Healthy Lunch Recipes

bossymoo

Couscous isn't a grain
The wheat is the grain. Couscous is processed from wheat.
And very nice it is too.

OP, you are very hard to please. Am glad I'm not cooking for you.

Fish can be very quick and easy to prepare.

lostinrates

StudioBeau wrote: »

I meant more like, it doesn't taste of pasta, has very different nutritional values, etc, not that it wasn't made out of the same stuff as pasta.

Your quote doesn't really make much sense though:

couscous is a pasta, not a grain

Couscous is a grain from the wheat plant

I was stayng out of the cous cous debate, but it is a pasta. Wheat is the plant and the produce.

And in fact, for many people wheat and carbs are not the enemy. They are vehicles for many, many nutritious toppings, whether as pasta, cous cous, or bread, and are very filling. There is a reason that wheat based produce is a staple over much of the world, and its becuase it is filling and cheap. Its why wheat is a staple in its various forms, and an mse solution, it makes the expensive ingredients go further.
, the nutritional advice is still to include carbs, so They are not 'an enemy' or unhealthy, so long as in balance with the diet. Of course, whole grain options are the healthiest.

McpPsl

StudioBeau wrote: »

I buy it in 5 kilo bags from my local Asian supermarket

Could I ask where the Asian supermarket is in Nottingham please?

Toxic_Lemon

lostinrates wrote: »

I was stayng out of the cous cous debate, but it is a pasta. Wheat is the plant and the produce.

And in fact, for many people wheat and carbs are not the enemy. They are vehicles for many, many nutritious toppings, whether as pasta, cous cous, or bread, and are very filling. There is a reason that wheat based produce is a staple over much of the world, and its becuase it is filling and cheap. Its why wheat is a staple in its various forms, and an mse solution, it makes the expensive ingredients go further.
, the nutritional advice is still to include carbs, so They are not 'an enemy' or unhealthy, so long as in balance with the diet. Of course, whole grain options are the healthiest.

Nice post! As you say, whole grain options are the healthiest and yet so many people eat cous cous believing it is a 'healthy, whole grain option' when it isn't. I prefer it when people make 'informed' decisions, not ones borne out of ignorance because of clever marketing campaigns.

Penny-Pincher!!

Soup
Couscous
Cheap fillings egg/jam/cheese/marmite etc
Pasta
Rice salads
Baked Potatoe
Scones
Pitta Bread
Leftovers

strangeotron

lostinrates wrote: »

So eat it as part of a meal. With a sandwich, some whole grain toast, a yoghurt, some fruit, or some crudit and a healthy dip.

As i say, i get the unstatisfied bit, but not 'hunger' so can sympathise a little. I prefer my soup thck like potage, i find it infinitely more satisfying than a thin soup. Sometimes however a ministrone, with vegetables to chew etc can do the trick for me.

Bulk making and defrosting some small meatballs to add could make it more satisfying, or looking at the ingredients etc that leave you unsatisfied.

If you are hungrier at lunch time than in the evening you could invert the meals you are having you lighter meal in the evening.

I have a metabolic problem that means i get hungry a lot and have to eat or feel faint. Soup and bread is no help at all.

strangeotron

bossymoo wrote: »

Couscous isn't a grain
The wheat is the grain. Couscous is processed from wheat.
And very nice it is too.

OP, you are very hard to please. Am glad I'm not cooking for you.

Fish can be very quick and easy to prepare.

Fish is also very expensive.

strangeotron

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

Soup
Couscous
Cheap fillings egg/jam/cheese/marmite etc
Pasta
Rice salads
Baked Potatoe
Scones
Pitta Bread
Leftovers

Cheese isn't terribly healthy and unfortunately has rocketed in price in recent years, even the awful muck that tesco manufactures.
I don't like jams/preserves, never have.
Baked pOtatoes are not cheap. 7 of those (1 a day) would cost almost £3. That's 3 times the price of a bag of pasta, and I'm not convinced pasta is healthy either. It's too carb intensive.
Same with pitta bread and scones (and of course something to go in them); not cheap and very heavy starchy food. I eat too much stuff like that because it's impossible to find anything else.

lostinrates

strangeotron wrote: »

I have a metabolic problem that means i get hungry a lot and have to eat or feel faint. Soup and bread is no help at all.

Ok, this is more helpful.

Does the problem have an impact on your weight (gain or loss) and is it thyroid related?

You might find rather than lunch, a situation where you have light elevenses, light lunch and a light afternnon tea rather than one meal more sustaining? Thus still having similar things but not all in one go, or if you need to gain weight as a result of the metabolic issue, having a little more than otherwise, it brings us back to proteins like eggs and pulses and some fats for making you feel fuller for longer.

If its not thyroid related i recommend things like saurkraut. I live cooked and spiced cabbage, red or white, and purposely make extra for the left overs. (sadly i have a thyroid issue and vast quantities of cabbages and related veg are to be avoided, but are wonderfully finning and sustainiong otherwise).


Op: have you been told to avoid carbs, have you been refered to someone to discuss nutrition and your health issue? I have done this twice now, and found some parts of the information given very helpful, though it tend to be an area of nhs where there is a long waiting list.

Fish need not be expensive, i buy it whoopsied and freeze it. And i pay nothing like what you are paying for potatos either!

strangeotron

I have no idea what the problem is. Doctors don't have a clue. They are useless anyway. One said i should take a packet of biscuits with me to snack on while another said that because it hasn't killed me in ten years of having this that it wasn't serious. Getting advice on diets and exercise from GPs is a waste of time.
Eggs don't make me feel full for longer. Neither does the porruidge i have for breakfast. I'm hungrier for eating it, but what else can I do? There's niothing else to eat except overpriced sugary kellogs crap or more bread.
I haven't been told to avoid carbs, in fact they said i should eat more stuff like porridge because it's slow releasing no refined energy. That's just not true unfortunately.