[mattthr]

I really hate to trot out this tired old trope about vegetarians on a board full of enlightened people, but it happens to be true for me, at the moment.

For lunch at work, for the last couple of years I've been eating almost the same thing every day: white rolls topped with a crust of cheese. You can buy them cheaply in the supermarket and they're very convenient, no preparation required. Eat three of those for lunch, add in some bagged snack and a piece of fruit and bingo, you're done.

I've been eating these for so long that I'm heartily sick of them. They're not very healthy, either, so recently I've been trying to vary my diet a bit. I needed something cheap, filling and easy so of a Monday I've popped to the shops to get some soups and a some freshly baked bread and I've been eating that instead.

And as a result I end up hungry all afternoon. It doesn't seem to matter how much I eat or how much protein and carbs there happen to be in the soup - today I had an entire carton of lentil soup and a third of a baguette covered in cream cheese ... and I'm still hungry.

I've always eaten a lot, although I'm not overweight. For my evening meal I quite often eat enough pasta to fill a serving bowl! But this is crazy. Does anyone have any suggestions? It needs to be something I can easy get on a Monday, which will last all week and which is simple to prepare ... and FILLING!

 

[Limes]

Are you saying you need something you can buy in a store, rather than make yourself at home? Either way, I recommend potato salad, or bean salad. These should be able to keep you going, but they'll get boring really quickly too. Bagels with cream cheese, yogurt and granola, or try always making too much for dinner, and bring leftovers for lunch every day.

 

[greenish]

If you're looking for simple, easy lunches, try making a batch of brown rice on Sunday night and bring a cup or so each day with your lunch. You can throw a can of soup over the rice and it will make your soup more filling and satisfying. Also whole grain bread with some fiber will be much more filling than white bread. (think fiber, not just protein and carbs)

 

[Werewolf Girl]

Maybe try eating more fruits and vegetables?

It sounds like you eat mostly fats and refined carbohydrates, your body might just be sending you hunger signals even when you're full because it isn't getting the vitamins it needs. Generally the more nutritious a food is the more satisfying it is.

 

[silva]

Chili, bean casseroles, wrap sandwiches and soup, veggies over whole grains.
Change up your bread for whole grain. Bulgar, barley, brown rice, whole grain pasta, oatmeal
Nuts, seeds, quinoa, trail mix as snacks- do you eat between meals?
Get more veggies and fruit-avocado would be good if you like it.

 

[paperhanger]

Do you eat a good breakfast? If not, that's where to start.

Fiber is one of the things that makes you feel "full" for longer periods of time. Try eating oatmeal for breakfast or a green smoothie with swiss chard or spinach and a banana. Bean salads are easy to make from canned beans, canned corn, minced onion, salt, pepper, chili powder, lime juice, - whatever tickles your fancy. You can make a large batch on Sunday night and eat it through the week. You could boil a bag of potatoes and fridge them. Take a couple to work for an afternoon snack. Celery and carrots are good snacks too, and can be prepped on the weekend.

 

[mattthr]

Thanks for the suggestions. Lots of good ideas.

Quote:

Are you saying you need something you can buy in a store, rather than make yourself at home?

Not really. I'm quite happy with the idea of buying, say, a loaf of bread, some nice cheese and a bit of salad and making sandwiches every day at work. What I want to be able to do is go shopping on a monday lunch and get enough to last all week, but at a reasonable price. Fresh stuff is often not cheap unless you buy in bulk. So it's got to be cheap and keep - in a fridge if required - for a whole week. There's a microwave here but nothing else to cook with.

Quote:

Maybe try eating more fruits and vegetables?

I eat lots of fruit and veg, but normally only in the evening. So it's possible that by lunchtime next day my body is craving vitamins that I'm not giving it. I sometimes have some fruit at lunch, but not always - I'll keep an eye on my fresh fruit consumption and see if there's a pattern.

Quote:

Do you eat a good breakfast? If not, that's where to start.

This is a good point. Weirdly my workplace has breakfast food out, so I've stopped eating breakfast at home. The trouble is that new stuff is only bought in once every couple of weeks, and it often runs out. So the quality of my breakfast varies enormously: some mornings I'll have a couple of wholemeal bagels with cream cheese and some fruit, other mornings all that's left is a bag of crisps. So again, I'll have to watch that and see if there's a pattern: perhaps get in some oatmeal to keep in my desk and make into porridge if there's nothing good left to eat. Pre-cooked potatoes also seem a good idea.

 

[Netrat]

Why don't you consider going out for lunch? There got to be at least few diners around.

As for workplace lunches, try bringing a box of green saland (5 min. to prepare) or a couple of tomatoes, cucumbers or bell peppers (0 min. to prepare) - fills a stomach without giving you to much calories.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattthr

So again, I'll have to watch that and see if there's a pattern: perhaps get in some oatmeal to keep in my desk and make into porridge if there's nothing good left to eat.

I believe the idea was to have an oatmeal every morning before you go to work. That's what I do and that's what diet specialists recommend.

 

[theveggietrumpet]

I would try to eat a bowl of oatmeal in the mornings with nuts and dried fruits. The protein and carbs should help to keep you full. Then, for lunch, eat rice with beans or soup over it. Add cheese if you'd like. Maybe pack a snack for between lunch and dinner, too, to help hold you over till dinner and maybe not gorge yourself so much at dinner time.

Try whole grain foods and more vitamin packed foods. Cheese and bread alone won't fill you up satisfyingly. You need a wide variety of things.