Quick Lunch Ideas

[Redheadmom116]

I know that this is not the forum for recipe sharing but I was wondering if some of you "old-timers" could give me some ideas on what you have for lunch. I work and so I bring my lunch in and I have about 30 minutes to eat it. I have a microwave that can use but that's it. I have been taking rice cakes with tuna fish a lot and also fresh fruit but that's getting a little old. I do enjoy cooking and would be able to fix something small the night before but I live about 60 miles from the nearest Health Food store so I am limited on labeled gluten-free food at home right now. I have some gluten-free spaghetti and Penne pasta, but I ate the last of my gluten-free bread yesterday (I,m waiting on my internet order of gluten-free bread mixes to come). Some fresh ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

[bigbird16]

Sunday night I usually cook some chicken (with garlic and onions) and a pot of basmati or jasmine rice (enough for the week). I divide the rice and chicken into containers. Total prep and cook time is about a half hour. In the morning I throw in some frozen or fresh veggies, maybe some seasoning or sauce (butter if I'm feeling naughty), and run out the door. Switching the veggies and seasonings keeps it from getting boring. Sometimes I'll do a pot of stew in the crock pot--throw everything in and ignore it for the day or overnight--easy and only one pot to clean. Love to cook, but am Lazy.

[626Belle]

Thai Kitchen is a brand line with a long list of gluten-free products and I have been able to find them at several major grocery stores (Allergy info here: Open Original Shared Link

I just tried their Thai Peanut flavored stir-fry kit with the meat from a split chicken breast I had in the freezer and found it to be a little under-salted, but otherwise very tasty and not too complicated to throw together. They also have little packs of instant soup (their "Instant Rice Noodle Soup) that are all gluten-free and I'm going to try that soon (I also grabbed this one for 79 cents, so that fits in my budget!). It's a single serving made with hot water, so it'll be perfect to keep in my desk drawer at work

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[Hummingbird4]

The easiest (and most satisfying) lunch for me, is simply leftover dinner from the night before! Fix extra portions of dinner so you have something for lunch the next day.

[Jestgar]

I keep my drawer at work full of soup so I always have something, even if I didn't have time to come up with anything.

If I have time on the weekend I'll cook a couple big meals and divvy them up onto containers and stick them in the freezer. These also work for dinner if your caught short.

[Juliebove]

My lunch most of the time is a box of Ian's gluten-free chicken nuggets and some cut up raw vegetables. Sometimes I have some canned refried beans heated and used as a dip or put in tortillas for tacos. Also with raw veg. I also love big salads and would eat those more often, but I have gastroparesis so I don't digest them well. I used to make taco salads. I would cook some ground beef (you can also use chicken) ahead of time and portion it up in plastic bags. Come lunch time, I would put this in a large bowl, heat it and then top it with the salad stuff. I would eat this with a few tortilla chips. If you can have dairy (I can't) you could have cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit. And of course there are always the leftovers. I used to send leftovers for daughter's lunch all the time until she pitched a fit and demanded sandwiches. For her, I usually send a sandwich, a pack of Enjoy Life cookies or a candy bar, a pack of carrots and apple slices from Costco or elsewhere, and a bag of chips. Today she had some rice yogurt, pepperoni, apples, potato chips and a chocolate bar.

[missy'smom]

I roast or saute extra chicken breast when I'm making dinner. Next day, dice or slice. Put on a salad with tomato, cucumber, chickpeas, carrot etc. or salami, artichoke hearts etc. and small container of favorite dressing. I also cook a small portion of long-grain white rice and add some chopped broccoli to the water. When it's done add chopped leftover chicken, ham or hot dogs and shredded cheese and sometimes frozen corn, salt and pepper. I keep a stash of pre-cooked meatballs in the freezer-use processed General Mills Rice Chex for the bread crumbs. You can make a recipe of meatloaf and scoop it with an icecream scoop and bake it in muffin tins for individual portions and freeze. Pop one or two in the micro for a quick main dish. Add a micro baked potato and some fresh steamed or frozen veg. Canned chili and hot dogs and a salad with an avacado half, salsa and mayo-sour cream might be better if you can have dairy. Hormel makes some gluten-free chili but not all varieties are so check.