In the accountability thread, RedFlame was talking about what foods she could have handy to eat at work. As a stay-at-home, this is one problem I don't have to deal with. But I bet a whole bunch of you have --- and that you have some creative ideas to keep things interesting and still on-program.

There are some obvious things like cut-up veggies with one of those little packets of dressing which don't need to be refrigerated, fresh fruit, V8 or tomato juice.... and that is about the extent of my creativity!

What things have worked (or not worked) for you?

I like to keep walnuts and raisins at work. Well, I have them there for baking carrot cake anyway, but in very small portions they are a good snack. I have some of the K20 packs to add to water. They do keep hunger at bay for a while. The zero points soups are nice this time of year too.

wasa crackers with laughing cow or peanut butter

I keep some soup cups at work. There are some mcdougall soup cups that are between 100-200 calories/each and they are good if I get hungry.

I also keep oil free/salt free microwave popcorn at work.

Protein Bars, little cups of cottage cheese and yogurt, string cheese, nuts, craisins, microwave popcorn, crystal light powders. 100 calorie packs when i was eating them. I'm sure I have lots more.

Anything prepackaged and ready to go works for me. I know it costs more but I'm not at the point yet to trust myself to buy the big package and repack my own little bags.

I keep on hand:
100 calorie granola bars
low fat string cheese
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
4 oz yogurts
Kozy Shack sugar and fat free vanilla pudding cups
bananas
salad fixings of all kinds
diet soda and crystal light

Wasa Crackers-- Crispy Light 7 Grain

Blue Diamond Natural Oven Roasted Almonds
-- vanilla or cinnamon brown sug. flavor.

Celestial Seasonings teas

I don't really keep anything at work, because I take everything I'm going to eat during the day with me. I eat breakfast at home, but then my morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack are all packed. I do carry sugarless gum with me for when I want to chew on something, and I keep tea bags at my desk at work--but that's it.

I keep yogurts and fruits and lean cuisines and water and nuts at work.

The lean cuisine is usually my lunch- but overall that keeps me away from the doughnuts and bagels and cookies people keep bringing in!

Awww Numina, what awesome help you have given me. I need new ideas, more importantly I need motivation to take care of myself and not get into my old ways.

So these are the things I used prior to this week when I became a bad girl again;
Almonds- packaged up in snack zip locks, 20 nuts
Dried peaches--when I need something chewey or a sugar rush
Good flavored creamer for my coffee, when I want something BAD I try to fool myself, I dont use flavored normally in order to keep this as a treat
Carrots
Reduced fat wheat thins----but I will not buy those again--trying to be have more whole foods

This weekend I am making hummus, with no tahini paste (seaseme and lots of fat) I am flavoring it with roasted garlic, cumin, paprika and a little red pepper....hope to find a healthy, non processed snack for next week at work

Redflame - I make hummus with tahini but not a lot, it is a healthful fat. Traditional hummus has olive oil AND tahini which makes it higher in fat but still healthful. Although without tahini, its good too. You can also experiment with different beans other than chickpeas. I love eating hummus with veggies such as carrots, celery and bell pepper strips.

Other snacks I like to take are
grape tomatoes
sugar snap peas
fresh fruit
plain yogurt with frozen berries (I eat soy yogurt)
Roasted green beans
Roasted chickpeas

I generally carry a couple granola bars and some fruit (oranges, apples, or bananas) in my backpack. The granola bars live there until eaten and replaced. The fruit gets eaten or put back in the fruit bowl at the end of the day.

I keep those little 3 oz cans of tuna, and individual packets of low-fat mayonnaise, so I can make a tuna salad.

Little containers of applesauce and other fruits (I love pears) - unsweetened

Kashi bars

Some cans of soup - that can be heated for a lunch in a mug.

I don't work in an office, but I always have one of these in my lunch bag.

1 oz baggies raw almonds/ walnuts or sunflower/ pumpkin seeds
Live Granola Bar
Active Greens Chocolate Bar
dehydrated Goji berries

Almonds have been a big help for me at work this week but I also picked up these granola bars (praeventia) that are a 100 calories, 4 g of fiber that have done wonders. (they are also pretty good at satisfying chocolate cravings.