13 Lunch Options Most Folks Agree You Should Skip

Lunch should fuel your afternoon, not drag you down.

Unfortunately, some popular midday meals do more harm than good, leaving you sluggish, bloated, or regretting that choice by 2 PM.

Here are 13 lunch options that nutritionists, foodies, and common sense all agree deserve a hard pass.

Disclaimer: This article reflects general opinions and informational commentary about common lunch choices and is not intended as medical or nutritional advice.

1. Gas Station Egg Salad Sandwiches

Ever wonder how long that sandwich has been sitting under those bright lights?

Gas station egg salad is notorious for questionable freshness and sketchy storage temperatures.

Mayonnaise-based fillings can harbor bacteria when left unrefrigerated too long.

Your stomach deserves better than a gamble with food safety, especially when you’ve got an afternoon ahead.

2. Fast-Food Double Cheeseburgers

Loaded with saturated fat, sodium, and enough calories to wreck your energy levels, these burgers are lunchtime sabotage in a bun.

Most pack over 600 calories before you even add fries or a drink.

That post-lunch food coma?

Blame the double patty drowning in processed cheese and special sauce that’s mostly just sugar and salt.

3. Convenience-Store Microwave Burritos

Nuking a frozen burrito might save time, but it won’t save your health.

These compact cylinders are stuffed with preservatives, artificial flavors, and shockingly little actual nutrition.

The texture alone – rubbery beans, mushy rice – should be a red flag.

If lunch tastes like cardboard wrapped in a tortilla, it’s time to reconsider your choices and find something real.

4. Frozen Pizza Slices Sold at Kiosks

Kiosk pizza is the sad cousin of real pizza.

Reheated from frozen, it’s often greasy, rubbery, and barely warm in the middle.

The crust tastes like cardboard, and the cheese has that plasticky sheen that screams ultra-processed.

For the same price, you could grab something fresh that doesn’t leave your taste buds disappointed and your stomach confused.

5. Deep-Fried Chicken Tenders with Fries

Crispy, golden, and absolutely loaded with unhealthy fats and empty calories.

Deep-fried anything sends your cholesterol soaring and your energy plummeting.

Add a mountain of fries, and you’ve got a meal that clogs arteries faster than rush-hour traffic.

If you want protein, there are way better options that won’t leave you feeling like you need a nap immediately.

6. Fast-Food Milkshake Meals

Calling a milkshake a meal is like calling dessert dinner.

These sugar-laden drinks contain more calories than a full lunch, with zero nutritional benefit.

You’ll get a quick sugar rush followed by a brutal crash that leaves you hungrier and grumpier than before.

Real meals have protein, fiber, and vitamins – not just whipped cream and candy chunks blended with ice.

7. Instant Ramen Cups

Cheap, fast, and wildly unhealthy, instant ramen is basically flavored salt water with noodles.

One cup contains nearly your entire daily sodium allowance.

The noodles are deep-fried before packaging, adding unnecessary fat.

Sure, it’s convenient, but your body craves real nutrients, not a sodium overload that’ll leave you bloated and thirsty all afternoon long.

8. Prepackaged Cafeteria Nachos

Those nachos under the heat lamp have been there way too long.

The cheese is more like shiny plastic, and the chips are soggy from sitting in that mystery meat sauce.

Nutritionally, it’s a disaster – high in sodium, saturated fat, and artificial ingredients.

If nachos are calling your name, make them fresh at home where you control what goes on top.

9. Store-Bought Sushi Left Out Too Long

Sushi is delicious when fresh, but grocery store rolls sitting under plastic for hours?

Hard pass.

The rice gets dry and crusty, the fish loses its freshness, and food safety becomes a real concern.

Seafood should be eaten soon after preparation, not after lounging in a chilled case all day hoping someone takes it home before closing time.

10. Fried Fish Sandwiches from Unknown Chains

Mystery fish, deep-fried and slapped on a bun, doesn’t scream quality lunch.

These sandwiches are often greasy, overcooked, and made from unidentifiable seafood scraps pressed into patty form.

The breading soaks up oil like a sponge.

If you can’t tell what kind of fish you’re eating, maybe skip it and find something you can actually identify and enjoy.

11. Drive-Thru Chili Cheese Dogs

Processed hot dogs are bad enough on their own, but cover them in greasy chili and fake cheese, and you’ve got a nutritional nightmare.

These drive-thru disasters are sky-high in sodium, saturated fat, and mystery ingredients.

Save the indulgence for special occasions, not your everyday lunch break.

12. Ultra-Processed Microwave Mac and Cheese Bowls

That neon orange glow isn’t natural, and neither is the ingredient list.

Microwave mac and cheese bowls are packed with artificial colors, preservatives, and enough sodium to make your blood pressure spike.

The pasta is mushy, the cheese is fake, and the nutrition is nonexistent.

Homemade mac and cheese takes minutes longer and tastes a thousand times better.

13. Pancakes-as-Lunch Plates from Diners or Fast-Food Chains

Breakfast for lunch sounds fun until you realize pancakes are basically dessert disguised as a meal.

Refined flour, butter, and syrup create a sugar crash waiting to happen.

Without protein or fiber, you’ll be ravenous again by mid-afternoon.

Save the pancakes for lazy weekend mornings, not your busy workday lunch when you need sustained energy and focus.