Healthy lunch ideas?

[semarj]

Well Dh is getting to come home for lunch a few days a week. yay! Anyway, I need some ideas for lunches that aren't too complicated. We're getting sick of sandwiches, at least the same ones over and over. TIA!

Jessica

[Mamaka]

How about homemade soup? Or meal salads.

Or spice up a sandwich by making it into a wrap. My dh also likes it when I "toast" his sandwiches ala Subway Sandwich Shop. We just lay the sandwich open under the broiler (w/the meat & cheese) and then add veges after.

Leftovers are a big hit here. I try to make extra at dinner so we can have those for lunch. Also sometimes freeze spaghetti sauce and that can be used for a quick healthy lunch.

"Mini pizzas" using bread, spaghetti sauce, cheese and choice of toppings (good way to clean out the fridge). Ds prefers these w/just sauce & cheese.

Ds's fav lunch is instant mac-n-cheese :O There are some really healthy varieties of this now that actually taste pretty good (and are super quick to make).

That's all I can think of right now. HTH. :)

[RealLifeMama]

NM

[chelsea]

My son loves to eat brown-rice noodles...I cook them up and when they are finished I throw a can of tomatoe soup over them and they are ready to go. Tastes like Chef-Boy-R-D (spelling?) only healthier (especially if you use a healthy tomatoe soup). :) If you want to add some calcium, just sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top or mix it in.

[heartofjoy]

Lentils and Brown Rice

We eat this alot. I LOVE it! I think everyone else pretty much just tolerates it! But no one has turned their nose up and refused to eat it. Mix together 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup lentils, 3 cups broth (beef, chiken, veggie - 1 cup of the three can be water), 1 chopped onion (or use some dried minced onion if you are really short on time, 3 tbs olive oil, and salt. Cook in a pressure cooker 18-20 minutes or in a regular pot 45 min - 1 hour. Can put shredded cheese on top if you like.

[Punkie]

I know I've said it before, but there Make Ahead Lunch Wraps (http://maindish.allrecipes.com/az/MkhdLnchWrps.asp) are a staple at our house. I'm heating one up right now!

I've been loving the little frozen meals at the health food store that have bowtie pasta, a little chicken, zucchini, squash, and a creamy pesto sauce, so I'm planning on making some and freezing it up to see if I can recreate it. They're expensive ($4 a pieice), so the saved money would be nice!

I also like to do varieties of chicken salad or light versions of deviled eggs for dh. My kids love chicken, so a lot of times I'll saute a boneless skinless breast for them to share. Sometimes we do mini-pizzas on bagels or pitas. Yogurt and fruit always goes over well with them.

And, of course, leftovers are good!