What to pack a healthy lunch (can't warm )

Naubby

I'll be going to a music festival in Austin TX on Friday. I will also be taking a couple hikes. I'd like to avoid all the fast and fat foods and bring my lunch. And I won't be able to heat it up of course. Any suggestions? Trying to stay under 500 calories for lunch as well.

Sued0nim

If you can't take a pre-heated flask then a sandwich

dizzieblondeuk

Raw veggies - carrots, celery, peppers etc - cut into chunky batons and in little plastic bag. If you can get hold of the little, disposable, plastic pots with lids, fill a couple with hummus or an avocado dip. You can actually freeze the pots, and just take them out before you leave home. They will, of course, be defrosted by lunchtime, but it's a useful way to do things, if you don't want to haul around relatively heavy ice-packs in your lunch bag. I'd also put a load of grapes in another plastic bag - you can even freeze them, to ensure they're at least a little cold! Then add in stuff that is easily transportable - small bag of unflavoured pita chips, low-sugar granola bar, little bag of unsalted nuts etc - that are also easy grab-and-go snacks.

Finally, it's always worth checking out the festival website, in advance. They'll often say which food vendors are attending. You'd be surprised just how many festivals these days have a real profusion of 'real food' type small suppliers - often with pretty healthy options. The last two festivals I attended were fantastic for food choices - and one food truck in particular, served amazing vegan Indian food, and had incredibly filling, nutritious meals, all falling under that 500 cal limit. The lentil curry they had was one of my favourite Indian foods I've ever eaten! At the very least, you can work out which vendors are absolute no-nos, and make very wide circles around them to avoid their delicious aromas of cooking!

kelsielumadue

Thjs is not what you asked for, but... I live in Austin and have gone to ACL several times. The food at ACL is amazing, and they do bag checks at the gate (don't allow any food to be brought in). I might suggest trying to find food there that you could attempt to track? I think there is a list of food vendors on the website that you could look at ahead of time to see if that's an option. You're going to be doing a lot of walking - stay hydrated and have fun!

MarcyKirkton

Subway sanwich?

SimoneBee12

kelsj8 wrote: »

Thjs is not what you asked for, but... I live in Austin and have gone to ACL several times. The food at ACL is amazing, and they do bag checks at the gate (don't allow any food to be brought in).

I was going to say this too, a lot of music festivals don't allow you to bring food in, they barely let you take in water, normally it has to be in a sealed, unopened bottle. Which is horrible in the heat when they don't provide a lot of water.

Definitely check the website about being able to bring in food. You don't want to take a backpack of food and have to throw it out and just carry around an empty bag all day, you want to carry as little as possible.

Just have a look at what food is available and eat sensibly, you'll be moving a lot so it will make up for some of it. Just don't go crazy and have a maintenance day!

HamsterManV2

You can make homemade granola bars and stuff them in a bag - it should be easy to sneak it in depending on how you pack.

Naubby

Thank you all. It's now Sunday the 11th and I'm just seeing these. I brought a packed lunch and they didn't even check but they did have these fried avacodo wraps with slaw I tried that were amazing so thanks for your feedback! I burned atleast 1500 calories a day so far so it's easier than I thought and I am on track!