STUDENTS: Easy portable meals to eat on the go?!!

someonelikemyself

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a student with a hectic schedule, it's so hard for me to pack foods and eat them wherever i go. My classes are consecutive, and foods with a fork are hard to eat given the time i have and the limited amount of things i can carry. Does anyone have any good ideas that would prevent me from pigging out once i'm back home! Something light low carb low fat but filling??!
Note: I prefer things that don't take much space in my bag because of the books. But if needed i'll make it happen.
I hate how the foods at school are unhealthy and i end up eating them because i don't have options except for V8!

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

alc212

You can do heaps if you get a small insulated 'lunch box':
Rice Paper Rolls
Sandwiches
Sushi
Small Salad (add some cooked quinoa or brown rice to beef it up)
Cold pancakes (healthy of course, I use protein powder, an egg, frozen berries & almond meal in mine - sometimes banana too)
A hard-boiled egg
Carrot & celery sticks

You can also carry around high protein snacks, ready made bars, or look up recipes to make your own.
If you like your protein powder with just water, you can get shakers that keep the powder in a separate compartment until you're ready to drink it, just pop some ice in with the water to keep it cold and mix it up when you're ready.

someonelikemyself

Thank you!!! I really am thinking of buying protein shakes:)

arl1286

Wraps! Take up no space, you control what goes in them, and you can eat them with one hand.

MadDogManor

I bought my daughter a Zojirushu bento box with 4 containers in it. It was cylindrical and could fit in her book bag. She was able to take soup, rice or pasta, a small portion of bread and fruit or veggies, each in its separate compartment. It cost about $50 on amazon, but was worth every penny her senior year of high school!

googlebear123

rice and bean in a tuppaware tub

Carnivor0us

Seconding the bento idea. I do low carb bentos all the time. Super fast and easy.

I personally prefer Monbento brand bentos.

Weaz66

If you have something to keep it in, so papers and books don't get wet from condensation off bottle as it thaws, I make a smoothie shake: yogurt, fresh fruit, protein powder and freeze it overnight. The next day I take it with me and til it thaws by noon I'm ready for a nice refreshing shake! Its great tasting, healthy and makes me feel full.

howardge

Cook and freeze stuff for later! I'm a Ph.D. student and this has been a pretty essential part of getting good nutrition while classes are on. Make big batches of healthy soup and freeze them in little individual mason jars-- then you just microwave them. I've also been a big fan of packing a slice of quiche (with healthy or no crust), wraps, hummus, whole pieces of fruit, KIND bars (some are healthier than others- i do the almond walnut macadamia bar). Greek yogurt is good, too.

I also went on this healthy muffin kick. Bake a big batch, put them in the freezer wrapped individually in plastic. They thaw out by lunch time.

Also, these:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-spiced-lentil-sweet-potato-and-kale-whole-wheat-pockets-181100

Don't be intimidated by the recipe- these are totally doable, they freeze and thaw BEAUTIFULLY. You don't even need to microwave them or put them in the toaster.

Thekitchn has a lot of really great "lunch on the go" type ideas-- you should check it out. Not all of them are healthy, but they test their recipes out and have some really great ideas. Here is one link to a collection, but they've got so many more ideas:
www.thekitchn.com/pack-your-lunch-our-favorite-recipes-amp-tips-189606

Also- BEEF JERKY! Make your own!!! You can mess with the flavorings and you can control the ingredients, and it is a great source of mid-day protein!

Good luck!!!

howardge

Oh! I thought of more things!

Nut butter! You can get little condiment sized lunch containers and fill them with nut butter. There are companies that make little packets of almond butter or peanut butter, but they can be kind of pricey. You can dip apple slices or celery sticks in there.

I've also been a big fan of oatmeal lately. Steel cut oats are amazing! If you grease a muffin tin (I use coconut oil) you can put steel cut oats in the individual cups. Freeze them, pop them out of the pan, and store in the freezer. You just grab one and throw it in a tupperware (you can bring some soy milk or something to mix in if you want). It'll thaw out by lunch time. Go ahead and add some spices and fruits and nut to the oatmeal before freeze it! Try adding a little pumpkin puree (it tastes like pumpkin pie!)

cyndiwilliams1198

bump

nicole595

Pepperoni sticks are my favorite!

wtfwhyaretheyalltaken

Thirding the Bento box. You can get a whole bunch of different types. The one I have has three compartments, but they're stacked on top of each other with a space in between for a knife and fork.
I usually cook a big stir fry or something at the start of the week and bring some of that in. And some sliced apple and peanut butter. The lunchbox fits into that corner of my bag they books don't quite fill. So handy!

someonelikemyself

Oh my God you're all amazing. Thank you so much for the great ideas. I will definitely try getting the bento box. "
"Howardge"I appreciate your enthusiasm how sweet. I will try having the healthy muffins, i heard of them before but was reluctant to actually try them out i thought they're all lies until now.

Carnivor0us

Here's an example of my bento for yesterday:




And today:

fruttibiscotti

Here's an example of my bento for yesterday:




And today:

Very nice, especially the scotch eggs!

Carnivor0us

Here's an example of my bento for yesterday:




And today:

Very nice, especially the scotch eggs!

Thanks! They're a huge pain in the *kitten* to make...worth it though.

FFfitgirl

I use a blender bottle and do half my protein shake coffee, and torani sugar free syrup (either hazelnut, or chocolate cookie dough). They end up being 80 cals with 15 grams of protein. I take a couple of those to school to save calories for dinner