• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2026 Survey »

Low carb work lunch ideas?

jacqui-anne

jacqui-anne

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
So, it's getting cold outside and salads seem less appealing at this time of year! Does anyone have any low carb (preferably warm) lunch ideas that I can take to work? Need to be able to heat in the microwave or take in a flask. Soup seems like the obvious choice but what can I put in it? Are lentils OK? Thanks!
 
@jacqui-anne
Whether the lentils would work for you, would be a matter of experimentation. What I tend to do is make a soup using whatever you prefer and add in what low carb veg you have available.
I love making a "mock clam chowder" using celeriac,leeks, fish stock and cockles & razor clams, thickened with a bit of cream!
 
Lentils have been ok for me. Quinoa is a good one, soup, curry without rice, sweet potato if they aren't too spiky for you, fish and veg, meat and veg.
 
Soup is my current favourite...I call it 'leftover soup' and its that literal...whatever is left in the fridge on a Sunday evening...whack it all in a big pot...cook it down then blend it...easy peasy
 
Diakat said:
Lentils have been ok for me. Quinoa is a good one, soup, curry without rice, sweet potato if they aren't too spiky for you, fish and veg, meat and veg.
Click to expand...
I'd consider those "healthy choices," but I wouldn't exactly consider them "low carb"
 
I have been making soups. Tesco does a number of fresh veg ready chopped soup packs - you just boil it up with stock then blend. Be careful with the "vegetable" one as it has lots of root veggies in which makes it quite high carb, I have done sweet potato and butternut squash one this week - much lower in carb and lovely with a dash of cream and curry powder.
 
I am going to have kale salad with smoked salmon tomorrow. Anyways, I am having a lot of cabbage these days, with different spices and protein sides.
 
TorqPenderloin said:
I'd consider those "healthy choices," but I wouldn't exactly consider them "low carb"
Click to expand...
30G quinoa dry weight is 6G... Veg curry just the veg carbs if homemade. Lentils and s. Pot depend on individual response. No carb count limit given...
 
My favourite soup this time of year is winter squash with onions, garlic and what you have at hand, left over bits of chicken or roast for example. Personally I'm no fan of lentils.
 
Diakat said:
30G quinoa dry weight is 6G... Veg curry just the veg carbs if homemade. Lentils and s. Pot depend on individual response. No carb count limit given...
Click to expand...
The quinoa and sweet potatoes I keep in my house are SIGNIFICANTLY higher in carbs than that.

Is there a particular brand of quinoa you're referring to? That would certainly make a difference.
 
TorqPenderloin said:
The quinoa and sweet potatoes I keep in my house are SIGNIFICANTLY higher in carbs than that.

Is there a particular brand of quinoa you're referring to? That would certainly make a difference.
Click to expand...
Asia good and balanced, 100G has 17G carbs.
Didn't give a value for sweet pots, some people tolerate them some not.
 
Diakat said:
Asia good and balanced, 100G has 17G carbs.
Didn't give a value for sweet pots, some people tolerate them some not.
Click to expand...
Oops sorry, mistyped that's 19 per 100 not 17.
 
The red pepper and chilli soup from the Newcastle diet suggestion sheet is easy and tasty. 6 tomatoes, 6 red peppers, 2 chilli, 1/2 pint water. Simmer for about 20 minutes then blend
 
lessci said:
The red pepper and chilli soup from the Newcastle diet suggestion sheet is easy and tasty. 6 tomatoes, 6 red peppers, 2 chilli, 1/2 pint water. Simmer for about 20 minutes then blend
Click to expand...
Not sure that would be filling enough to keep me going all afternoon?
 
Regarding soup, much of the food mentioned above I've had to let go as too carby. I have small helpings of butternut squash since I managed to grow 15 and am reluctant to give them all away! Onion soup is too sugary and so is tomato soup for me, but some added tomato is ok and home-grown ones I find don't need cooking for long to bring out the sweetness.
Mushroom soup is nice. Bacon bits are good and can be crisped and added at the last minute. Cheese on top is fun especially if it's stringy. Without flour, lentils or other thickening agents I just use my little Mouli hand blender with veg like celeriac instead of potato. Beware of cheap stock cubes and if you can make your own so much the better. Red wine and sherry can add a nice edge.
As for other lunch food, smoked mackerel? You can warm that.
You can make really nice scrambled egg in a microwave if your work colleagues don't mind. Add smoked salmon.
If salads seem a bit chilly, try a sliced beef tomato, olives, basil and maybe anchovies with an olive-oil based dressing warmed (but not hot).
Make almond bread to fill up, and spread pâté or cheese on it.
 
I don't count carbs as strictly as some people, but I recently made a delicious cream of celery soup - I just boiled chopped celery in some weak stock with garlic, whizzed it up, poured in some double cream, reheated and added lots of black pepper. It was delicious.
 
I would avoid the root veg, because once liquidised it's more digestible and could spike you. Stock cubes can be very salty and in some the main ingredients are dried glucose syrup and modified maize starch.

My mother buys yellow stickered stir fry packs and makes soup with them, also frozen mixed veg packs.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Instead of soup I prefer stews for winter lunches (and dinners; I usually take leftovers as lunch). Lots of meat, touch of onion/celery/carrot for the base and loads of mushrooms and greens. Could be thickened with cream if necessary.

Also LC cottage/shepherd's pie (with cauli), fish pie (with turnip or swede), beef/pork stroganoff, lamb tagine...
 
Back
Top