Healthy packable lunches?

[Kim]

Okay, something's gotta give. I've put on 30 lbs since July. That is not. cool. I'm tall, so it doesn't look too bad yet, but it's definitely noticeable and I'd like to lose it. I just bought a picture from a horse show in '08 and can't get over how much smaller I was.

I'm trying to exercise more...bought an elliptical and use it, although I've taken a break for the past couple weeks. With it being so nice now, I've thought about doing the couch to 5k thing...I like running outside, so it might be worth a try.

A lot of my problem too though is eating healthy. I'm on the go constantly, and usually grab fast food for lunch, which is not healthy. And I can only eat so many ham sandwiches and salads Anyone have any suggestions for yummy but healthy lunches that won't spoil if they aren't refrigerated?

Any any tips on jump starting this weight loss thing would be good too

[pinkdaisy]

I'm looking forward to the responses here! I need this too.
Fruit is a big one. An apple or an orange travel well. I also occasionally need chocolate. I take these hundred calorie packs of cookies. www2.kelloggs.com/Brand/brand.aspx?brand=160 The fudge stripes are the best. They actually taste like the real cookies.
Other than that, I suck at eating healthy.

[coyote]

vegetarian hamburgers
boiled eggs

[adcooper]

Celery sticks with peanut butter
Carrot sticks with hummous
Dried fruit and nuts
Pretzels
Easy-to-peel oranges
Water instead of juice or pop


And even if you don't have a refrigerator, you can get those nice little lunch packs that stay cool with a freezable insert. Or freeze a small yogurt and use that to keep the rest of your lunch cool. Plus, you can eat it if it's still partly frozen, and it will be delicious.

Almost anything homemade will be healthier and lower in bad fats than the stuff you buy on the run. Swear off fast food and high calorie drinks and I bet you lose some weight that way.

And you might want to try giving up sugar for a while. See what that does to curb your appetite. Sugary foods make you want to eat more sugary foods! If you try to give it up, you'll probably have insane cravings for sweets at first--evidence that you are a wild-eyed sugar addict! But that passes and you start to enjoy other flavors. Every time my hubby quits sugar, he loses about 7 pounds real fast.

[diane]

1/4 of an avacado, lots of GOOD fats.. I love them.

[Lisa]

Cottage cheese and tomatos. Nuts and seeds. I make my own trail mix and carry it with me, and if I am out and get hungry I eat a little of it and it helps me to stay away from bad foods.

[pinkdaisy]

My problem is I'm super picky.
No trail mix because I don't like pretzels, nuts or cereal of any kind.
I hate tomatoes.
I have issues with cottage cheese (it's a lumpy milk product... HELLO! and while we're at it, yogurt is a sour dairy product... if that's not a red flag, I don't know what is!)
I don't prefer raw carrots and celery. If I'm eating them, they're cooked.
I have the tastes of an 8 year old.

[alisonph]

Hummus
Trail mix
fruit salad - make a HUGE bowl every few days with grapefruit (keeps everything from getting brown), bananas, apples, grapes and anything else in season.
Wraps of hummus and veggies
ohh, canned fruit in JUICE. It's relatively low in sugar compared to fruit packed in syrup.

[Deb]

You know this one suggestion for packable lunches is so simple it nearly "shook me timbers" and I'm not even a sailor or pirate!! You have to like some vegetables though. Trust me, it is not an original idea I came up with, but some of the former female co-workers of my DH, Max. They would buy the frozen veggies in boxes let them thaw and then microwave them at lunchtime. The girls who did this for lunch were on maintence diets and still losing diets.

[Kim]

Thanks for all the ideas guys! I'm trying really hard to be more active AND eat healthier, since I know it's a combination of both. On Monday I'm going to give up pop and switch to just water..yikes...headaches, here I come!

[Rusty]

You can also freeze a juice box if yoghurt isn't your thing, or get one of those little freezer packs to stick in an insulated lunch bag. Packing tomorrow's lunch at suppertime the night before is easier than trying to quickly think/assemble in the morning. Peanut butter and banana sandwich, lowfat cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, berries. veggies and a dip.

[niaru]

Speaking of picky eaters...lol...I don't like dairy products or milk or cream or cheese (well, cheeses found in the US anyway) , nor most yogurts. I only like the Yoplait fat free (100 calories) in raspberry, blackberry, or blueberry.

Snacks, I love:
- organic baby carrots
- McIntosh apples (not Golden, not red delicious, not Fuji...Gala is ok...lol)
- oranges
- grapes
- watermelon and cantaloupe, in season
- a piece of plain, fresh baguette
- a handful of almonds (or walnuts / hazelnuts)

(5 or 6 Brussels cookies with my tea)

For healthy meals,

-Salads. Lots of variety in salads! Romaine, baby spinach, watercress, endives, avocado, cherry tomatoes...the possibilities are endless! Add some nuts, and or cooked chicken if you want.

- Veggies and grilled meat or fish. It's Spring and we've started using the grill again ! Yay!

And Adcooper is right about cutting on , or eliminating, sugars, including hidden sugars. The less you eat them the less you'll crave them.

(Haribo gummy bears while watching tv at night...)

Willpower!

[pinkdaisy]

Oh yeah... did I mention I don't eat anything that ever lived in water?

[adcooper]

pinkdaisy, you are an 8-year-old! I know. I raised you. Your name is Mary, and you are very fond of pasta but highly skeptical of anything green. Am I right?

Kim, also, my oldest daughter (not a picky eater!) has recently lost some weight, though she wasn't really trying to. She just decided she was going to quit beer and junk food to be healthier. That's all. Bingo. Over the last six months she's gradually lost about 10 pounds.

[Kim]

Well, crap, I don't drink beer because I think it tastes bad, so I can't lose weight there.. wine is healthy, right...right?? Junk food needs to go, you're right!