A lot of times when we cut the carbs out of our lunches, we find ourselves snacking later on in the afternoon, right? Have you been there? Yeah, it’s perfectly normal.
So here are some ideas that give you the opposite of what the concept says. Lots of protein, fiber, and fat, as well as a lot of taste. You don’t feel like you’re on a diet, and you can still get through your workday.
1) Chicken Salad Wraps
Oh, who doesn’t love chicken salad? So good. In this one, you’re going to be using lettuce wraps instead of a tortilla wrap. So you’re going to make your chicken salad, and there are a lot of ways to make it. I love it with some celery and some dried cranberries in there. You could even do some diced up apples.
And with the chicken, you can use a rotisserie chicken, or you can cook the chicken at home. And then you could use some plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise if you’d like. It gives it a little extra protein, and it’s super flavorful with some pepper in there as well. You could put some dill or some other seasonings in there if you’d like.
Maybe a little bit of mustard or honey or something if you want to give it a little sweetness. Super good. And then you’re just going to serve those in a lettuce wrap all together, grab the lettuce wrap, and ba-bing. Bring it just like that. Delicious.
2) Turkey And Cheese Roll-Ups
So you’re rolling the turkey with the cheese, and you can do whatever type of cheese you like. I would probably choose a sharp cheddar, but you could definitely do a provolone, something like that. And then you can add your toppings to it.
I love mustard, any type of mustard, so you could use whatever type of mustard you have. You can do some pickles. That sounds really good and gives it a lot of flavor. And you’re going to get lots of protein in this meal with low carbs. You could even add some tomatoes if you like tomatoes with it as well.
3) Tuna Stuffed Avocado
Delicious. Avocado is so great because it’s such a healthy fat and it’s a plant as well. So lots of health benefits, and a lot of satiety with avocados.
So you’re going to use the tuna, and you can mix the tuna with whatever you like, like some celery or some lemon or pickles or mayo, mustard, and then put that right there in the avocado. Such a delicious high protein and good fat meal.
4) Egg Salad Pepper Boats
So you’re going to make some delicious egg salad. This is great because it’s high in protein, right? You have all the eggs. I would use the whole egg because both the whites and the yolk have so many health benefits.
You could put some mustard in with the hard boiled egg, and some paprika, of course. And then you’re going to use some mini bell peppers with this recipe. It sounds really good because it’s fresh and crunchy from that bell pepper, but then you’ve also got the high protein of the egg.
5) Greek Chicken Bowl
Oh yes. Sounds delicious. When I think of a Greek chicken bowl, I’m basically thinking of some chicken, whether it’s rotisserie or home cooked chicken. Then of course you’re going to want some feta and some olives, maybe some Kalamata olives would be really good in there. I’d probably put some cucumbers, maybe some chickpeas, and maybe some diced tomatoes in there.
And then you can use some sort of yummy dressing on top, like a Greek dressing. It’s such a great meal, high in fiber and protein.
6) Cottage Cheese Bowl
Yes, cottage cheese is having a moment and I’m here for it, because it is high in protein and you can add cottage cheese to so many different meals to up the protein content.
So with some tomatoes and peppers and olive oil, this is going to be a delicious meal that’s going to give you lots of protein. And it’s super simple, right? With ingredients that you probably have right at home.
7) Salmon Salad
So maybe you have some salmon left over from last night’s dinner. That makes it really easy. You could also use canned salmon, or maybe the salmon in the pouches would be great too. And just put that over a salad, whatever salad you like.
For me, I’d probably do some diced avocado with cucumbers, tomatoes, and maybe some cheese if you like some cheese in there, like some feta or goat cheese, something like that. You could also do some sort of nuts if you like a crunch in there, like some pistachios or some slivered almonds would be great. And then your favorite dressing on top, like some olive oil dressing or another type of dressing that you have.
8) Steak Salad
So maybe you have some leftover steak from last night. Go ahead and use that and throw it right onto a delicious bed of lettuce. I like spinach, but you could use any lettuce that you like. Kale’s delicious, with lots of health benefits too.
And then add your favorite toppings. So maybe some tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, some sort of nuts if you like nuts. Just figure out whatever you have in the fridge or in the food cabinet that can be thrown onto a salad. Even some artichoke hearts, which are always a favorite topping of mine.
And then find your favorite dressing, bring that on the side, of course, and put it on the salad right before you eat it.
9) Burger Bowl
So it’s like a cheeseburger, but a bowl. It’s basically everything except for the bun. So you have some ground beef, or ground turkey would work as well. And then of course some lettuce, maybe some spinach or some romaine lettuce.
You could put some pickles, tomatoes, onions, whether they’re fresh onions or grilled onions, mayo, mustard, and put this right into a bowl. And there you go, you have a burger bowl.
10) Turkey Taco Salad
A favorite of mine. I love turkey taco salad. So I’ll take some ground turkey. If you’re having this for lunch and you need to pack it for work, maybe you make the turkey the night before. Maybe it’s leftover from dinner, that would be even better. You’re going to keep that in a separate container because you’re going to want to heat that turkey when you get to the place where you’re eating lunch. Maybe it’s work.
And then as far as the taco part of it, you’re going to take your favorite lettuce. I love spinach, but choose any lettuce that you like and then put all of your taco toppings on. For me, I’m going to do some tomatoes, some avocado, and maybe I’ll bring some sour cream or some sort of dressing on the side. Maybe some corn on top of the salad.
And then I usually bring some tortilla chips. If you like a little bit of crunch and a little bit of carbs with it, you can do that.
11) Shrimp Caesar Salad
So this is super easy because you could actually buy the bag of Caesar salad if you’d like to make your life easy. They have really great complete kits at the grocery store. Otherwise, just grab some romaine lettuce, a bit of Parmesan cheese, and some croutons. You can even make croutons at home if you like. Super easy. And then some Caesar dressing of your choice and then some shrimp.
So maybe this is leftover shrimp from last night, or maybe just some cocktail shrimp you can buy. I like the cocktail shrimp. Shrimp comes in all different sizes, and the big ones of course are delicious, but I like the small little cocktail size ones because they’re bite size. If you’re eating a salad, it’s really easy to take it in one bite, but you could cut the shrimp in half too if you have the big shrimp.
So this is great. This is a low carb, high protein, high fiber meal.
12) Caprese Chicken
Yes, I’m in for anything Caprese. So delicious. Those tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, such good flavors that come all together. If you’re not growing a basil plant in your kitchen, why not? It grows really well indoors once it finds a nice little sunny window, and there’s nothing like fresh basil.
With the mozzarella, you can use string cheese if you’re not fancy, or you can get the fancy mozzarella cheese that comes in the little package with a little bit of liquid in there. You know what I’m talking about. That one really is very, very good, but string cheese will work in a pinch.
For tomatoes, I like diced cherry tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes. They’re just so bright and deep red. So good for you, so many nutrients when you get a dark red tomato like that. And you can add some chicken to this, so maybe it’s rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken from last night, and add this all together. If you want to top it off with some balsamic glaze, you can do that too. Super good.
13) Zucchini Noodle Bowl
So if you haven’t made zoodles yet, they’re really easy. You just get a little zoodle maker, it’s a spiralizer. There are several different types, some very inexpensive ones. You basically just chop off the tip of that zucchini and stick it in the spiralizer. Mine is just a hand crank, so I’ll turn the zucchini in the spiralizer and these great little green noodles come out. It’s super easy.
I will sauté that with some garlic and some olive oil on the stove until they get a bit translucent. Then the zoodles are cooked and they’re not as crunchy. They’re a little more movable and a little translucent, and they act a little bit more like noodles once they’re cooked, right? Not so crunchy.
You could add some chicken to this and some pesto. That would be a really great meal, just to kind of round it out. And you could dice up some tomatoes if you’d like a little bit more color on top, or add some mushrooms. You could put some Parmesan cheese on if you wanted to. It’s such a good meal. Low carb and very satisfying. Super yummy.
14) Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Yes. So this is something you can make at home and then bring as a leftover to pack in your lunch for work. Such a great meal. You could also incorporate some shredded chicken into this, and that would give you some extra protein in this meal.
Super good, it reheats well, and you could serve it with a slice of bread or some crackers if you wanted some carbs in this. Otherwise it’s good to go.
15) Cucumber Sushi Bites
So refreshing, so yummy. I love the crunch from the cucumber, and of course cream cheese makes everything better, right? You could use some smoked salmon with this. I love smoked salmon, so it’s going to taste really good all together.
If you want to add some sort of spices, you can do that as well to give it a little extra flavor. And then you could serve it with an egg if you want some extra protein as well. Super fresh, something totally different, yet super delicious.
16) Snack Plate
Snack plates, right? We’re not too old for snack plates. We can totally enjoy snack plates. Think of a charcuterie board or an adult Lunchables, right? Super good.
So you can have some sort of salami, prosciutto, whatever type of cheese you like. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, go crazy, right? They have the best cheeses there, whether it’s goat cheese or their aged cheddars, so many good cheeses there. And you could do some sort of yummy crackers with it if you’d like, or you can keep it carb free without the crackers.
You could put some nuts in there if you want to as well. It’s just such a fun little grazing plate with your meat and your nuts and your cheeses. And then of course I would add some sort of fruits or vegetables in there as well for some additional nutrients and color and fiber.
17) Chicken Stir-Fry
Who doesn’t love a chicken stir fry? I’ll take any stir fry. And this is great if you made it for dinner the night before, because it can easily pack as leftovers for lunch the next day. It doesn’t have to be chicken, it can be any meat really.
Stir fry is so easy. You can cook the meat in your wok or a big pan with some oil, and then you add all your veggies. So it depends where you want to go with this stir fry. You could add some soy sauce, some ginger, some garlic. You could do some bell peppers, the tiny cute little corns if you want to do those, some snap peas, and all types of different vegetables in this.
And then you can serve it over a bed of rice or cauliflower rice, or quinoa if you’d like, for some extra protein.
18) Chicken Parmesan Bowl
Super delicious. Who would not love this? So basically it’s like chicken parmesan without the breading. You could use some leftover chicken, some marinara sauce, and some melted mozzarella cheese. Sometimes in a pinch I’ll use string cheese because I always have string cheese.
So you can easily do that all together. Super delicious. You can serve this with zoodles if you’d like to. I’ve done this a lot and it’s a really good combo.
19) Mediterranean Tuna Bowl
So you could use some canned tuna if you’d like. I always have some in the cupboard because you just never know when you might need some easy protein, and there’s so much you can do with tuna. You can serve it with some lettuce and add some healthy fats like avocado or nuts if you’d like. And really lean into whatever flavors, because this will really take on whatever flavors you are serving it with.
Such a great one. For me, I’d probably put some spinach, lettuce, some tomatoes, some cucumbers, and some avocado, and then some sort of dressing. I even feel like a mustardy dressing would go really well with the tuna, because I really like mustard on my tuna melts.
So even a honey mustard or a vinaigrette or a spoonful of tahini, anything will go really great in making this. If you really want it to be Mediterranean, you could even add some feta cheese and some Kalamata olives and some tahini or some sort of Greek dressing.
20) Egg Drop Soup
So this is a fun lunch option. You’re going to whisk an egg and slowly drizzle the egg into your broth over the stove. And then you’re going to put in some spinach and add some sliced cucumbers.
And if you have some leftover chicken, that’ll add some protein, because eggs actually have about six grams of protein, which isn’t that much, right? So adding a little bit of leftover chicken, if you have it, would be really great to up the protein value in this meal. Sounds delish.
21) Cobb Salad
Ooh, yes, I haven’t had a Cobb salad in forever. They’re super good. They’re high in protein because you typically have chicken, a hard-boiled egg, and bacon, and then you have some delicious fats with the avocado in there.
And you can add more, like some sliced cucumbers or tomatoes, if you like a little more color. I do. So that’s going to give you a little more fiber and color and nutrients, of course, with your lettuce of choice. I always choose spinach because it’s dark green. It’s going to provide you a lot of nutrients.
And then you can do some blue cheese if you like blue cheese on top of your Cobb salad. Most people do. Or you can do a blue cheese dressing on top if you like, or you can keep it light with a lighter dressing.
22) Cabbage And Sausage
So this is a great leftover meal. Maybe you make this for dinner and then you can eat it for lunch the next day. You’re going to sauté the cabbage and then cook the sausage over the stove as well. This is really easy to just cook over the stove together, and it gives you some protein and so many good nutrients in the cabbage, right? Cabbage is so good for you.
Then you can add some sort of spice or any seasoning that you like to this. Super yummy.
23) Turkey Meatballs
So you can buy frozen meatballs if you like. I always have some in the freezer. You can also make meatballs. It’s not too hard to make them, it just takes a little bit of time. And what’s nice about making them yourself is you can really add whatever you want to them, which is great.
I would probably serve these turkey meatballs with marinara and some zoodles, right? That’s our zucchini noodles. You could also do pesto if you prefer pesto. That’s super delicious and will give you some healthy fats in there as well.
24) Salmon Poke Bowl
Oh yes. I love a good salmon poke bowl or an ahi poke bowl, I’ll take either one. But salmon is so great because it gives you a lot of omega-3s and some protein in there. And you can serve it with some cauliflower rice if you’d like, or some white rice or some quinoa.
And then of course with the poke bowl, you’re going to want cucumber, avocado, sesame, and soy sauce. I like a little ginger in there. Super, super good. Lots of flavoring. You can make this spicy if you like spice.
25) Roasted Vegetable Salad
So you can grab a bed of leafy greens of your choice and some roasted vegetables. Maybe you made them the night before. And then you can add some fried halloumi cheese on top if you’d like, and it gives it lots of good flavor. And that’s it. Super easy, super yummy. Or you can use feta cheese of course if you like. But you’re gonna have those delicious roasted vegetables on top of that bed of lettuce.
You could add some sort of salad dressing if you like a little more saucy salad. It sounds super good and fancy. You can also add some protein to this if you’d like, like some chicken or tuna, whatever you have lying around. I’d probably add a little protein to mine. So that’s a great idea.
26) Spinach Omelet
Oh yes. Like I said, I always have spinach around the house because there’s so much you can do with it. So when I make a spinach omelet, I’ll put some avocado oil or some olive oil in a pan, and then I’ll tear up my spinach leaves and throw them down. I’ll usually add a couple other veggies as well. If I have some zucchini or some mushrooms, I’ll slice those up and put those in as well, but you don’t have to.
Then I’ll typically take some eggs and crack the eggs. I use the whole egg, right? There are lots of health benefits to the whole egg. Then if you want to add extra protein, I’ll take some cottage cheese, put that in there, scramble the egg, and then pour that on top of my sautéed vegetables. And then just kind of stir those up on the stove, letting them all cook together. Super good.
The cottage cheese gives you a little extra creamy factor so you don’t feel like you have to add cheddar cheese on top. And you have some nice, delicious spinach. Look at you, you’re starting the day with veggies. So you can make that as your breakfast, or you can make it as your lunch and eat it at work. Super good either way.
You can add some tomatoes on top if you’d like. Really just think about vacation when they have an omelet bar. Just add whatever you want to it, and it reheats pretty well for lunch too if you want to have it on the go.
27) Chicken Shawarma Salad
I love chicken shawarma. So good. If you haven’t had it, the flavors are delicious. I usually buy mine from Trader Joe’s, but you could season your own. It’s basically gonna have cumin, garlic, paprika, and lemon.
And you could put it on a bed of lettuce with some cucumbers and some onions. I’d probably do some diced cherry tomatoes. And you could use some yogurt garlic sauce on top to really lean into the Mediterranean flavors. You could use some hummus in there or some chickpeas. That would really go with the flavor of this wonderful, flavorful meal.
28) Buffalo Chicken Salad
So good. Basically you’re taking some chicken. It doesn’t have to be wings, but it can be. You could even use some canned chicken. I’ll do that if I need a shortcut sometimes. It tastes just fine, and it’s already cooked and shredded so perfectly. So you could use that if you’d like to, or boil some chicken and shred it yourself.
And then mix it in with some buffalo sauce or some hot sauce, and mayo or Greek yogurt if you want. And then of course you usually serve this with some celery, some carrots, something like that, and some blue cheese if you like blue cheese.
You can use bread with this, or not use bread and just serve this delicious, flavorful buffalo chicken right on top of a bed of lettuce.
29) Beef And Broccoli
Super delicious. I love making my beef and broccoli in the crock pot, but you can also make it over the stove. It really reheats very well for lunch the next day. And it’s such a complete meal because the broccoli has vitamin C, which helps you absorb the iron in the beef even better, which is excellent.
You can combine this with some cauliflower rice or some regular white rice, or some couscous or quinoa if you’d like. Super good, super colorful, super flavorful.
30) Sardine Cucumber Salad
Sardines are super tiny little fish, and you actually eat the bones, which is really great because it has calcium and also omega-3s, and they’re also packed with protein. So super delicious, as long as you’re not going to offend any of your co-workers with the fishy smell.
It’s going to be a little bit fishy, but it’s going to taste really good. You can downplay that a little bit with some lemon and some herbs and some mayonnaise or olive oil on top if you’d like. Of course, serve it with lots of cucumber. So super delicious, a little stinky, but high in protein and super good.
31) Chicken And Mushroom Skillet
Yes, I love mushrooms, especially sautéed mushrooms. Super good. So you can sauté your mushrooms first and then add your chicken with some cream or some milk. And then you can add some green beans to this if you’d like, and some broth and mustard. Super good.
It sounds like a delicious meal, and this will reheat really well. You can serve it with some rice or some cauliflower rice if you feel like you want a little something extra on the side. Sounds super delicious. What a great, fun lunch choice.
32) Chicken Broth Bowl
So you can use bok choy and chicken, and you’re going to use some chicken broth and some garlic and some ginger. So many great flavors in this meal. You can add some eggs to this as well if you’d like. That gives you a little extra protein.
And I would add some more veggies to this meal, so you could do some mushrooms if you’d like. That would be super good, and this will be such a delicious high protein lunch.
33) Roasted Chicken Thighs
So chicken thighs don’t dry out very easily. They cook well and they reheat well, and you can easily bring these for lunch and just eat them right as is. I would serve them with some veggies, so a side salad or whatever veggies you maybe have left over from last night. Super delicious, easy leftover lunch.
34) Taco Stuffed Peppers
So you have some bell peppers, and then you’re going to stuff them with the mixture that you’re going to make. So maybe it’s some ground meat like some turkey or some beef, and then you can use some cheese. You could do some mushrooms. You could dice up lots of different veggies in there if you’d like.
And then stuff those right inside the bell peppers and cook those, and they will reheat well and be super flavorful for lunch the next day.
35) Chicken Caesar Wrap
Yes, a favorite of mine. I usually just purchase the Caesar salad mix from the grocery store because it just makes my life so easy. And if you’re doing it in a wrap, I like the chopped Caesar salad kit, because everything’s going to be smaller, including the croutons. It’s just super nice, the lettuce pieces are smaller.
So you’re going to mix that kit all together. If you make it from home, I’ll tell you the ingredients: romaine, Parmesan cheese, and croutons or tiny croutons. I would just be careful with the croutons when you’re putting them in a wrap. You just don’t want to surprise yourself when you bite into it. So you can put some croutons in there if you like.
And then for the chicken, you can use leftover chicken from last night, or canned chicken if you have that. That works well because it’s shredded up. And for the wrap, you could use a low carb wrap if you’re trying to keep it low. A spinach wrap works, or any tortilla wrap will work for that. Super good. If you want it completely carb free, you could eat it without the wrap too.
36) Shrimp Avocado Bowl
Such a great combination. Shrimp is great because it’s going to give you lots of protein. Super good. So then you’re going to add some avocado to that, and that is such a great healthy, high fat plant.
And you can add some shredded cabbage, and if you want to add extra protein, you could put in a hard boiled egg and some Greek yogurt. That’ll really up the protein content of this meal. Sounds delish.
