Packed lunch ideas!
 

Right.

I've decided.

I'm totally LIVING clean eating for the next 4 or 5 weeks. I need ideas for a packed lunch...

So far I have:
apples
cheddar sticks
almonds and raisins
cottage cheese mixed with raisins and oats
carrot sticks
protein flapjack
cold cottage cheese pancake

Anything else that I can take with me in a bag that doesn't need too much refrigeration and is fairly discrete to eat on the move, or sitting on a park bench. So no stuff I need to heat up, or stuff with dips... Finger food basically!

How about hummus? Hummus and sweet bell peppers is one of my favorite snacks.

Hard boiled eggs?
Cooked egg whites and salsa in a whole wheat wrap/tortilla?
Chicken breast and veggie in whole wheat wrap?

The wholewheat wraps are out - no wholewheat tortillas over the pond here!

I'd forgotten about hard boiled eggs - perhaps if I hold my nose, otherwise the thought makes me barf! ;) They don't taste bad though, just the thought!! :lol:

I love hard boiled eggs. Too bad about the whole wheat wraps, I'm amazed at the variety of whole grain products available these days over here. Of course in general they are $$$ but they are available. I generally buy a loaf of bread every week but it takes me about 30 minutes of label reading to pick one.

How about a lettuce wrap then? Lettuce wrapped around veggies and lean meat sounds good to me :)

I also like my version of the waldorf salad which is lettuce, chopped celery, chopped apple, chopped walnuts, raisins and 1 tbsp of nonfat plain yogurt. Mix it up really good and it is a crunchy/sweet salad.

2f -- I put my foot down this morning too, and was going to start a personal challenge, afterall I had to wear my shorts today and I would have liked to have been a little slimmer ...

I usually eat leftovers from the night before, so I'm no help there am I ? :lol: But I think I would like some cold chicken with lots of crunchy veggies like brocolli, cauliflower, celery, if I had to do the cold meal thing...I love hard boiled eggwhites too but I can eat about 6 eggs if I only eat the whites...

*SHUDDER* I am going to buy shorts tomorrow... So yes, this is a shorts thing and a wedding dress thing and a determination thing!

I seem to be all revved up this week - I think it's because the clocks went forward and the nights are lighter. Hooray! :dance:

Some excellent suggestions so far. Mine may overlap a bit.

Other nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, brazil nuts (all in moderation)
Other dried fruit: unsulphured apricots (i.e., not the bright orange ones), figs, dates (all in moderation)
Seeds: pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds (... yes, that's right, not too many).

My failsafe snack for trains is a small mixture of the above.

Veg: carrots, celery, sugar snap or mangetout peas, runner beans, small tomatoes, bag of salad, cauliflower florets.

Small drained tin of fish: mackerel, sardines, tuna, salmon (possibly put into another container. I use Lock 'n' Lock as they don't leak.)

That's all for now. Yum, yum.

Silver has a lot of good ideas. I used to love eating grape tomatoes as a snack, I don't do it so often anymore.

Personally, I couldn't do any canned fish. I used to do canned albacore tuna when I would mix it with nonfat yogurt, mustard and dill relish. It was pretty good.

Hi 2F,

Speaking from the land of packed lunches...everyone here packs a lunch. The dutch take their lunch from home, as everything in the canteen is wildly overpriced and either fried or with mayonaise.

So.. packed lunch, would a wholewheat sandwich with old cheese do ???
Or a wholewheat sandwidch with cold meat & tomato?
And an apple or an orange for afters??

I find whole wheat sandwiches quite filling. And I make them without butter or mayonaise: I just put the cheese or meat and vegs between 2 slices of dark wholewheat bread. So that is also not much work in the morning.

Rabbit

:rofl: Rabbit, you dear! Not sure if something's been lost in translation here ... Old cheese sounds like stale cheese or mouldy cheese to me but I know you're not really suggesting anything horrible.

I know the Netherlands is one of the lands of cheese. Please will you tell us more? :)

I’ve been taking my lunch to work for quite a few months now and must say I’m getting pretty good at it. My standard approach has been a big spinach salad with whatever veggies I want plus a “good carb” (no white flour, sugars, white rice, you know the deal) plus a lean protein. This website has been a great inspiration http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/ Don’t let the title scare you, it’s not just for vegans, there are wonderful lunch ideas for everyone there!

Can someone please post the protein pancake recipe?? I saw it somewhere but I can't seem to find it. Thanks!!!

Rosario,
I don't know if the protein pancakes are the same as cottage cheese pancakes, but here is the recipe for cottage cheese pancakes. This comes from http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=23

cottage cheese pancakes

This one is really delicious, especially with the addition of the recommended ingredients.

2-3 beaten eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
Honey or a couple of teaspoons of sugar, to taste (a banana will make it naturally sweeter)
1 cup uncooked oatmeal

Optional, highly recommended ingredients:
banana
a sprinkle of cinnamon
a splash of vanilla

Grab your handy blender and dump the ingredients in, in the order they appear (otherwise the mixture will get all chunky). So, eggs in first, then start the blender. As it's blending, pour in the cottage cheese, then the banana if you're using it, then whatever sweeteners and spices you like, then the oatmeal. Once this is nicely blended, cook as you would pancakes, in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. I love these plain or with fruit, but you can put syrup on them too, just like regular pancakes.

thanks!!!:)

:yes: that's the protein pancake recipe! ;) You can try adding cocoa powder to it and it tastes like chocolate cake :T

I had another thought - I've cooked up a batch of veggie sausages to take out with me and eat cold. I've done that before, they're quite nice. In the UK peeps, try Quorn Bramley Apple Bangers. They're the only ones I've found that don't taste like bacon crisps!

hi Silver,

Old cheese is cheese that has aged a couple of years. I believe the oldest is aged for 3 years. It is dark orange and salty and it breaks when you want to slice it, and I like it much. The constistence is a bit like parmesan cheese, that is also an aged hard cheese but with a different taste. Possibly it is not known outside of holland. I have noticed that the dutch cheese for sale outside of holland, the Edam and Gouda, is the nondescript almost tasteless "factory cheese" type of thing. Maybe aged cheddar would do for you ? or do the welsh have a cheese tradition of their own??

Rabbit

You can get the Oude cheese at markets at Christmas time, and sometimes Manchester has a European market at other times. I completely missed that you live in the Netherlands!

I loved cheese when we were in Amsterdam, even the supermarket cheese is really good. And the bread choices are so much better, wholegrain breads are a lot more prevalent than here, although our choices are improving. It makes me mad :tantrum: that we have two bakeries in our village but all they make are pies and white bread.

The Welsh also do great cheeses! I like a good caerphilly. (Hmmmmm I think my cheese habit plays no small part in my ability to get to 262 lbs!)

:wave: Thanks, rabbit. That does sound so very nice. I love that kind of cheese (rather than the factory stuff. That Edam and Gouda is pretty horrible and so is our own factory cheese). Yes, I think that mature cheddar might have the same kind of effect.

Kylie's right: there are a lot of very nice cheeses here in Wales. And she's also right about the effect of cheese. :) I treat them with extreme care. :yes: Hard, crumbly, tasty, salty, creamy, strong, blue. They are all so delicious. I certainly haven't given up cheese. It's a delight. And what's life about, after all?

The only thing I have given up in the cheese department is the low fat plasticated rubbish. If I'm going to have it, I have the best!

My current favourite is a Lancashire bomb that I get from the farmers market locally. The best thing about it is that it's in a wax ball and keeps for a month or longer. (the farmers market is once a month) and then I'm not tempted to munch on it just because its going to go bad!

Frus - when you're down at Borough market, do you ever call into the Neal's Yard cheese shop? It's along that narrow street parallel with the river - Park Street, I think. Yummy cheese there and I'm sure you could have tasters. I like Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire, Mrs Appleby's Cheshire and Quickes cheddar. And others too. :)

Very tasty stuff and all good for sandwiches, in moderation!

Oh wow! That sounds NICE! I think we walked past it on Saturday, I was going to treat myself to some Neal's Yard smellies, but DF was there and he just doesn't see the point in "wasting" money on luxury bubble bath! :rofl:

We did get some lovely caerphilly cheese samples in the market. I will check out the cheese shop next time! ;)

Make sure that your lunch includes some protein. All-natural, sugar free peanut butter is a good source of protein when you are on the run. Just make a sandwich with it or eat some with vegetables (it's so thick it doesn't classify as dip, does it? ;) ) What about lowfat yogurt sprinkled with some oatmeal or granola?

I work from home, so I'm not much help. I can easily heat something up if I want. I make a lot of salads with grilled or baked chicken breast and lots of veggies. Yum!

Bread labels
 

Nelie,

Your time invested in reading bread labels resonated loud and clear with me!:dizzy:

I've found a great (I feel) bread at Whole Foods market. It's the ww organic rustic loaf - and they'll slice it any way you like it. Pricey at 3.99 but worth every delicious morsel.

Jean

jill - I've NEVER ever found all natural PB over on these shores! I read labels on PB and they ALL have palm oil in. :rolleyes: But yes if I could find some it's be good! I keep adding to this little list I have in my "inspiration book" and I check up before I pack my weekend snack bag! :lol:

It's available, look in wholefood shops. Suma makes some and so does Meridian. Crunchy, smooth, with salt or without salt.

Lunch today is tuna, with some celery, olives and scallions, salad, FF plain yogurt and strawberries. Every once in a while I just got to have my tuna. Oh :o just realized I forgot the capers.