Healthy, quick weight loss lunches need to be high in nutrients and low in empty calories. Fast food, processed meats, white flour products and deep-fried foods are all high in empty calories. Your best bet is to include protein and high-fiber, complex carbs with your meals. This combination of nutrients will help fill you up and keep you feeling satisfied for several hours.
Whole Wheat Pita
Whole-wheat pitas are easy to stuff with high-nutrient ingredients for healthy and quick meals. Fill up a pita with two slices of low-fat mozzarella cheese, two slices of tomato, sprouts and 1 tbsp. of low-fat honey mustard dressing. If you are still hungry, have a small apple with your meal.
Bean and Rice Burrito
Beans and brown rice are both high in fiber. By themselves, they are incomplete proteins because they do not contain all the essential amino acids. By combining them together, you will create a complete protein. Over the weekend, prepare a batch of beans and brown rice and store them in the refrigerator. During the week when you need a quick lunch, take out the beans and rice, heat them up and place them in a soft whole-grain wrap. Add chopped up lettuce, tomato, salsa and light sour cream, and roll it up into a burrito.
Turkey Sandwich
Sliced turkey breast is a lean source of protein. Make a sandwich with turkey breast on whole-wheat bread and add lettuce, tomato, low-fat cheese and either low-fat mayonnaise or mustard. To increase the nutritional value of the meal, garnish the sandwich with a handful or celery sticks and baby carrots.
Hummus and Vegetables
Hummus is a paste made from tahini and garbanzo beans. Tahini is crushed up sesame seeds and garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas. This combination is high in protein, complex carbs and dietary fiber. You can get pre-made hummus at a grocery store and you can find sandwich shops that make it fresh. Add hummus to the center of a multi-grain wrap that is lying out flat. Then, chop up and cucumbers, lettuce, olives and tomatoes and spread them across the hummus. Sprinkle a little feta cheese across the top, lay sprouts over the mixture and roll it up.
Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is a versatile, high-protein food. While you can eat it plain, you can also add it to dips, spread it across sandwiches or mix it in with pancakes. To break from tradition, treat yourself to a dessert for lunch. Mix up a bowl of cottage cheese with cherries, crushed pineapple, chopped up mandarin orange slices, chopped up walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon. To keep calories and fat down, use low-fat cottage cheese.
Bison Burger
Bison is a lean source of protein that is also high in iron. After cooking a bison burger, place it on a high-fiber, whole-grain bun and add lettuce, tomato and ketchup. If you like cheese, add a slice of low-fat provolone. If you are a vegetarian, substitute the bison with a veggie burger. In either case, turn your burger into a pizza burger by adding pizza sauce and low-fat mozzarella cheese.
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