Denise - this is so funny. I read your post, and I had to check to make sure that I didn't write it. I do the exact same thing. I'm a huge fan of the bags of shredded cabbage (cole slaw) that I can just dump into the soup. I also buy a bag of the pre-washed, shredded kale. I know some folks don't like it, but it's SO nutritious, and by the time it cooks down, it is hardly noticeable. I do two soups, usually one for lunches, one for dinners. The dinner soup is a split-pea with extra lima beans (again, they cook down to nothing) and add the cabbage and kale and mushrooms for texture. My veggie soup is simple - three cans of chicken stock, two cans of diced tomatoes, three bags of the cabbage, one bag of kale, and as many beans as will fit into the pot - garbanzo, pinto, black, kidney, nothern, whatever. I do exactly what Denise does - individual containers that I can take to lunch, and then the rest into the freezer. (Hmmm, but I use the 3.5 cup size - I have a huge appetite, and I can't think of anything bad in the soup to warrant limiting my portion)




Quote Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg
I don't know if this will help at all, but here's what I do for lunch... this time of year my lunch is usually a big bowl of soup plus low-fat cottage cheese or yogurt. That probably doesn't sound like much, but the soup is my weekend creation. That is, I make a big pot of soup and store it in individual containers (I've been using a ZipLoc container that holds 2 1/2 cups, just to give you an idea of the size) that I can reheat. And some of the containers go into the freezer for later... I start with a recipe, but what goes in the soup depends on what vegetables are in my refrigerator. But always - it includes (cubed) tofu, beans (chick peas or black beans or both). Then I start adding vegetables, which can include carrots, celery, potatoes (white and/or sweet), broccoli or cauliflower, corn, edamame (soy beans). Sometimes I use a tomato-based soup, sometimes it's red lentils, sometimes split peas. So it's a pretty substantial soup, and it keeps me pretty full. Of course, you will need access to a microwave at the office unless you like cold soup!

I always bring fruit for a mid-afternoon snack, and I keep a stash of energy bars (usually PowerBar Pria bars since they are relatively small from a calorie standpoint - 110 calories, very suitable for a quick snack) in my desk just in case I'm hungry. I often keep extra yogurt in the refrigerator for the same purpose.

--- Denise