I have fallen in love the the new PopTart GoTarts, they are granola bar size and only 140 calories. There are also new Reese/Hershey 100 calorie Trail Mix snack packs that are wonderful. I actually have that as soon as I walk in the house, then start dinner.

Have you tried the South Beach Lunchables? I always have those in my fridge for when I don't feel like putting together a lunch and it comes with Jello! A lunch that lasts me a couple of days is brown rice/black beans/crushed tomatoes on a pita/wrap. I make a big batch and bring it for a couple of days.

For breakfast I will alternate between the usual cereal/oatmeal stuff or Kashi Waffles (170 cal for 2!)and Oscar Meyer Ready Bacon (3 slices - 70 calories) or hard boiled eggs and bacon.

posted by: sherpamelissa at October 17, 2006 04:10 PM

I have an AWSOME recipe for peanut butter and banana muffins... they are simple to make and you can put them in baggies and snack on them when you want... they are only 93 calories each, 13 g carbs, 4 g fat. ... the recipe is posted on my blog..

http://whereistigerlilly.blogspot.com

posted by: Tigerlilly at October 17, 2006 05:48 PM

Breakfast:
* Hot cereal (I use the Kashi instant stuff) with a handful of almonds and dried fruit
* 1 egg+1 white scrambled with salmon or chicken sausage, leftover veggies, onions, and maybe cheese--server it in a high fiber wheat tortilla. Or a low-fat corn one.
*Whole grain english muffin with nut butter and 4 oz yogurt+berries on the side. I know winter is coming. I use frozen blueberries.

Snacks
* Wasabi peas
* Single-serve microwave popcorn
* PureBars
* Wasa bread with goat cheese and whatever
* String cheese

Dinner
* Skillet of veggies and sliced chicken sausage (sorry, I really rely on chicken sausage)
* Things cooked in a crock pot. I've made a kick ass pork stew using a cooking light recipe. There's always the standby of dumping salsa and seasonings on lean meat in the crockpot, and then making it into tacos (more salsa, corn tortillas, shredded cabbage, squeeze of lime) for dinner. Black beans (heat canned ones, season super fast with cumin)

I don't know what to tell you about lunch. I nearly always have dinner leftovers. On the weekends, sometimes I eat at crazy times, so miso soup (miso+seaweed+water+scallions) is a nice snack. Would make for a simple lunch.

posted by: nita at October 17, 2006 07:35 PM

For snacks I've become addicted to stringless snap peas (they're sold in bags in the produce section of most grocery stores). Crisp, slightly sweet, and nicely healthy. They go well with hummus for lunch. For a quick dinner, I keep keep some peppers and onions (and sometimes zucchini and squash) sliced in the fridge - saute them until they're a bit crisper than you want, add some veggie crumbles (or beef if you're a meat eater) and salsa and cook until it's hot/cooked through. This can be put with rice, wrapped in a tortilla, or eaten plain (I like it plain with a bit of fat-free sour cream and chipotle Tabasco).

posted by: cdc at October 17, 2006 11:00 PM

I am loving almonds for snacks. I know I sound like a WW food plan, but truly, I eat 7 almonds and feel completely energized. They're my wonder-drug.

For breakfasts, I've stashed a box of instant oatmeal packets into my desk. A splash of water, two minutes in the microwave, and I'm set for the day. It's great for a healthy breakfast when I don't get to eat at home.

One of my all-time favorite options for lunches (and fast dinners, for that matter) is chili. There are about a zillion recipes, so you can google around or use epicurious to find one that you like. (WW has a good one on their website that I've used many times as well.) If you get sick of chili, you can do black-bean soup or butternut squash soup--all options that freeze well, can be taken to work in a tupperware for reheating, and are very satisfying.

One last option for lunches are whole-grain or bean salads. One option I like combines barley, chicken, roasted red peppers, finely-chopped vidalia onions, corn, and a little queso fresco with olive oil and lime juice. I really like the heartiness of the barley and it is very filling. I've seen other recipes on epicurious.com for barley or quinoa salads. You can also do a chickpea salad--chickpeas, red onions, parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Top with some cooked chicken and you're all set. This holds up surprisingly well in the fridge, so you can make a batch on Sunday and still eat it on Tuesday.

posted by: Gretchen at October 18, 2006 09:39 AM

For lunch I either bring leftovers or cook a regular dinner recipe and portion it out. Right now I'm doing soup in the crock pot and bringing that in for lunches. Lentil is a fav because it is so satisfying.

Another really yummy one is chicken parmesan. Coat chicken cutlets in bread crumbs with some italian seasoning added and bake until done. Then top with store bought low sugar spagetti sauce, 1 slice of lowcal mozzarella or provolone cheese, and some parm, then heat through.

I make pancakes on the weekend, and then re-heat them during the week. That way, I can bring them in to work if needed. 1/2 c. oats, 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 2 egg whites, cinnamon & vanilla to taste. Dump it in the blender and you've got pancake batter.

I too swear by the crock pot, and portion stuff out & freeze it.

One simple meal idea I make is to saute cabbage and chicken kielbasa or sausage and serve mixed with egg noodles. Very good!

One more soup recipe; 1 lb lean ground meat, 1 diced onion, large can V8 (I get low sodium), and a can of cream of celery soup. You can throw it all in the crock pot, or saute the meat & onion, then add the rest & heat. I know, it sounds weird - its a sort of beefy tomato soup. You can also add beans, carrots, shredded cabbage - you get the idea.

If you want some really quick ideas, check out skwigg.com - Renee hates to cook, but loves it eat healthy!

posted by: neca at October 18, 2006 11:14 AM

Snacks:
Natural (no sugar added) applesauce with small box of raisins on top (get the small box of raisins - they are one fruit serving)

Orville popcorn - Smart Pop - 100 calorie bag - make sure it's the Smart Pop variety

Yogurt (boring but find some flavors you like and it's not too bad)

posted by: Sarah Palmer at October 19, 2006 11:59 AM

For breakfast I usually have either a piece of whole grain toast (currently I have Brownberry Healthy Multi-Grain) with either a smear of peanut buttter or the jar of TJ's cashew butter I just got. Or I toast a corn tortilla right on top of the range and melt some cheese in it and have a little quesadilla, including hot sauce, or a Nature Valley granola bar (Oats & Honey is my favorite), one bar has 90 calories.

For lunch I usually have some kind of soup. I LOVE soup, and always have some around. It always fills me up and is delicious, and almost always low fat and cal.

A quick dinner I make is: A box or bag or whatever (Rice-a-Roni, Lipton) of Spanish or Mexican style rice, with heated up black beans over them, topped with some kind of sausage (hot turkey links for us, regular smoked turkey sausage for the boys.) And hot sauce. I put hot sauce on almost everything. We have omeletes for dinner fairly often, too, using up leftover ham, any kind of veggie, and cheese. It only takes a few minutes to whip one up. Or if you're not good at flipping omelets, throw it in an oven-proof skillet and call it a frittata instead.

Snacks: I buy the TJ's mini whole wheat pitas, and put a little lean roast beef, or chicken, or tuna salad in them. Five pitas are only 130 calories (without fillings), and two are usually enough to tide me over until dinner and keep me away from the chips. And soup again. And hard boiled eggs: I always have those around, I mark them with an 'X' so we know which are which. Yeah, I put hot sauce on those too. And fruit: frozen grapes are good, or an apple with peanut butter.

Now I'm hungry.

posted by: Peggasus at October 19, 2006 12:47 PM

cabbage salad.... It's my trick for getting away from the bordom of a salad without cheating. Dice up cabbage, add tomatoes, bell peppers, soy beans, really any veggie will do, olives, and sun dried vinaigrette. I know it's a salad, but it's different. I can only take so much lettuce

posted by: Lisa at November 1, 2006 05:33 PM