I work in the mall & unfortunately the food court is very convenient, but sometimes also $$ & not so healthy :p Any fun ideas for healthy lunches to take w/ me? Preferably stuff thats easy to prepare. Also any ideas for healthy salad add ins - we do have this one place where you build your own salad (veggies, chicken, salmon, cheese, nuts, etc.) or other healthy food court options? TIA :)

I love tons of broccoli, cauliflower, and fresh mushrooms in my salads, and a sliced hard-boiled egg and a little shredded cheese. :) Instead of iceberg (which is basically just water and no vitamins), I always use either Romaine lettuce or spinach, or a combination of the two. It's tastier and healthier.

I'm a big fan of sandwiches for lunch -lean ham or turkey, or tuna salad made with lite mayo. I also like pretzels or baked chips, and sometimes one of those 100-cal packs if I'm wanting something sweet. Pre-packaged fat-free pudding is also surprisingly satisfying -topped with a little lite Cool-Whip, it's even better. I also love portable fruits like oranges and bananas.

OH! I almost forgot -I think Lean Pockets are freaking awesome, one of those with a piece of fruit and some diet soda is one of my favorite lunches ever.

I love tons of broccoli, cauliflower, and fresh mushrooms in my salads, and a sliced hard-boiled egg and a little shredded cheese. :) Instead of iceberg (which is basically just water and no vitamins), I always use either Romaine lettuce or spinach, or a combination of the two. It's tastier and healthier.

I'm a big fan of sandwiches for lunch -lean ham or turkey, or tuna salad made with lite mayo. I also like pretzels or baked chips, and sometimes one of those 100-cal packs if I'm wanting something sweet. Pre-packaged fat-free pudding is also surprisingly satisfying -topped with a little lite Cool-Whip, it's even better. I also love portable fruits like oranges and bananas.

OH! I almost forgot -I think Lean Pockets are freaking awesome, one of those with a piece of fruit and some diet soda is one of my favorite lunches ever.

Those are some awesome ideas! *write them down*

I love pastrami sandwiches and turkey sandwiches with a slice of provolone cheese and some spicy brown mustard. Also, tuna on toasted wheat or whole grain bread is delicious with a 100-calorie bag of Cape Cod potato chips. With the pastrami and turkey sandwiches, I'll usually bring some form of a 100-calorie pack or a sugar-free pudding cup like Heather suggested.

In the winter, sometimes I'll bring a microwaveable container of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup with a few crackers.

When all else fails, I love a good 'ole peanut butter and fluff sandwich to satisfy my craving for something sweet.

Sandwiches are my favorite. Lean meats (turkey and ham), make sure they're low sodium ones, light mayo, lots of lettuce, and fat-free cheese slices. You can always bring fruit as part of the meal, and a bottle of water or juice. HTH. :)

I work in the mall too. We have a Subway in our food court so I'll usually go there and get either a 6 inch roasted chicken or sweet onion chicken terriyaki sub. They both have 5 grams of fat or less and are very tasty. I just get a bottle of water with it and skip the chips and cookies. Also one slice of plain pizza isn't really that bad for you, or the Sbarro's in my mall has slices with no cheese which are healthier or ones with veggies like peppers and mushrooms.

For lunches to make, I like turkey with one slice of swiss cheese on whole wheat bread with lettuce. I'll put it in the toaster oven in the break room to get it warm and get the cheese a little melty, it's yummy. I also like those new paninni{sp?} sandwiches, I think they are from Lean Cuisine. The tuscan chicken is really good and cooks nicely in the microwave. Cup o Soup is another safe bet, though a lil high in sodium. I like to make a sandwich with lean roast beef and I bring a can of cream of mushroom soup and dip the sandwich in that, so yummy. I get the 98% fat free soup to make it healthier. For snacks I always have granola bars on me or I'll keep baggies of baby carrots and celery sticks in the fridge at work along with some low fat ranch dressing.

I work at a mall too and I always bring those little lemon pepper flavored tuna fish meals (includes everything you need and a mint). The lemon pepper flavoring is actually pretty good and takes the tunay edge off. I was surprised I like these because usually I'm not a big fan of tuna. They are only about a $1.65 at walmart and the protein keeps you full for awhile!

I think sandwiches are easiest for me so I pack a lot of that. To make it healthier, I try to use whole grain bread. I also do left overs from dinner (i.e. just make a little bit extra the night before).

If you want to try frozen stuff, I recommend Trader Joe's frozen lunches. A lot of them are much healthier than the regular processed frozen foods like Lean Pockets, etc.

For salads...lately I've been enjoying plain tuna in my salad. I find that it is salty enough on it's own so I don't need as much dressing (i.e. less fat). I'm also digging avocados in my salads lately. Other ideas...maybe some fruits in the salad? Like mandarin orange sections or grapes? I've actually added grapes into chicken salad that I made and it was good. Also tried diced apples, but I really like the grapes (I slice them in half). It's an unexpected taste of sweetness without actually adding sugar (well, at least the sugar in the grapes is healthier!)

For snacks, I usually bring a banana or other fruit or granola type bar (Luna and Lara bars usually). Sometimes I bring nuts or trail mix/dried fruit.

For drinks...I've trained myself to drink water, so that's what I usually bring. On occasion I would get bottled juice, but I try to get 100% juice rather than the cocktail or fruit punch type drinks. If not juice or water, I might make myself a cup of hot tea (unsweetened).

Whenever I go to my local one, I usually have to end up bypassing the foodcourt. After all the only thing there is McDonalds, Chinese food, a Greek place, pizza, Mexican food, a steak sandwich shop, and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Now if I'm truly hungry and I have nothing to eat, I'll go to McDonald's and get a kids meal. I've also discovered that the Chinese food place will give you veggies instead of rice and chow mein.

One recommendation I've seen here is packing a salad from Trader Joe's. They seriously have tasty stuff, and its better than burgers and fries anyday. I also like to pack a bag of almonds, an apple, or some other fruit for a snack. Soup is also another thing you can't go wrong with :D.

One of my favorite lunches to bring to work is a tomato Soup at Hand and a 100-calorie bag of popcorn. It's pretty filling and I loveee tomato soup and popcorn together.

I also buy these sets of crackers, cheese, and ham or turkey slices (like a Lunchable but they're bigger portions). If I bring that and a piece of fruit, it tides me over.

Try a tuna/veggie pita pocket you make yourself with reduced fat grated cheese and tomatoes, or chicken chunks or turkey chunks. :D

Try a tuna/veggie pita pocket you make yourself with reduced fat grated cheese and tomatoes, or chicken chunks or turkey chunks. :D

Yum! I might have to try that.

This is a great topic. I don't need to take my lunch right now, but I'm sure I will some once I start working. Some of these ideas sound so yummy!

GReat ideas!! Especially the Lean Pockets & Soup at Hand one...quick is best for me :p

If you have access to a microwave...I like to bring cans of soup...like the Chunky soups...ones you don't add water to. Look for ones with the pull tabs so you don't need a can opener.

You may have a dish to wash, but there's no preparing the lunch ahead of time...I just throw it in my purse. I have a bowl & spoons at my desk.

I worked at a mall for 2 and a half years and I always got Subway sandwiches (usually the sweet onion chicken teriyaki).

I like to take leftovers to work for lunch. When I cook, I usually make extra portions for lunches. I like to make soups during the fall and winter months, and that works out well for easy lunches.

I also like to make a large salad filled with veggies and dark greens and divide into lunch-sized containers. I usually do this on a Sunday evening and divide the salad into sealed containers. If kept sealed in the refrigerator, the salad keeps for the week.

I also keep fresh veggies and fruit on hand, and those are easy to add to my lunch or take as snacks.

I bring my own lunch to work, it's cheaper and easier for me. Right now I bring one yogurt, one blueberry bagel (with cream cheese), one banana and one orange. The yogurt and banana are more like snack in between (mid-morning and mid-afternoon). I eat something every a couple of hours. It keeps me going and I'm never starving.

The chunky soup is a great idea for winter, I used to do that, but since I'm still loving my bagels, I haven't been getting the soup yet.

Soups are great, and very filling especially in winter.

Sandwiches and pitas are great too.

Oh and if where you work has a freezer, Lean Cuisine makes great panini-sandwiches.