Two Questions

[lbwhite89]

1.) Where does Atkins stand on cottage cheese? Is it allowed? Any restrictions? If it is allowed, would I count it as one of my servings of cheese?

2.) I hate salad...I mean, I can't stand it. And even though spinach is supposedly okay now, it's not back on any of the shelves in my town. Spinach is the only thing I could stand. I bring a salad, minus the dressing, to school with me every day and get full fat Ranch. Now the school decided to just have the Light Ranch, which I'm told isn't allowed. So I bought some full fat dressing in containers and brought it to school, but after five hours it was warm and I couldn't even eat it. It was awful. I was thinking I can have a different vegetable when I get home every day and have tuna with mayo and an ounce of cheese during lunch at school. But since I can't exactly carry around one of those thermal lunch boxes around at school all day, I can't bring it because I think the mayo will go bad in 5 hours of being out. What else can I do? I was thinking of buying those little kits at the store that have packaged mayo, a small thing of tuna, and crackers (which I obviously wouldn't eat), but first of all, those things don't even have a whole can of tuna. Plus, they're hard to find around here. I've only seen them at Wal-Mart, where I barely go. Does anyone know where they might have packaged mayo I can buy and bring my own tuna in a container? Or would that go bad too?

[KvonM]

1) cottage cheese isn't allowed... it's higher in milk sugars than hard cheeses. if you were going to add it in, i would wait until you were either in OWL or maintenance before having it, and keep a sharp eye on the carb counts.

2) you say you can't carry a lunchbox around, but how are you storing what you do carry? i'm guessing a fridge isn't an option. if you're really that worried about the mayo (which in all honesty would be fine as long as it doesn't get brutally hot or is out in the sun), see if you can snag handfuls of the individual mayo packets from either a cafeteria or some fast food chain... i used to do that when i'd pick up arby's for my ex. i'd grab as many horsey and arby's sauce packets as i could.

stuff doesn't go bad NEARLY as fast as you think it does. and if you want a thermal carrier that will fit in a backpack, go to babies R us and pick up one of the breastmilk storage packs. they're smaller than the regular thermal lunchbox.

[lbwhite89]

1) Ok, thanks. Good to know.

2) No, a fridge isn't an option. I'm still in high school, so I have to carry whatever I bring. I usually force my container either into my purse or my bookbag. I don't know if the breatmilk thing will fit, but I'll check it out.

[JAnn]

If your store carries dry curd cottage cheese, it has zero carbs. I sometimes add a little cream to it to make it milkier without the carbs.

[Elizellen]

Cottage cheese is reintroduced on the dairy rung of OWL - a 5 net carb serving is quite a lot extra to your 3-4 ounces of allowed cheese on induction! So as long as you are not still on induction it would be fine.

[KvonM]

wow... good to know about the cottage cheese. it's one of those things i REALLY have to be in the mood for, but every so often...

lbwhite, do you have a locker? or anyplace where you can store stuff? if so, a thermal lunch bag with a ziploc-icepack would work to keep stuff nice and cold.

[Elizellen]

2.) I hate salad...I mean, I can't stand it.
how about all the other salad vegetables on the induction list?
Radishes, cucumber, mushrooms, celery, red and green peppers, etc, etc?
'Salad vegetables' doesnt just mean lettuce!

And you can also have one cup of the other list if you only have 2 cups of the 'salad' list!

What sort of container are you using that lets dressing get warm in only 5 hours? Use one with an ice pack, or freeze a 3/4 full bottle of water overnight to help keep already chilled food cool.

[lbwhite89]

Yes, I have a locker, but I don't get a lot of time to go to it. As a matter of fact, I only go once during the day, and it's not directly before or after lunch.

And yes, I know lettuce isn't he only salad vegetable, but that's why I'm having a hard time with the vegetable portion of this diet. I don't like ANY raw vegetables. I mean, none. And there are only about 2 that I like cooked. I've tried them all but I just can't hack it.

[Newbirth]

Cottage cheese is reintroduced on the dairy rung of OWL - a 5 net carb serving is quite a lot extra to your 3-4 ounces of allowed cheese on induction! So as long as you are not still on induction it would be fine.
What she said. A full cup has 8g carbs. I went through a period where I ate it every day until I got sick of it, lol!

[Born2run]

How about carrying an ice pack in your lunchbox? Just a thought

[lbwhite89]

That's the thing. A lunchbox doesn't exactly fit into my schedule. It won't fit in my bookbag and as I said, my locker wouldn't help me out. Plus, I have so many books and projects and all that stuff that I couldn't even carry it if I wanted to. But even so, not many people in high school carry lunchboxes around.

[jkmfrog]

I just wanted to say that this is a tough situation and kudos to you for trying to find ways to make this work regardless of that. Some of the stores, I think walmart is one, sell those individual mayo paks in boxes. See if any stores near you do.

As far as veggies go, I disliked a lot of them and salad drsssings too until i got into my 20s. tastebuds become more desensitized over time, but until then stick with what you like and keep trying things now and then to see if your tastes change.

The thing I thought of that's not yet suggested is to find a sympathetic teacher, cafeteria worker, or other staff who would be willing to store your thermal pack somewhere near/in the cafeteria so you can pick it up on the way to lunch. If you had an illness that required a certain diet/way of eating they would have to make some accomodations and I think this is no different. I'm pretty sure however that doing anything to point out that you are eating different or anything that singles you out is difficult, so I'm only suggesting it as another way stick with this under these circumstances.

[Newbirth]

There's lunch carries that aren't lunchboxes. Check Walgreens or some such. They have all sorts of coolers. I had one with a long strap that I could wear over a shoulder and across my chest if my bag was too full.

[joesfolks]

At the dollar store I picked up an insulated baby bottle carrier. I put a couple of ice cubes in a zip lock bag and after I put my hubbys meds in the carrier I put the ice on top and zip it shut. This keeps his meds cool all day and I am sure it would do the same thing for your dresing. Just brown bag your lunch with one of these carriers for your dressing and you should be fine.

[Dillinger5]

I don't know if you are near a Fred Meyers store, but the one near me has these really cool looking small purses that are lined and are actually lunch bags! Maybe do a search on the web and look at different "lunch boxes" to meet your needs. Also it would be great if you were some teachers "pet"..... maybe he or she would keep your lunch in the fridge in the teachers lounge. :)

[Born2run]

That is what I meant anyway, an insulated bag you could carry, that way you wouldn't feel so foolish.

[IrishShrty]

How about a fanny pack around your waist?

[Glamourous]

hey lbwhite, i'm in the same situation as you are (except i'm in college) I can totally understand that you wouldn't want to carry a lunchbag of any sort. What I usually do is keep whatever i'm bringing to school in my car, that way I just run and get it when i'm hungry. It was tough in the summer because i would need soo many ice packs to keep the food cool but now that its cooler its not so much a problem (and i'm in california) Usually I'll take those prepackaged bags of tuna and eat that. I don't know if you have a Smart and Final near you but they sell individaul things of mayonaise. Sometimes I put cold peices of chicken in a tupperware along with cheese and cucumbers and celery. I hope that helps.