I love leftovers for lunch. They’re like a bonus dinner in the middle of the day. Leftovers at our house are usually rice with stir fry or curry. I’ll pack my little Tupperware container in my bag and think about my delicious lunch while I’m teaching all morning. I’m generally always thinking about food. It then gets heated up in the staffroom microwave and it smells and tastes delicious. Then I head back to my classroom… and struggle to keep my eyes open for the rest of the day because I’m in a giant carb coma. Carb heavy lunches simply destroy me. Big sandwiches, rice and pasta are just not foods that mesh well with me and although I love my sneaky leftover lunches I almost always regret eating them. Here’s a list of low carb (not no carb, just low carb) lunches that are easy to prepare, pack and take with you to work so you won’t face plant on your keyboard in the afternoon.

5 Easy Low Carb Lunch Options You Can Pack The Night Before

 Mountain Bread Wraps

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Mountain Bread is a flat wrap bread that you can buy in the baked goods section of your supermarket. Each slice has roughly 69 calories and 13gms of carbs. They are perfect as a lighter alternative to stodgy bread. Fill them with lettuce, smoked salmon, cucumber, cream cheese, shaved chicken breast, rocket, thinly sliced beef, tabouli, lightly crumbed chicken strips, egg salad… the options are endless. Wraps are a great way to get lots of vegetables and greens in your lunch and filling you up with light and healthy carbs at the same time. Just have all your salads chopped up in a container with your protein and bread wrapped up separately and construct it all at lunch time. Super fresh and delicious.

Salad With Protein 

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Salads are super easy to make and if you pack your vegetables, meat and dressing separately and pop it all together at the last-minute they taste just as fresh as if you’d made it 5 minutes ago. Try baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, mint, lime juice, beef and a tiny splash of sweet chilli sauce for a thai beef salad. You could do cucumber, feta, tomatoes, grated carrot, falafel and dill yogurt for a Mediterranean salad. If you’re in a big rush a large green salad with a tin of roasted salmon and a few slices of avocado can really hit the spot. Just experiment with which salads suit you best and try to do most of your preparation the night before.

Lettuce Wraps

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The perfect way to finish off leftover stir fry or curry when you’re trying to avoid rice for lunch. Simply scoop your leftovers into lettuce cups and enjoy! Maybe sprinkle them with some nuts or fried shallots for extra flavour. Make sure to pack your lettuce and filling separately though. Soggy lettuce is pretty gross. You could even have some fetta cheese and slice of a chicken breast in a lettuce leaf for a snack. 

Soup

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Soup is an excellent option for a low carb lunch and dead easy to take to work. Just make a big batch at the beginning of the week and freeze it in individual containers. It makes it much easier to transport (no spills) and means that you don’t have to do lunch preparation every day. Try carrot, pumpkin, cabbage, leek, chicken, sweet potato, tomato and vegetable varieties and go easy on the cream.

Grilled Vegetable Salads

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 I love a salad but sometimes I just want something a little warmer and heartier. I simply bake some eggplant, pumpkin, zuchinni and a few garlic cloves and I’ve got the perfect base for a protein meal like grilled chicken breast or steamed fish. The great thing about roasted vegetables is that they taste great cold the next day. No need to reheat so you can just pop a tin of tuna on top and you’ve got an easy low carb lunch on the go. 

Do you pack your lunch or buy it? What do you usually eat at lunch time?