Now I am just kinda starting to get a hang on this...now I have to start packing a lunch to work...my first real test now!

I just finished my last semester of full-time university, when times were tough I turned to quick carbs for lunch and snacks.. my new job is a 35hr work week each day starting around 9am...

See I have been doing quite well with CAD when I roll out of bed around 10am have breakfast, then lunch at 2 and dinner at 6... Eating breakfast ~ 8am and then lunch at noonish....with no snacks might be a problem for me...

Any ideas for lunches?

Can I eat a Atkins Bar or 3 carb bar for lunch??

would it really hurt to have a complementary snack??

Have you found any fast-food places with some type of food you can get pre-made??

Thanks for helping me out with any suggestions you can!!

I know some people have problems with restaurant foods, but in a pinch I have one of the new salads from McDonalds or Taco Salad from Taco Bell minus the shell.

When I take my lunch to work, I either take a salad or if you cook up a chicken breast and veggie the night before and then just throw it in the microwave..it can be yummy.

Good Luck..

ps. the CALP book does allow one LC snack. You might also try skipping breakfast. If I eat breakfast, I am hungry before noon.

One of my favorite lunches is salad with roast beef rolled up on top. I also like egg salad or tuna served over a lettuce salad and mixed in as you eat it. Another is roast beef wrapped around a string cheese. Also if you can find sausage without a
lot of additives, its easy to cook up a bunch at once to bring to work to warm up to have with a salad. Good luck with your new schedule.

hi!
i totally understand your frustration! if we coud just be HOME all the time.........it would be so easy, well, maybe not

what do you have for breakfast? i find that if i have an omelete, it holds my appetite for 4-5 hours. thats GREAT! you could also makea quiche with lots of veggies, cut and freeze for quick meals on the go. some even do them in muffin tins, just spray the pan well!

and also as someone said, on CALP you can have a snack. as long as its balanced, protein and veg/fiber.

i personally would skip the atkins bar. i know i have used them in the past. i just switched to CALP from atkins 2 days ago.

GOOD LUCK!
lots of snack ideas available.....and some can be used for lunch too!

celery with cream cheese
tuna salad
strips of veggies and some meat
deviled eggs
and LEFTOVERS! plan ahead!

Thanks for the tips!!

I'll have to plan ahead

"I didn't plan to fail, I failed to plan" -????

but I won't let that happen to me..

Subway salads aren't bad - bring your own LC dressing, though. They will make any of their sandwiches into a salad (i.e. bed of lettuce + whatever else you want. But they don't have much of a choice in dressings. Is there a fridge where you work? Maybe you can keep a bottle of dressing you like where you know how many carbs per Tbsp there?

Near where I work, there is a Save On Foods, too.. and they usually have cooked chicken - breasts, wings and legs. Some are breaded, but there is usually "plain", too. That and a bag of Caesar salad (throw out the croutons) and I'm all set for the days I don't have time to bring my own.

You can also have a burger (even 2 patty ones) and just not eat the bun (try to scrape off as much ketchup as possible). The other evening I was at Costco and had a polish, loaded it up with all the toppings and ate it *out* of the bun.. Satisfied my craving just fine!

So far I havn't been able to get my act together far enough inadvance to bring a lunch. Each day of the past week I have come home for lunch...cooked some chicken or meatballs and have a salad..

I wish there was an easier way!! well I guess I know there is but I guess I'm a little bit lazy to prepare inadvance...

I have been able to go to McDonalds and get some burgers and eat only them not the buns..which I think is an amazing feat for me!

Anyways I would love to hear some more CADers advice with the Lunch Ideas!!

I know that taking my lunch to work is actually helpful for me. Here are a few ideas:

Taco salad.. buy pre-bagged salad.. prepare ground beef and taco seasoning and freeze in those little snack bags. Add some shreaded cheese to the salad and microwave the little bag of meat and toss on top.

Deviled eggs.. always good, or, toss the yellow part and stuff with chicken salad or tuna salad.

Celery with lc peanut butter or cream cheese.

Slim jim, cheese

Do a search on the internet for Low Carb Snacks or lunches.. I found a ton of sites at one time.

Hope this helps :-)

Lisa

well I RM my lunch meal so...but I will tell you what I do for my meal at work...I work nights so that meal in the middle of the night i call my midnight meal....I rarely eat breakfast...even when I am not working and take a late lunch RM.

I bring burger patties
salad
bratwurt with saurcraut
chicken breasts grilled on salad
tuna salad and a fork
steak
pork chop I like smoked ones too from the local meat market
egg salad
deviled eggs
chicken salad homemade...purchased has sugar

but I am lucky and have a fridge and microwave at my disposal. You could use a little cooler or insulated lunch bag with those re-usable re-freezable blue ice pack to keep food good if you didn't have a fridge

Some great ideas...My goal is to this week bring a lunch atleast one day instead of wasting most of my time driving home to cook myself a lunch!!

Thanks for all the ideas!

Thought I would add on this thread to see if we could get any more ideas going....

One thing I've been finding these past few days is that I am eating out ALOT....Salads etc... Gotta get it together

You could also make a big stir-fry the night before and bring some of that for lunch.

I would sometimes throw a frozen chicken breast or two on my indoor grill with some season salt(Hamilton Beach makes a grill with removeable grids for very easy cleaning and a 15 minute timer). I would cook it while showering and getting dressed.

Grab some veggies, throw the chicken in a container and you're ready to go.

Other times, I might start a veggie omelet on a very slow flame and cook that while I was getting ready.

I'm lucky enough to be able to go home and eat lunch, so I don't have to worry about take-out food temptations.

i bring my lunch to work. I enjoy it better cause i am always in fear of hidden carbs and MSG.THE MAIN TRIGGER IN TAKE OUT FOOD. So for peace of mind.....i'll make the extra effort.