What about lunch?

Breakfast I have covered ok, Im just not sure about lunch. I eat out almost every day for lunch. Ive got 4 spots I can hit right now for lunch items. They include a chicken salad, turkey sandwich wrapped in lettuce, italain cold cut salad, and what ever looks appetizing at whole foods.

Im wanting to reduce my protein a bit and replace it with fat for experimentation purposes. Any thoughts on easy things to get and modify? Can you guys think over a given week what you have for lunch? fat vs protein in your lunch? Thanks!

Always have protein, with very little fat. Usually a salad that I make at home. I bring salmon in a pack from the supermarket, add oil and balsamic vinegar and i am done. Maybe a piece of fruit , maybe.
As for your choices, the wrap sounds the best.

Being retired and on my own for lunch most days, i eat a salad[home made] almost every day. For lunch with it, I have such things as a bit of salami, some cheese,[a good way of increasing fats]or cold meat. I also like smoked fish, which can be oily fish like mackerel. I adore tuna with mayo
I make a simple main meal each day, which husband[who is still working] and I eat in the evening. It is often a home made soup. We eat at home nearly all the time. This is partly because of expense here in England, but also because I cook better than most restaurants.
I’m aware that eating out is much less expensive in the USA, but I’d never make a habit of doing so. I’d pack my own food. then I’d have more conrol.
Hana

We probably eat more carbs at lunch than you want, but we make a sandwhich from low-carb Orowheat (8 carbs a piece) with meat and cheese plus two veggies as sides and nuts for a snack. These are cold sack lunches at school, so carrots, cucumbers, and cabbage are the most likely veggie choices.

I do the same regarding food from the grocery store sans the fruit. Actually, except for the one sandwich shop I go to each time I eat out at lunch its from a grocery store.

Thanks for your reply Hana. For dinner we rarely dine out, largely due to your sediments. What sort of soups do you make? Also, I completely agree about tuna and mayo. Ive recently begun making tuna cakes for dinner and am thrilled with tge results. Tuna is great.

For lunch, I love fresh made items and when packing a lunch will pack each ingredient separately just so I can make the meal when the time arrives. I tend to buy lunch from grocery stores sans the one sandwich shop I go to. I purchase the lunch items as I go (control goes into play here). It givers me an opportunity to get out of the office as well as pick up any items for home I may need.

Thanks Carb101. How many carbs do you end up with from all this? Its not too much more I think. I may cut out the bread in my case though.

I make different soups, but all started the same way, with sauted, finely chopped, onion[in butter for flavour

then saute whatever veggies I’ve chosen Celery or cauliflower are lovely.Also fairly finely chopped. Add stock and simmer dor about hal an hour until veggies are soft. Blitz with stick blender and add a couple of tablespoons of thick cream. season to taste. these soups are so simple, the more veggies, the thicker they are. Some veggie combinations are particularly tasty. eg Tomato and red pepper with a hint of red chilli

I make a variation on a traditional Czech soup,which is special. onion, little bits of salami, a carrot, a parsnip, [quite big ones] a potato, a few mushrooms,cut quite chunky, some shreds of green cabbage leaves[outer ones that would have been discarded] celery leaves or celeriac;saute all veggiesand salami, stock, smoked paprika powder,marjoram, caraway seeds.season to taste. blend some of the veggies and keep some a bit chunky. All quantities variable.

All winter, I get requests for this soup regularly. You control the carbs with the quantity of potato and parsnip. I add cream to all soups,except some of the very ligh summer ones. Esentially anything that tastes good in combination will make soup.

Hana

16 from the bread, and we don’t count the veggies. Clara’s only 10, so we’re aiming in the 70 - 90 range, with lunch typically being the most “carbalicious” meal of the day.

For fewer carbs, you could do a lettuce wrap or Mission brand makes a low-carb tortilla that’s supposed to only be, I can’t remember, 5 or 7 carbs.

I bring my lunch to work, usually leftovers. It is basically what I had for dinner last night. What I’ll frequently do is bring the leftover meat course from dinner (I cook in big batches) and then a bag of frozen veggies. I’ve been getting the steamfresh. My cafeteria “gives” away butter, so I’ll just top the veggies with butter. My cafeteria is so foolish, they “sell” you the roll, but “give” you the butter. And I do this like every day.

And if you are going to whole foods, picked up a barbeque chicken. My whole foods has a great barbeque, a whole smoked chicken for like $8.

And don’t forget the fish! I like some me some fish. Tuna fish, sardines, mackeral and herring. I usually make tuna fish salad, but you can eat many canned fish right out of the can.

Sounds wonderful. Ive made a recipe similar that Gerri had given me which was a leak bisque. Essentially the same recipe that you mentioned. I tend to toss in some salted meat (wurst / spam / etc.) as I dont salt the soup and that gives a nice balance.

Oh, the Czech soup sounds wonderful. Is the stock just broth with the veggies / salami tossed in? This reminds me of wurschen goulash. Its a smoky(paprika) base with knackwurst. Thats another I love.

Wow 7 carbs for a tortilla! Ive seen 16c for wheat ones, but never that low. Ill have to check it out. That sounds like a great lunch for Clara. Ive got my older one on about the same with the addition of an apple (shes non D). Thanks for the tip on the tortilla!

Thanks bsc. I have been trying to cook larger batches then freeze what I dont each the next day. Ill have to check out the chicken at whole foods. I find unless Im making a salad there, the food can be really high in carbs. Seems like everything is breaded or has some fruit in it. I seriously miss barbecue though. Im going to start working on a low carb sauce.

I really love fish as well, but havent found a way to incorporate it as much into my diet apart from tuna. I used to eat a lot of sushi. Im thinking some Scandinavian fish soup, or almond / WPI crusted cod. Something along those lines. Other than tuna salad those things dont strike me as lunch meals though. Hmm maybe a tuna steak sandwich (in lettuce). How are you preparing your mackerel and herring?