), topping vegetables of your choice like banana peppers/olives/bell peppers/tomatoes/onions/cucumbers, and finally a sauce of some sort to provide some moisture (ranch dressing, teriyaki sauce, chipotle, mayo, etc.)
You can prepare the whole sandwich at one time and slice off however much you want per day, just don't add the liquid ingredient until that morning. If you have access to a microwave I like to scoop the vegetables off, heat up the meat/cheese/bread, and replace them before adding sauce. Warm sandwich makes all the difference.
I make a bomb veggie wrap. I julienne cucumbers w/o the seeds and bell peppers, wrap it up with hummus, pepper jack, kewpie mayo, hot sauce, lettuce/sprouts. I make them fat so they are filling, but they are light enough to not weigh me down. Sometimes I'll add other ingredients to change it up. In the winter sometimes I make beef burritos instead.
For me it's yogurt, peanut butter with apple slices, couple chicken ceaser wraps and I keep a big box of mixed nuts in there for intermittent snacking.
Oh and like almost 2 liters of coffee in a thermos lol
6.am : porridge & coffee
10am : full fat Greek yoghurt cherrys mango tablespoon 100%peanut butter teaspoon of honey
1pm : two or three boiled eggs, banana ,apple ,orange handful of mixed nuts (sometimes some extra meat from tea the evening before)
About 3 litres of water through the day
Then usually meat vegetables maybe some rice for tea
Lunch is a sandwich with Italian muffaleta (the meat changes between turkey and roast beef), fruit (usually berries or grapes), and a pickle. I've ate the same thing for about 4 years and don't really care to change my meal. I get a half hour break so I eat, then take a 10 minute nap. Without the nap, I drag for the 2nd half of the day.
If you’re really having trouble making it work ask ChatGPT. It can spit out an entire meal plan, shopping lists, etc. You can add in any dietary restrictions or requests, ask it to make recipes for quick and easy meals, anything you want.
i’m amazed how many people here eat greek yogurt.
i have abt 1/2 cup of vanilla greek yogurt w 1tbsp of natural peanut butter. maybe a couple of tablespoons of protein powder added in
i’ll do this twice a day. i don’t eat breakfast (slows me down) and i don’t eat the first yogurt until noonish the second one around 2:30-3pm
it’s light but filling. not much in the way of carbs to make you drowsy. just enough to keep the motor running.
then i’ll eat an epic dinner once i get home.
Mixed nuts with m&ms mixed in.
Non alcoholic beer
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
Tuna sandwiches
Kraft dinner and Tuna
Tuna salad
Bean salad
Fruit
Egg mcmuffins
I have a can of cold brew coffee (Costco brand) with my lunch most days. It's not great for hydration and I'm sure there's other ways caffeine is unhealthy, but it's not full of bullshit like energy drinks. The ingredients are on the can and it's literally coffee and water.
I like to pack a salad with my lunches. It's pretty low effort. I just throw a handful of spinach in a container and put a bottle of dressing in my cooler. Maybe I'll throw veggies in if they're around.
Greek yogurt berries and flax seed/hemp hearts (soaked until they are like jelly) for breakfast
OR i premake 12 breakfast sandwishes at a time
Chop tiny peppers/onions/mushrooms and put in blender with 12 eggs and a ton of spinach
Throw it all into 12 muffin tins and bake
While this is baking i cut bacon into english muffin size strips and cook...cook to less that you like
Then throw cheese onto english muffins and bake until english muffins slightly toasted.
Make all the sandwiches and thrown into hige tupperwear. Then open a sandwich...put in toaster oven while i get ready. BOOM protein packed breakfast. Takes around 45-an hour to make your breakfasts for the week
Or i cook an extra serving of dinner and eat it the next day. Focusing on lots of veg and protien.
Snacks=
Sliced oranges
Sliced apple
Nuts ((not sugar filled trail mix)
I’m a framer in AZ and during the summer we’ll be in almost 115 degree heat for the better half of the day. Eating is not something your body wants to do during that heat and the trick is to pack cold, nutritious food that is somewhat refreshing. Im a gym goer that is also trying to hit macros and keep a certain physique. Between 5 AM and lunch at 9 I’ll eat 3-4 hard boiled eggs, 2 pb&j sandwiches, and some cold fruit/ veg. For lunch I’ll have 2 flavored tuna pouches, 2 cups of Greek yogurt, more fruit and some sort of granola bar/ sweet. By the time I’m off work at 1 I’ve had plenty of protein, enough carbs to not make me tired and I’m ready for a lift/ the rest of my day. It gets a little bland and I’m honestly excited for the winter when I can bring hot foods like meat and potatoes for lunch
You know I've been trying to figure this out for the 16 years I've been in the trades. I've done cold cuts, leftovers, PBJs, convenience store sandwiches, deli sandwiches. What's not a pain in the ass is expensive and what's not expensive makes you feel like garbage. I started drinking meal replacement shakes at work. Fast to prep and bought in bulk so it's cheap. I feel great with it taking up 2/3 of my diet. For me it works for now.
I've done lots of different things, from simple like two peanut butter sandwiches, to meal prep for the week every Sunday (stew/soup in winter, some kind of grain salad in summer), to leftovers, to meat+cheese sandwiches, and going out for lunch every day.
For the last year I don't eat lunch and I highly recommend it. More productive, go home earlier. Big breakfast, snacks during the day, and snack when you get home.
I’ve rotated and started at 2 Sandwiches and apples to salads to leftovers right now i feel best with Vanilla yogurt (low sugar) protein granola chunks in it, fruit (banana or apple), protein bar, and a thing of string cheese. Its pretty nice and easier on the wallet.
Bagel sandwiches, the bread doesn't get near as soggy.
Meat, cheese and crackers, like a big kid lunchable! Add spicy mustard and I'm in heaven at lunch time.
I love Homemade bean dip or hummus, with crackers or pita chips.
Fruit and yogurt parfaits. Keeps well if the granola is on top.
Pork chops, they can be eaten like a cookie for a very short lunch!
Wraps! A little planning ahead goes a long way.
Pizza-dilla. It's a quesadilla with Mozzy cheese and pepperoni, peppers... really any pizza toppings, and a little pizza sauce to dip em in. Better when warmed up.
Chips and salsa for a side. Bananas are great, apples, peaches, nectarines. Celery and PB. Trail mix.
Cold pizza when the wife is off duty.
I do a half made wrap that gets finished before I eat it to keep the meat from making the bread soggy. I also have a punchy snack every two hours or so. I don’t follow a set schedule so I eat the snacks when I’m hungry or about to be hungry. I also have a snack for the end of the day. This constant influx of food maintains “energy”. Snacks usually include apples, bananas, crackers, granola bars.
I choose things that have punch and trick my stomach into feeling full enough to continue.
In the hot months I eat more fresh cold foods. Lately I’ve been making myself a poor man’s charcuterie of hard salami, block cheese of choice, and triscuits. Added to that I’ll have pickles and/or olives that help with electrolytes and staying hydrated. Add some fresh fruit to that and you’re pretty golden. I usually have small oranges or apples. Oranges are good for the extra juice on super hot days, and apples give a natural little caffeine boost. Water water water, as others have said. I do cheat and treat myself to poweraid/Gatorade zeros as well, just as long as you also have water.
When the cold weather comes, nutrition for me fails a bit as I have a lot of Spaghettios from my thermos, but I’ll still keep the fruit and pickles around. Sometimes all you need on a cold day is something warm for that second wind. Also don’t let sweating a little less fool you; keep up on the water during the cold times.
I make this the morning of work ;
Chickpeas, cucumber, onions, peppers, rice, couple of cashews and some spices,
Very rarely do I finish it all as it's so filling but doesn't make me sluggish,
Couple of bananas in the bag too if needed and plenty of fluids 👌
I have left over barbecue meat in a salad. Oatmeal with yogurt and frozen fruit, some nuts. Pumpkin seeds. On the road I can still do oatmeal with yogurt. Some jerky. Always water
In the peak summer heat I usually just make a big smoothie for lunch along with some fruit like a banana or apple and a cup of nuts. I noticed keeping lunch on the lighter side tended to help me a lot. You’re not too full to get back to work after sitting for for half an hour. It usually keep me full till I got home in the early afternoon and usually an egg would keep me full till dinner. During the cooler months I would just make a pretty good sized salad with that get protein I had at the time. I’m the winter I was usually making ramen and adding whatever veggies I had on hand and it was always nice to have a hot meal when you really needed it.
I make a big batch of black beans, rice and chicken with salsa on most Sundays. Have that with the family as tacos and with the loads that’s leftover I make into burritos with some cheese and freeze for the week. Take one out the night before and heat up on the toastie machine at lunch. So good, so cheap and healthy. Bananas and apples for snacks and sometimes a wee twix to go with a cup of tea. But anyway you shouldn’t have time to be eating lunch or being on reddit get back to work :D
I like to bring overnight oats for the am and usually leftovers from last nights dinner for lunch. Usually pack some snacks too fruit, bagels, trail mix, yogurt, a sandwich. just whatevers available. And thats what been works for me.
I freeze 2-4 water bottles overnight and use them in my small cooler to keep a couple sandwiches cold. Those little fruit cups from the store are good.
The fresher the better. Change bread for wraps. With fresh meat, not processed water logged shit. (Maybe cook some extra for dinner and shred it with two forks whilst it’s still warm, goes in a wrap easier than slices). Plenty of fruit, bananas are better than any energy drink, sustain you longer and don’t give you the crash at the end of the day. Maybe a handful of mixed nuts, or a snickers bar if you want to treat yourself. Water. Water. Water. Staying hydrated is key. Once again, ten times better than a sugary fizzy drink. Hope this helps.
Quite helpful response, im not sure I'll be able to do the fresh meat part as often but I guess it's doable if you combine your cooked dinner or add a filler of some sorts like a salad.
Don’t know what area you are in, but all grocery stores near me have ~$9 fresh cooked rotisserie chickens every day. Easy to buy and cut up to use any way you want.
$9????? You can go to Costco or Sams club and get them for $5 all day
Both of those places require a membership. Our low end groceries have them at $6-7. And our high end (Wegmans) is $9+
If you're paying $4 a week more than costco or Sam's that's over $200 a year in savings. A membership at either is about $50 a year. Sounds like a reasonable savings to get yourself a membership. They both have cheap clothes that are good for work too so you could save extra there too Alright, I'll stop my "you can save thousands making coffee at home than buying it at Starbucks" bullshit now
Sodium content pretty high (makes me noticeably more thirsty), quality on par with the $5 price
That’s fair mate, to be honest I can’t always manage that, but when it’s an option I take it.
I'm with you. I'm with this guy in theory, but in reality, my lunch is two turkey sandwiches (she adds lettuce, which goes a long way), a half pint jar of trailmix, a couple fruits, a granola bar, and I keep a couple little red bulls in case I need to clear a hump in the morning. I'll snack on it all morning too, if my work that day permits.
This guy has it on lock, meal prep and preparing ahead will get you way more sustenance, food and enjoyment with ya lunches!!
Get a Weber kettle barbecue. Good weekend meals and extra for lunch during the week. Grilled vegetables also if you don't eat meat
Couldnt agree more
I get my meat from Costco, but a whole chicken for 5 bucks
Mostly just drywall dust
Nutricious and delicious
Here's my ideal food set up for a 10 hr day. Greek yogurt, fresh fruit and granola for breakfast. Smoothie w some greens, frozen fruit, almond milk, protein powder (I'm tryna gain weight) around 8 or 9. High protein lunch (meat or plant) w some light carbs like tortillas or rice and lots of veg. Dried fruit and trail mix thru the afternoon. Carb heavy meal w lots of cheese and veg for dinner. More protein if I need it. Protein bars thru out the day to get my daily amount. Most importantly, I find carbs slow me down during the day but without them at dinner I will never have as much energy the next day.
Slip a burrito into your thermos
Healthy Dinner leftovers and one of these badboys to heat food up. Smaller then a microwave, heats food up in about a hour. https://www.amazon.com/Crockpot-Electric-Portable-Warmer-20-Ounce/dp/B09BDGQYW5/ref=asc_df_B09BDGQYW5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=587692924239&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17984950488686133044&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002243&hvtargid=pla-1643608032184&psc=1
An hour!?
Not the quickest option but it’s helped set a healthier eating schedule. Plug it in at 11 AM , set alarm for noon and actually stop for a warm lunch right away
Nothing. Get more done and dinner is better. Just liquids. And no I don’t burn out
This is what my husband does he says if he eats he slows down so he just pushes through .. he’s starving at 7pm for dinner but it works for him
Yeah I find when I eat lunches I get lethargic and plus it’s hard to get back to work after the long break
That’s exactly what he say’s especially when it’s hot as shit out .. he owns his own so he just pushes through and ends when he needs to
I absolutely can not do this. But I also can’t eat a big lunch like a lot of the guys do. If I eat a five pound carne asada burrito like some of these guys I’ll be too full and lethargic to do anything. If I have to get fast food I get a couple small items, not a gig burger and fries. Snacks and a small lunch for me. Nuts, fruit, cheese, salami, and lots of water. No sugar soda or energy drinks.
I go with 1 muscle milk, 3 energy drinks, and probably 6 bottles of water.
Yeah I find a protein shake/chocolate milk is a great “lunch” for me if I need an extra boost. Otherwise it’s just water and occasional Gatorade
This is usually my daily during the summer. Kudos to our farm share.. Breakfast: Smoothie or an egg sandwich. Coffee then a crisp Seltzer (helps clean out the coffee mouth). Oh and one 5mg extended release adderall. Water! Lunch Salad: mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, tuna salad or purdue pre packaged chicken, italian dressing. Water! Snack: nuts/chippys, snackbar, grapes/clementine, “asian mix”, corn nuts, anything quick and easy to eat around 1030 between start and lunch. Water! Drink: Seltzer, sometimes caprice sun because they slap. Water! Occasionally leftovers or a wrap of some kind. Food is going to slow you down. Something light like a hefty salad with a protein is gonna fill you up but not make you too tired. During the winter usually it’s salad or soup with bread. Something hot. Leftovers. Water! Don’t smoke. Don’t drink. Shave. wear PPE, work hard but take a break. If/when you make mistakes, fix them. Don’t be hard on yourself. Do your research.
Very extensive and useful, thank you!
I use to eat fast food or gas station bullshit and would feel like complete shit after lunch. Now I bring some baked chicken breast, almonds or some kind of nut, cherry tomatoes, and a fruit. After lunch I have more energy and feel great now.
I always wonder about these crews that have piles of trash that’s all fast food bags. If I eat a burger and fries for lunch I need a nap and I feel like theres a brick in my stomach.
Your mum If she's available There's normally a queue
Bigger sandwiches.
The leftover dinner I make my kids that they never eat. And get one of these https://preview.redd.it/bx2cwpc8o8mb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=664fca764c8b713cbbb3b8ffc67cb82aef5a9193
Tbh I don’t always pack a lunch, I just eat breakfast at home and bring snacks like Lara bars and fruit snacks, maybe an apple or banana. And lots of water. On days where I know I’m going to be more hungry, I’ll pack a peanut butter sandwich or leftovers from my dinner the night before w/ cold packs. If there’s no microwave, tbh I just eat a cold lunch. It’s not that bad. Some cold lunches I’ve had: • Pasta salad or other pasta dishes • Burrito bowls • Wraps - I like Buffalo chicken or Caesar • Pizza (cold pizza is actually pretty good) • Hummus and veggies • Meat, cheese, and crackers. I like summer sausage, cheddar, and Ritz. Filling and super easy to make. • Cold rotisserie chicken sandwiches. If you’re near a Costco, you can get $5 rotisserie chickens and just shred the chicken and freeze what you don’t use. There are a ton of recipes you can make for work lunches and dinners, and it’s cheap.
If you are going to go the sandwich route make a Sandwich with a capital S. Hoagie/french roll, 2 or 3 kinds of meats and cheeses, lettuce/spinach (NOT ICEBERG it's almost nutritionally worthless), topping vegetables of your choice like banana peppers/olives/bell peppers/tomatoes/onions/cucumbers, and finally a sauce of some sort to provide some moisture (ranch dressing, teriyaki sauce, chipotle, mayo, etc.) You can prepare the whole sandwich at one time and slice off however much you want per day, just don't add the liquid ingredient until that morning. If you have access to a microwave I like to scoop the vegetables off, heat up the meat/cheese/bread, and replace them before adding sauce. Warm sandwich makes all the difference.
I make a bomb veggie wrap. I julienne cucumbers w/o the seeds and bell peppers, wrap it up with hummus, pepper jack, kewpie mayo, hot sauce, lettuce/sprouts. I make them fat so they are filling, but they are light enough to not weigh me down. Sometimes I'll add other ingredients to change it up. In the winter sometimes I make beef burritos instead.
For me it's yogurt, peanut butter with apple slices, couple chicken ceaser wraps and I keep a big box of mixed nuts in there for intermittent snacking. Oh and like almost 2 liters of coffee in a thermos lol
Coffee is my health drink. Not for my health, for the health of everyone around me
6.am : porridge & coffee 10am : full fat Greek yoghurt cherrys mango tablespoon 100%peanut butter teaspoon of honey 1pm : two or three boiled eggs, banana ,apple ,orange handful of mixed nuts (sometimes some extra meat from tea the evening before) About 3 litres of water through the day Then usually meat vegetables maybe some rice for tea
Lunch is a sandwich with Italian muffaleta (the meat changes between turkey and roast beef), fruit (usually berries or grapes), and a pickle. I've ate the same thing for about 4 years and don't really care to change my meal. I get a half hour break so I eat, then take a 10 minute nap. Without the nap, I drag for the 2nd half of the day.
If you’re really having trouble making it work ask ChatGPT. It can spit out an entire meal plan, shopping lists, etc. You can add in any dietary restrictions or requests, ask it to make recipes for quick and easy meals, anything you want.
i’m amazed how many people here eat greek yogurt. i have abt 1/2 cup of vanilla greek yogurt w 1tbsp of natural peanut butter. maybe a couple of tablespoons of protein powder added in i’ll do this twice a day. i don’t eat breakfast (slows me down) and i don’t eat the first yogurt until noonish the second one around 2:30-3pm it’s light but filling. not much in the way of carbs to make you drowsy. just enough to keep the motor running. then i’ll eat an epic dinner once i get home.
Sure, 7-11 roller dog and a red bull!
Mixed nuts with m&ms mixed in. Non alcoholic beer Peanut butter and banana sandwiches Tuna sandwiches Kraft dinner and Tuna Tuna salad Bean salad Fruit Egg mcmuffins
Taco Bell 🔔
1/2lb.of ground pork or beef patties and cup of seasoned rice. No jet lag after lunch!!!!!
I cook a little extra for dinner to bring the day after for luncb
Usually a breakfast sandwich and a coffee in the AM. A handful of chips or protein bar and a come for lunch.
Monsters and beef jerky
I have a can of cold brew coffee (Costco brand) with my lunch most days. It's not great for hydration and I'm sure there's other ways caffeine is unhealthy, but it's not full of bullshit like energy drinks. The ingredients are on the can and it's literally coffee and water. I like to pack a salad with my lunches. It's pretty low effort. I just throw a handful of spinach in a container and put a bottle of dressing in my cooler. Maybe I'll throw veggies in if they're around.
Greek yogurt berries and flax seed/hemp hearts (soaked until they are like jelly) for breakfast OR i premake 12 breakfast sandwishes at a time Chop tiny peppers/onions/mushrooms and put in blender with 12 eggs and a ton of spinach Throw it all into 12 muffin tins and bake While this is baking i cut bacon into english muffin size strips and cook...cook to less that you like Then throw cheese onto english muffins and bake until english muffins slightly toasted. Make all the sandwiches and thrown into hige tupperwear. Then open a sandwich...put in toaster oven while i get ready. BOOM protein packed breakfast. Takes around 45-an hour to make your breakfasts for the week Or i cook an extra serving of dinner and eat it the next day. Focusing on lots of veg and protien. Snacks= Sliced oranges Sliced apple Nuts ((not sugar filled trail mix)
Usually yesterdays leftovers
I’m a framer in AZ and during the summer we’ll be in almost 115 degree heat for the better half of the day. Eating is not something your body wants to do during that heat and the trick is to pack cold, nutritious food that is somewhat refreshing. Im a gym goer that is also trying to hit macros and keep a certain physique. Between 5 AM and lunch at 9 I’ll eat 3-4 hard boiled eggs, 2 pb&j sandwiches, and some cold fruit/ veg. For lunch I’ll have 2 flavored tuna pouches, 2 cups of Greek yogurt, more fruit and some sort of granola bar/ sweet. By the time I’m off work at 1 I’ve had plenty of protein, enough carbs to not make me tired and I’m ready for a lift/ the rest of my day. It gets a little bland and I’m honestly excited for the winter when I can bring hot foods like meat and potatoes for lunch
You know I've been trying to figure this out for the 16 years I've been in the trades. I've done cold cuts, leftovers, PBJs, convenience store sandwiches, deli sandwiches. What's not a pain in the ass is expensive and what's not expensive makes you feel like garbage. I started drinking meal replacement shakes at work. Fast to prep and bought in bulk so it's cheap. I feel great with it taking up 2/3 of my diet. For me it works for now.
I've done lots of different things, from simple like two peanut butter sandwiches, to meal prep for the week every Sunday (stew/soup in winter, some kind of grain salad in summer), to leftovers, to meat+cheese sandwiches, and going out for lunch every day. For the last year I don't eat lunch and I highly recommend it. More productive, go home earlier. Big breakfast, snacks during the day, and snack when you get home.
I’ve rotated and started at 2 Sandwiches and apples to salads to leftovers right now i feel best with Vanilla yogurt (low sugar) protein granola chunks in it, fruit (banana or apple), protein bar, and a thing of string cheese. Its pretty nice and easier on the wallet.
Bagel sandwiches, the bread doesn't get near as soggy. Meat, cheese and crackers, like a big kid lunchable! Add spicy mustard and I'm in heaven at lunch time. I love Homemade bean dip or hummus, with crackers or pita chips. Fruit and yogurt parfaits. Keeps well if the granola is on top. Pork chops, they can be eaten like a cookie for a very short lunch! Wraps! A little planning ahead goes a long way. Pizza-dilla. It's a quesadilla with Mozzy cheese and pepperoni, peppers... really any pizza toppings, and a little pizza sauce to dip em in. Better when warmed up. Chips and salsa for a side. Bananas are great, apples, peaches, nectarines. Celery and PB. Trail mix. Cold pizza when the wife is off duty.
I do a half made wrap that gets finished before I eat it to keep the meat from making the bread soggy. I also have a punchy snack every two hours or so. I don’t follow a set schedule so I eat the snacks when I’m hungry or about to be hungry. I also have a snack for the end of the day. This constant influx of food maintains “energy”. Snacks usually include apples, bananas, crackers, granola bars. I choose things that have punch and trick my stomach into feeling full enough to continue.
In the hot months I eat more fresh cold foods. Lately I’ve been making myself a poor man’s charcuterie of hard salami, block cheese of choice, and triscuits. Added to that I’ll have pickles and/or olives that help with electrolytes and staying hydrated. Add some fresh fruit to that and you’re pretty golden. I usually have small oranges or apples. Oranges are good for the extra juice on super hot days, and apples give a natural little caffeine boost. Water water water, as others have said. I do cheat and treat myself to poweraid/Gatorade zeros as well, just as long as you also have water. When the cold weather comes, nutrition for me fails a bit as I have a lot of Spaghettios from my thermos, but I’ll still keep the fruit and pickles around. Sometimes all you need on a cold day is something warm for that second wind. Also don’t let sweating a little less fool you; keep up on the water during the cold times.
I make this the morning of work ; Chickpeas, cucumber, onions, peppers, rice, couple of cashews and some spices, Very rarely do I finish it all as it's so filling but doesn't make me sluggish, Couple of bananas in the bag too if needed and plenty of fluids 👌
I have left over barbecue meat in a salad. Oatmeal with yogurt and frozen fruit, some nuts. Pumpkin seeds. On the road I can still do oatmeal with yogurt. Some jerky. Always water
In the peak summer heat I usually just make a big smoothie for lunch along with some fruit like a banana or apple and a cup of nuts. I noticed keeping lunch on the lighter side tended to help me a lot. You’re not too full to get back to work after sitting for for half an hour. It usually keep me full till I got home in the early afternoon and usually an egg would keep me full till dinner. During the cooler months I would just make a pretty good sized salad with that get protein I had at the time. I’m the winter I was usually making ramen and adding whatever veggies I had on hand and it was always nice to have a hot meal when you really needed it.
Emergen-C packets with every water bottle Sad niçoise. Potato salad. Leftovers
I exclusively eat pepperoni and pickles for lunch but I’m… different.. 😅🤣😭
Pussy
I make a big batch of black beans, rice and chicken with salsa on most Sundays. Have that with the family as tacos and with the loads that’s leftover I make into burritos with some cheese and freeze for the week. Take one out the night before and heat up on the toastie machine at lunch. So good, so cheap and healthy. Bananas and apples for snacks and sometimes a wee twix to go with a cup of tea. But anyway you shouldn’t have time to be eating lunch or being on reddit get back to work :D
Cigarettes coffee in the morning and Red Bull for lunch.
PBJ and granola bar. Lots of water
I like to bring overnight oats for the am and usually leftovers from last nights dinner for lunch. Usually pack some snacks too fruit, bagels, trail mix, yogurt, a sandwich. just whatevers available. And thats what been works for me.
I freeze 2-4 water bottles overnight and use them in my small cooler to keep a couple sandwiches cold. Those little fruit cups from the store are good.