Hello

[dunroven]

Well, I'm sort of back but not completely at the moment. However, I am trying. Here's the deal, hubby has a job now and has to take his lunch/supper. I'm trying to find low carb stuff that doesn't have to be microwaved or heated up, is good cold and will withstand very high temperatures this summer.

Hubby will be eating some lunches, some suppers. He has no access to microwave or refrigerator and has to eat at varying times. He needs to loose roughly 100 pounds as do I, and we don't have a lot of time for cooking or prep, so this needs to be something that we can throw together in about 5 minutes as he is rushing out the door.

[Annie1gi]

Hello and welcome back, good luck to the both of you!!!!

Annie

[MizKitty]

Are you wanting suggestions?

[ldypgmr]

I too work in a hot environment upon occasion. I use the refreezable ice bags to help keep things cool. I use plastic containers to store my food, packing them the night before, then I just throw things in my thermal lunch bag in the morning and I am on the road.....


Welcome back!!

[dunroven]

Yes, I sure am. I need all the help I can get with this issue. Another site I post on was all about casseroles, and sandwiches and pasta and soup, and of course, the cookies, chips, and puddings. I thought geez people I did say we wanted to lose weight, not balloon up! LOL

[dunroven]

Anyone got ideas?

[diemde]

I eat beef sticks and I'm sure they'd hold up in the heat. Almonds would be great for snacks. I don't pack my lunch, so can't help too much, though. You might also look in the kitchen forum to see if there is anything posted there.

Good luck!

[MizKitty]

dunroven, here's an older thread that might have some ideas for you. That is a tough situation!

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=315923

[kathleen24]

I have a suggestion, but it might seem a little contrary to what you're looking for.

He needs to get a little `six-pack' cooler, like construction workers use for lunch boxes. They have stuff out in the hot sun, and they have to eat to keep going. So he gets one of those, and 3-4 of those little ice packs that are made for keeping those coolers cool. Also, a big 'ol thermos, the kind tha will hold a substantial portion of the water he needs to drink.

That's step one, here's the ugly part.

You've GOT to find time for food prep. No one else loves you enough to do it right for you. That does not mean you have to cook every day--once every couple of weeks should do it. If he's the kind of guy that will eat the same thing happily day after day, it'll be easier. Have a marathon cooking session where you barbecue 4 or 5 quartered chickens, and then freeze them individually in ziplock baggies (date them so you can rotate.)

Or dump a few pounds of boneless, skinless chicken meat in the crock pot and dump in a jar of salsa. After it's done cooking, put them in those little disposable/reusable lunch containers, and stack them in the freezer for quick grabbing. Dollop of sour cream on there and it's goooood.

Run a search on here for Donald's Deep Dish Pizza Quiche.

Then all he has to do is pull one or two out of the freezer in the morning, throw it in the cooler and he's got a good start on a meal.

Buy a Costco box of those little squeezy containers of condiments--mayo, mustard, salad dressing, etc.

Each weekend, buy a bunch of raw veggies, like salad greens, peppers, celery, etc. Keep a large bag of shredded cheddar on hand. Wash up the greens and rip or cut them into salad sized pieces, and bag it up so he can grab the container, and make a salad on the run.

Get yourself some of those little reusable plastic lidded containers and keep them on hand for salads, etc.

Napkins, a little salt and pepper container than can live in the lunchbox.

Canned tuna or salmon in portion-sized servings with the flip-top lids.

If he can cultivate a taste for cold soups, they can be very refreshing--like a chicken/veggie/clear broth soup or salmon/celery/onion soup. Sounds a little weird, but GOOD on a hot day.

So here's the morning drill: he starts cold water running in the sink, grabs the lunchbox from off of the counter (where he rinsed it and left it to drain the night before, grabs a chicken breast out of the freezer, throws it in the lunchbox.

He dumps a tray of ice cubes into the thermos, adds some lemon juice, a few drops of liquid sucralose, and tops it off w/cold water from the sink. (An alternative would be to prepare a few of those very tough water bottles the night before, and stick them in the freezer.) The lemon juice will help his body adjust to the heat.

Then he takes the pre-ready salad bag out of the frig, transfers a portion to one of the little lidded containers, throws on some grated cheese, Costco Canadian chicken, pops the top on, pops that in the cooler. Better yet, on Sunday night, line up five of those little suckers and do an assembly-line salad for each day of the week. Costco also carries some really good pre-cooked bacon bits.

He throws in a few sticks of string cheese if he gets hungry between meals.

Grabs some of the condiment packets, mayo for chicken, dressing for salad, a couple of disposable napkins, a few paper cups for his lemonade, and he's put together a pretty decent lunch in the time that it takes to brush his teeth.

Unless he's a firefighter, he can take the time to do that on his way to work, even if he only has ten minutes notice to head out the door.

Another good dish is a crustless quiche--there's good recipes around here for that. I've found these keep surprisingly well right through the week if I make it on Sunday. They make great out-of-hand breakfasts, too, or can travel in one of those little containers I mentioned above, w/a dollop of sour cream.

He could also take some frozen strawberries or blueberries, throw them in one of those containers, sprinkle on some sweetener, and pour on some cream.

By the time he's ready to eat, the frozen foods should be thawed perfectly.

If he depends upon salty preserved foods for his meals, he'll get tired of them in a hurry, and he may lose weight, but he's not taking very good care of himself in the process.

And that's something we all have to come to terms with--it does take time to take good care of yourself, but you should, really. And there are shortcuts.

I usually pack breakfast (because I don't like eating too early, want to get my water in first) and lunch, and manage to stay LC in the process. We all have to find accommodations that work in the long run for us.

Good luck--I realize that this thread is a few months old, but hope this response is still helpful.