Do diet recipes taste like nothing? Thankfully, that’s just a rumour. We’ll tell you delicious recipes for a low-calorie lunch.
If you want to lose weight, you have to take in fewer calories than you burn. That’s a very simple calculation. How do you manage that? Very easy. For one thing, please exercise regularly. This burns a lot of calories.
Otherwise, you should make sure that you eat low-calorie foods. Cooking yourself also helps you lose weight because you know exactly what is in the food. Therefore, we will tell you a few recipe ideas for a low-calorie lunch that has no more than 500 kcal per portion.
Tips For A Low-Calorie Lunch
So that you don’t have a calorie bomb on your plate, you should heed a few tips when cooking:
- Save on oil. No matter which oil you use, a tablespoon has 108 kcal. Therefore, use as little oil as possible and always measure it with a spoon.
- Only use coated pans for frying. This saves fat.
- A low-calorie lunch should be based on vegetables, containing few calories but lots of vitamins and minerals.
- Often cooks vegetarian. You should eat meat no more than two or three times a week.
- Many types of fish are low in calories, eaten once a week.
- For pasta and rice, I prefer the whole grain variety. It fills you up for a long time and helps you lose weight.
Low-Calorie Lunch: Vegetarian
There are many recipe ideas for a vegetarian and, at the same time, low-calorie lunch. Just cook an extra portion of vegetables and hold back on cheese and other high-calorie side dishes.
Rice With Ratatouille (Approx. 470 kcal)
Ingredients for one portion:
- 150 g diced zucchini
- 150 g diced peppers
- One onion, diced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 150 g pizza tomatoes (canned)
- 180 g brown rice (cooked)
- 30 g feta cubes
- Salt pepper
- Paprika spice
- herbs of Provence
Preparation:
Briefly sauté the courgettes, peppers, and onions in olive oil. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes—season with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with some feta.
Tip: You can also use a few olives instead of feta.
Low-Calorie Lunch: With Meat
Meat has the reputation of being a little fattening food. But you don’t have to do without. Turkey or chicken is naturally light and makes a good low-calorie lunch. Minced meat is also fine, so it is best to buy tartare, which contains less fat. Breaded beef or bacon, on the other hand, is very high in fat.
Rice With Sliced Mushrooms And Turkey (Approx. 480 kcal)
Ingredients for one serving:
- 150 g mushrooms, sliced
- Two tomatoes, cut into wedges
- peas and carrots
- One onion, diced
- 100 g turkey breast fillet, cut into strips
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp herb quark (30% fat)
- salt, pepper, basil
- 180 g brown rice, cooked
Preparation:
Fry the onion, the mushrooms, and the meat in olive oil. Add the herb quark, fold in the tomatoes, and let them warm up—season with salt, pepper, and, for example, basil. Serve with the rice.
Tip: Instead of rice, you can also serve pasta, millet, or couscous. Vegetarians replace the meat with tofu or smoked tofu.
Quick Salad For The Office: Fills You Up And Tastes Delicious!
Colourful Pasta Salad (Approx. 430 kcal)
Ingredients for one serving:
- 150 g diced peppers
- Two tomatoes, cut into wedges
- One handful of lettuce leaves
- 50 g mozzarella cubes (20% fat)
- 200 g wholemeal pasta, cooked
- Salt pepper
- fresh basil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- some vegetable broth
Preparation:
Mix the vegetables with the pasta and the mozzarella. Mix the balsamic vinegar with some vegetable stock for the dressing—season with salt and pepper. Transport separately and pour over the salad before serving. Serve garnished with fresh basil.
Tip: Instead of mozzarella, feta also tastes very good. You can also vary the vegetables and, for example, fry zucchini and aubergines and serve them with the pasta salad. Arugula always tastes good with pasta salad.
Quick Low, Calorie Lunch
Low in calories is one thing. Often it has to be done quickly. Luckily, you can easily combine both. Instead of fresh vegetables, take the frozen version, which has many vitamins and minerals.
Make sure to use unprocessed vegetables. For example, pan-fried vegetables are already seasoned and often richer in fat than pure broccoli florets. Even canned vegetables are ok from time to time.
Fast Chickpea Curry (Approx. 295 kcal)
Ingredients for one portion:
- 150 g chickpeas (canned), drained
- Four tomatoes, cut into wedges
- Three spring onions, cut into rings
- 100 g leaf spinach (possibly frozen)
- Passed 50 g tomatoes
- One tablespoon of light cream
- curry spice (paste)
- ginger powder
- chilli spice
- Salt pepper
Preparation:
Put the chickpeas in a saucepan together with the tomatoes, the spring onions, and the tomato passata, and let everything boil up briefly. Season with curry, ginger, chilli, salt, and pepper. Finally, add the fresh spinach leaves (frozen at the beginning).
Eat a slice (50 g) of multigrain bread with it, and you’ll have around 400 kcal. If you like, you can serve some natural yoghurt with the curry.
Low-Calorie Lunch For The Office
Many work all day and are therefore looking for delicious ideas for a low-calorie lunch that can be prepared without the effort in the office.
Ideally, you have a small kitchen with a microwave at work, so you can pre-cook it in the evening and warm it up at lunchtime. If not, you can make a salad with you, prepare some bread and then eat something warm in the evening. So that you don’t eat any hidden calorie bombs, you shouldn’t get anything from the bakery or snack bar. Making it yourself tastes better and is usually lower in calories.
A Little Tip For Salad Fans: Lettuce itself has very few calories. But the dressing and ingredients such as cheese, olives, tuna, or croutons do. I prefer a light vinegar or yoghurt dressing and opt for cheese or olives.
Also Read: Protein Porridge: Recipes For All Tastes
