i wasn't trying to give a crash course in nutrition nor was i taking a holier than thou attitude...

a lot of people see sensible solutions...or things that appear healthy (deli meat and crackers) and think its healthy...

whereas as in this case its worse for you than most fast food...

if i were doing the same thing and thinking it was a healthy alternative i would like someone to inform me

and the only reason i brought up the whole calorie thing was because the person who started the thread had stated that it was healthier which is a common misconception and i was just showing that it was not

Yeah, I agree. She's saying she doesn't have time to cook or prepare food, hence the question. Sometimes on our way to healthier eating we make some choices that aren't the best but sure do get us past some kind of hump. I know there are lunchables that don't come with desert or drinks. I know this because i am a teacher and observe the meals.

Looking at their website, I see that some of the calorie content is as low as 310. If you are sticking to that and not eating anything else, that certainly could be one of the meals on your way to weight loss.

I do agree that long term you'd want to develop healthier habits. I certainly understand the not having time thing. I tend to make my lunches all at once on a Sunday. I make my own sandwiches in about 20 minutes on a Sunday. I even chop up tomato and wash some sprouts for another 10 minutes and I have individual bags of veggies to add to my lunches. I also buy those individual bags of carrots so that I don't have to separate them.

I sometimes wish I could eat more prepared food cause it would be easier. Unfortunately, I am not a calorie counter. I count carbs and most of the prepared stuff, even 310 calorie lunchables or weight watchers/south beach frozen food have way too many carbs for me.

If it can be part of your plan, I say go for it, just make the best lunchable choice you can make. Pick the one with more protein and less calories.

Originally Posted by :
a lot of people see sensible solutions...or things that appear healthy (deli meat and crackers) and think its healthy...

Yep. She asked if any of us ate them, several people said no and here's why. And most of us gave her suggestions for quick and easy alternatives. I'd say that was being supportive.

Sorry that some people don't find it so. It's not meant to be holier than thou. Just helpful.

.

Sorry if I came off as snotty...I did just ask if anyone else ate them. I never claimed they were uber healthy. They are just something that I like, and the ones I buy are between 300-340 calories...I didn't think it was a terrible lunch, and for me, right now, they are a quick fix. I am sorry if I was mistaken in thinking these were more healthy than a burger and fries with a ton of fat. I am admittedly lazy in the off time I do have..I would just rather have a lunch I can pick up and run with (that is cheap and has a long shelf life), rather than prepare food days in advance..I have never been able to stomach left overs/ old food...Just one of my OCD tendancies.

Originally Posted by loveXhateXregret:
and the only reason i brought up the whole calorie thing was because the person who started the thread had stated that it was healthier which is a common misconception and i was just showing that it was not

So the Lunchable Pizza meal I always buy (the one without the capri sun or airhead candy) which is 310 calories, 11 g fat, and 16 g protien is less healthy than a McDonalds Double Cheeseburger 460 calories, 23 g, fat and 25 g protien with a Medium Fry 450 calories, 22 g fat, and 6 g protein (Total 910 calories, 45 g fat, and 29 g protein)?

Originally Posted by nelie:
You could also try making your own 'lunchables' if you wanted once you get the hang of it.

For me, I've started eating baby food as a snack. I really enjoyed pureed fruits and they only have fruit and water as their ingredients. The butternut squash and sweet potato ones are really good too.

And I really think this is a good idea..Thank you. I have just ben struggling lately and even if I can't eat great right now...I don't want to eat the grease ridden food I have fallen into the pattern of consuming.

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
If it were me, and I didn't have time to cook (which I frequently don't), I would go to my local deli counter and buy 1/2 lb of lunch meat (lean turkey, ham, etc.), 1/2 lb of sliced cheese, a box of crackers, and maybe some dried fruit. I'd take it home and take 30 minutes to divide that into 5 portions and put them in Zip-loc snack baggies. Put each baggie (1 of meat, 1 of cheese, 1 of the fruit, 1 of crackers) in another larger baggie. Stash those in the fridge. Grab one for lunch on my way out the door

But that's just me. :D

Also a good suggestion.

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
Healthy, not processed, not paying money for packaging, not throwing away 1/2 of what's in the package, cost 1/2 of what each lunchable would cost you ... and took you less than 30 min to put together on a Sunday afternoon/evening..

I did state I don't buy that kind. For me, it's just the convenience of having it all made already. I usually spend my weekends catching up on homework, cleaning my house, doing laundry, and driving home to see my family. Sometimes I just don't get home in time to make up lunch for the week..and plus it grosses me out to eat something not prepackaged after a couple of days LOL...I don't trust my preservative skills. :)

Originally Posted by :
and plus it grosses me out to eat something not prepackaged after a couple of days LOL...I don't trust my preservative skills.

HA! That's kinda funny. I'm just the opposite. I hate the idea that my food has been "preserved" or that someone else has packaged it. I would much rather eat something that I know how long it's been sitting in the Tupperware in my fridge. :)

We're all different, that's for sure.

.

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
HA! That's kinda funny. I'm just the opposite. I hate the idea that my food has been "preserved" or that someone else has packaged it. I would much rather eat something that I know how long it's been sitting in the Tupperware in my fridge. :)

We're all different, that's for sure.

.

:) Indeed...That's just one of my quirks....I have no idea how long after I refrigerate something it needs to be thrown out...And it causes me not to eat things I prepare in advance. I tried it with salad..I would eat it for two days and then I would let it rot in the refrigerator.

With stuff I buy I can just look at the date. Although my dad who lives in Thailand says those dates are just a sham to get us to throw stuff out and buy more...whether it's bad or not...They don't have alot of refrigerators there LOL. Who knows!

Seriously about food - learn to trust yourself here. Your sense of smell and taste will tell you if the food is good or not. Dates on packages are just guidelines at best. One of the things I get most angry at my DH about is that he throws out food on the "expiration date" when it's still actually good food. I keep telling him that food doesn't automatically spoil at 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date.

Most food is NOT going to go bad in one or two days in the fridge. In fact I can't think of anything that will go bad in 2 days, if put in a bag or lidded container.

But I also think that Americans in general are really weird about food storage in that respect. In most countries a lot of things that we obsessively refrigerate are kept on the counter/table. In a lot of European and Asian countries things like eggs, butter, a lot of types of cheeses, and often cream are kept out on the table all day and often overnight .. and it's no big deal.

.

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
In a lot of European and Asian countries things like eggs, butter, a lot of types of cheeses, and often cream are kept out on the table all day and often overnight .. and it's no big deal.

That's what he says. He said it took him awhile to get used to it, but he hasn't gotten sick yet LOL. He laughed at me while he was home because I wouldn't use eggs that had "expired" a few days prior. He of course ate them, to no ill effect :D. Americans...we're a weird bunch. You wonder how our ancestors survived without modern convenience lol.

Hey SockMonkey :) Good to see you around!

Whatever works for you ^^ I used to be jealous of kids who had Lunchables at school. Then I had one... :lol: Sorry, I can't join you on the "that tastes good" train.

It's probably healthier to make your own Lunchable type food ahead of time (and even though they're cheap, you'd still be saving money by not having to buy a capri sun & an airhead, so you might want to give it a try maybe for just one week to see if it works for you) like a few people have mentioned. But, honestly, a TON of people have managed their diets by eating lean cuisines, and smart ones, etc. once a day. As long as you're balancing your calories, bon appetit!

Edit: Looks like you said you don't usually buy those capri sun/air heads ones. You still might be able to save money buying & preparing your own, but as I said above, only you know if it'll be worth it :)

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
Seriously about food - learn to trust yourself here. Your sense of smell and taste will tell you if the food is good or not. Dates on packages are just guidelines at best. One of the things I get most angry at my DH about is that he throws out food on the "expiration date" when it's still actually good food. I keep telling him that food doesn't automatically spoil at 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date.

Most food is NOT going to go bad in one or two days in the fridge. In fact I can't think of anything that will go bad in 2 days, if put in a bag or lidded container.

I'm one of those terrible people who doesn't toss milk out on the expiration date. ;) Heck, the darn carton stays good for about a week after that date, why waste milk?!

After moving out on my own, I've had to rely more on my "see & smell" senses to detect bad food. I don't think I've had any issues with eating bad food so far. Hey, I'm still alive & kickin' ^^

I eat lunchables. Well, I used to, back when I called America my home. The British have a product called "lunchable" but compared to the USA ones, they're crap. The meat is so thin, you can see through it, yes, I'm talkin less than a millimeter of meat here! :(

I used to get the lunchables that just had the crackers, meat and cheese. I especially love the "brown bread" crackers. I used to have one of those with a glass of milk or water, or even better yet (for me, at least), a GreatStart frozen Breakfast for lunch. Srambled eggs, 2 sausages/bacon and a hashbrown. I am the queen of mishaps in the kitchen, except when it comes to making fat laden Chicken Parmesan or baking unhealthy cakes...So I used to use frozen dinners like Kid Cuisine as my go to for lunches while I was in school.

I used to love the Chicken Nugget ones, the mac & cheese ones, and most others, except the fish. They all fit into my "diabetic" diet fat and carb wise. My breakfast was usually a fat free yogurt or bowl of low fat cereal, lunch consumed my daily fat intake, then I had small portions of whatever my family had for dinner.

I worked when I was a student! (Btw, I dont think there's anything wrong with having lunchables or "kiddie foods" in one's diet, if you like it, and it works for you, then who cares?) <3

Hey! Well, who would have thought that folks would have such strong feelings about a simple snack food question. :lol: :lol3:

Sockmonkey, I have never eaten a Lunchable, so I can't say anything about them. But if you are trying to make a choice between McD's and one of the lower cal Lunchables, I'd say, go with the Lunchable.

It's great to want to eat healthy foods, whole foods, non-pre-packaged foods, and so on. I know that many people think that any kind of packaged food by definition cannot have reasonable nutrition, but that's just an opinion. We are all entitled to our opinions. However, if I personally had to jump through all of the nutrition hoops that some members think are necessary in order to have a healthy weight loss plan, I would still weigh just under 200 pounds.

Speaking just for myself, I am not someone who is going to spend my weekend time packaging homemade foods for the week--not at present. Maybe at some point! I know plenty of 3FC members do, and that is great!

But for those of us who for whatever reason don't follow that option, it's OK for us to make our food plan work however we can, as long as we are getting reasonable nutrition and supporting weight loss. Being obese is a far greater hazard than eating a packaged meal, as long as you read the labels.

Jay