Lose Weight Lunch Box Ideas

Lunch is often an afterthought. Most of our mornings are far too hectic with snooze buttons, workouts, showers and last-minute scrambles to get ourselves, our kids, our pets and our partners fed, dressed and out the door. (Wow, even reading that sentence is exhausting.)

We often spend seconds thinking about breakfast, much less lunch. But if you’re looking to put more accountability into your eating habits, you probably already have a secret weapon in your kitchen.

Meet your lunchbox — or maybe it’s an unused kid’s lunchbox. So what if it’s got “Star Wars” or “PAW Patrol” characters on it? We’re not judging. For about $10, you can successfully manage your next meal with this one simple tool that just might be the key to shedding that extra handful of pesky pounds you can’t seem to shake.

Easy & Healthy Bento Box Lunch Ideas

Whether you pack your lunchbox the night before or factor in an extra 5–10 minutes before the morning commute is up to you. Simply having it thought out and consolidated eliminates last-minute drive-thru trips, vending machine lunches and office-cafe crawls, while also saving you calories, money and even time.

A successful weight-loss plan is just that: a plan . It’s knowing what to eat, when to eat it and when to stop. A lunchbox filled with healthy choices answers the what and the when — i.e., at lunchtime , not after a slew of meetings when you’re just looking to shove the closest $3 sandwich down your throat. It also tells you when to stop: when the lunchbox is empty.

Once you get into the groove of thinking about how you’ll fill your lunchbox, you’ll naturally start factoring in the time to pack it, adding the contents to your weekly shopping list and saving money, too.  

Day Meal Prep For Weight Loss • A Sweet Pea Chef

Most trendy bento-style lunchboxes have three, four, even five areas for food. Sandwiches, salads and wraps are obvious fillers for the biggest compartment — all are great vessels for whole grains, lean protein and veggies. The smaller spaces work nicely for fresh cut fruit, yogurt, hummus, nuts, popcorn or even a piece or two of dark chocolate. By filling the spaces with healthy, nutrient-dense foods, you’ll be armed with plenty of supplies that allow you to skip the vending machine snacks.

The extra compartments allow for more creativity, too. Some lunchboxes function more like coolers, with cold packs or insulation in case your work space doesn’t have a refrigerator. Those options are great to keep things like salads, yogurt, tuna or chicken salad sandwiches and veggie-packed wraps fresher for a longer period of time, and they offer you more options than the processed, shelf-stable foods that once littered the classic lunch box.

Lunchboxes are not designed to hold an oversize, restaurant-portion feast. The bento varieties naturally limit portions, and even those without dividers limit how much food you’re able to tote in one box. Unlike eating out — where you’ll be tempted to finish an oversize sandwich and fries just because they’re there and you don’t want to waste the hard-earned money you paid for them — packing a lunch enables you to be in control of how much you consume.

Meet Your Secret Weapon For Weight Loss: The Lunchbox

If quick and easy is your need, start with this lineup of lunches ready in less than 15 minutes. For those organized enough to pack lunch the night before, here’s a list of boast-worthy, make-ahead lunches. And for those who simply want to be the envy of all of your co-workers, here’s a tasty lineup that upgrades your sad desk-lunch to stellar status.

Sidney Fry, MS, RD Sidney is a two-time James Beard Award-winning food and nutrition writer, editor and mom based out of Birmingham, Alabama. A registered dietitian with a passion for research and being proactive about health, she loves to eat, write, run and create simple, tasty meals with whole-food-based approach. Find out more from her website , Instagram  or Twitter .These Healthy Bento Box Lunch Recipes are the perfect lunch for work or school – make them ahead and store in the fridge for up to 5 days!

I put together five different bento box ideas for adults and kids. They’re ready in minutes and are perfect for work and school lunches!

Healthy Lunch And After School Snack Ideas For Teens

Make your own mini pizzas for lunch with these bento box ideas for adults that are made with pitas, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and mini pepperoni.

This turkey and hummus bento box is high in protein and flavour! It’s made with sliced deliturkey breast, hummus, cheese and a variety of veggies including carrots, cucumber and tomatoes.

Searching for healthy bento box ideas? This vegan option does the trick. The chickpea salad is super easy to make and is seasoned with turmeric and curry powder, with extra veggies and crackers on the side.

Healthy Lunch Ideas For Weight Loss

This vegetarian bento box tastes just like the one from Starbucks for a fraction of the price. They’re full of protein thanks to the eggs and almonds, with slices of cheese, apples and grapes on the side.

This meat and cheese bento box is basically a charcuterie board to go! Sliced up pieces of cheese and kielbasa are served alongside crackers, with some berries for sweetness.

The most popular bento lunch boxes feature elaborately styled food, but you don’t need a special box; glass meal prep containers work perfectly. Bento lunch ingredients are often colorful and always fun! It’s also a fantastic way to manage portions and divide up larger servings, and it’s better for the environment when you skip using plastic bags and switch to reusable products.

Simple Meal Prep Ideas For Weight Loss

You sure can! These bento box lunch ideas can be made up the night before or even several days in advance, depending on what ingredients you’re adding, which makes them great for meal prep.

One of the great things about bento boxes is that everything is stored in separate containers, keeping your ingredients as fresh as possible. If you want to ensure your softer items like pita bread or crackers don't get soggy, you can keep things separate using paper liners, parchment paper or even lettuce leaves (like I did for the chickpea salad lunch box).

It all depends on the kind of bento box you're using. I'd recommend at least three different compartments – that way you have room for your protein, carb and fruits/veggies – but you can have as many as you want!

No Cook Lunch Box Recipes

If you are packing hot food into a bento box, allow it to cool completely before putting the lid on. This will help you avoid soggy meals. Bento boxes can be kept in the refrigerator overnight or can be made quickly in the morning.

How long they last in the fridge depends on the ingredients. The five in this recipe will last several days. Just wait to put any non-refrigerated ingredients in until the day you plan to eat them.

My meal planning service, Dinner Prep Pro, removes the guesswork and helps you get dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes each night. My meal prep checklists only take 1 hour each week!

Make Ahead Lunches That Can Help You Lose Weight

NOTE: Nutritional info is for the Turkey and Hummus bento box. It will need to be calculated separately for all other bento boxes – Myfitnesspal or Livestrong are great options for this.

Calories: 194 kcal (10%) Carbohydrates: 8 g (3%) Protein: 17 g (34%) Fat: 11 g (17%) Saturated Fat: 4 g (25%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g Trans Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 41 mg (14%) Sodium: 805 mg (35%) Potassium: 353 mg (10%) Fiber: 2 g (8%) Sugar: 1 g (1%) Vitamin A: 61 IU (1%) Vitamin C: 2 mg (2%) Calcium: 48 mg (5%) Iron: 1 mg (6%)

Hey there, my name's Taylor! I’m the founder of The Girl on Bloor, a food blog where I share healthy meal prep recipes for busy people. I'm a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto on (you guessed it!) Bloor Street. I've got 10 years experience meal prepping, along with a Master's degree in journalism, and you can find my work across the internet featured on publications such as Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Women's Health, Reader's Digest and more. I also run the awesome 5-Day Meal Prep Challenge, which is a free email course and Facebook group where I share my meal planning strategies and easy meal prep tips and recipes. Be sure to check out my free beginner’s guide to meal prep and follow me on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get my latest recipes and meal prep tips!

Easy Meal Prep Tips For Weight Loss

Did you make this recipe or want to share your thoughts? Make sure to leave your review below and tag me on Instagram # so I can check it out!

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Healthy Lunch Habits Tips To Lose Weight