Hello!
Looking for inspiration - I'm really stuck come lunch/snack time. I know there are some great websites around for ideas, yet I'm still like blah at lunch/snacks.

Would love to hear from you all on some of the things that you eat?? And espically if you have kids how you can tailor this to be kid friendly so you aren't making two and three different lunches lol

One of my favs is crustless pizza. I just put a splash of pizza sauce in the bottom of a soup bowl (or you could just use a salad plate) and add pepperoni, olives, mushrooms and cheese. Nuke it until the cheese melts. For the kids, I put the ingredients on an oven toasted pita. It makes a nice crust for them.

Another fav is taco salad. I use salad, ground beef, cheese, hm guacamole (avocado, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and sf salsa to taste), salsa and a few tablespoons of fage yogurt. You can add black beans for the kiddos.

I like pepperoni and string cheese for snacks. Deviled eggs... my mind is blank, lol.

Snacks I try to snack less generally so I don't have any help there.

Lunches I've found that the best is for me to eat dinner leftovers or make a special thing for myself that I batch cook & freeze and eat that, and then just fed my family, if I had to worry about which low carb meals my family would eat I'd have too many excuses not to take care of my own health, so I find it much less stressful for everyone if I just try to navigate that for dinner and plan breakfasts and lunches for myself separately. My kids are 1 & 3, plus half custody of 14 year old stepson. I make crackslaw (www.crackslaw.com) just about weekly and have that as my ready-meal (freezes well, and is like it well enough).

But I'm also convinced by the approach to try to make food "fuel" and not "amazing" or entertainment, and so repeatedly eating things that I like okay fits that strategy really well. That's also why I don't make any of the low carb treats, I just don't need the temptation (and the calories) and I find it so much easier to just make regular cake/cookies/whatever and completely avoid them than to try to control myself with a "low carb" version...

But some people go off the rails with the restrictions and do much better with on-plan treats, so it's yet another case of "know thyself!"

Michaloula – Thanks! Taco salad sounds yummy – wonder why I never thought of that! I like the pizza idea – oh I found a recipe on line for cauliflower crust for pizza and cheese sticks --- I’m totally trying that!

Pepperoni and cheese I was using but it’s so high in fat and I was stalling out when I used it so I dropped it. Deviled eggs is a definite winner, finally found my SF relish so making those tonight!

Sarah – Thanks! I’ve been trying the leftovers deal, but it’s not always working and especially now that school is out I’ve got to do lunch for me, hubby and daughter so I’m struggling lol Good idea about making up batches and freezing. I did get some bread so I can make a sandwich for my daughter sometimes. She’s 12 and eats very similar to us – she has no problem with the veggies and things. She has some additional things and I even have some low sugar cereals on hand for her (she uses almond or coconut milk, as she is allergic to dairy anyway).

I’m even ok eating the same things usually – but I need like 2-3 go to meals that are quick and easy for lunch that I can keep repeating.

I did make for dinner one night – I just call it chicken mess lol --- I pulled about 4-6 oz rotiserre chicken put in the skillet with mushrooms, onions and sautéed. Then topped with cheese, bacon bits, olives and covered until melted. Put on plate and topped with salsa. It was soooo good. So that’s been a lunch thing I keep on hand too.

It’s TOM right now I think that’s my problem lol

Sarah, that crackslaw sounds really, really good! Good for you for making food and eating about refueling. Easier said than done, but the benefits have to be amazing.

Ali, I'm drooling over your chicken mess, lol! Sounds like a little slice of heaven there! I have a recipe for Mexican chicken that I love, too. I'll post it below. I also remembered egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad as some pretty easy go-to meals. If you want to jazz up your chicken salad, add chopped green onion and sliced almonds. Makes it yummier!

Here's the recipe for Mexican chicken. I like it cut up and served in a salad (with some of the enchilada sauce as "dressing"), with extra cheese and sour cream.

Mexican Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks (sometimes I just do the whole breasts or tenders since it's easier)
taco and fajita seasoning packets (1ea, mixed) (or make your own)
1 can enchilada sauce (or more to taste) (make sure it's sf!)
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c mojack cheese, shredded
6 green onions, chopped
1 sm can diced green chilies
sliced black olives

Rub the chicken on both sides with seasoning packets; Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350* or until done. Mix green chilies in with the enchilada sauce and toss the chicken in to coat it thoroughly. Place chicken in a greased 9x9" baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Scatter the olives and green onions over the top after removing from oven.
Serve with sour cream.

Oh Michaloula!! My mouth is watering! I am gonna try your recipe! I make my chicken different ways.. but couldn't figure out a mexican tasting version! Now you gave it to me Thank you!

No prob! Just double check the taco/fajita seasonings for sugars/starches and make your own if need be. There are tons of recipes online for both. Idk if you have a lot of choices for enchilada sauces, but I use Las Palmas brand and they have no added sugar. (There are recipes online for hm, too, if you need them.)

I'm with Sue! Holy moly that sounds good!!! Thanks!!

I like to have things like chili, stew, soup, meatballs frozen into portions in my freezer. I just grab one in the morning to add to my snacks. I'm not on atkins, so one of my snacks is always one serving of fruit, and the other is a vegetables with dip.

Six years and I've eaten raw carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, or peppers with some kind of dip every afternoon.

Ali I've made the cauliflower pizza crust before...it's really good. My only problem was portion control (the recipe I used was suppose to make four servings but didn't seem like that much), so I started making only half the recipe to help with that!

These are some great ideas - thank you guys!! This helps a lot!