Fast Foodd?!?!?!

I try to pack my lunch everyday, but I work in a funeral home and get called away at anytime for many different reasons, and may or may not have remembered to bring my lunch with me when I got called, so on the way back to the office or if we got called out of town we usually swing through drive thru to grab something "quick" to "hold us over" until supper time.

What an interesting job you must have! I bet you have a story or two you could tell us.

So the first thing I'd like to say is, all hope is not lost - there definitely are some solid solutions for this issue!

One is the great recommendations people have made on here about healthier choices you can make at the drive-thru. Great advice because you'll definitely need that as a back up on occasion.

But what I'd like to suggest/challenge you on, will be infinitely better for you and possibly even more fun and interesting.

First, I suggest you invest in a few things:

*A couple of small coolers (not like little lunch bag-types, I mean like the medium-sized soft kind you'd take to a ball game with drinks in them)
*re-useable ice packs
*re-useable plastic utensils
*tupperware containers
*a few thermoses, large and small
*reuseable water bottles
*hand wipes
*napkins
*plastic grocery bags

What are you going to do with these things? You are going to start making your own "to-go" food and they're going to travel with you, in the car, wherever you go.

On Saturday, think through what you'd like to have the following week, make your menus, then your shopping list, then cook your food/assemble your stuff on Sunday.

For example - is it going to be really cold next week? Then how about a nice warm crockpot chicken casserole of some sort that incorporates chicken, vegetables, sauce, and maybe noodles or whole wheat dumplings/biscuits? Keep the pan in the fridge, and each morning before you leave, heat up a serving and stuff it into the thermos. It will keep hot until it's time to eat. Even if you're driving, you can pop open that thermos and have a hot and delicious casserole which is contained in the thermos (i.e., won't get all over the place). Casseroles are extremely versatile, taste great, and contain all the items you need for a good, hot meal: meat, vegetables, and some kind of rice/noodle/biscuit, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Or, you can make kabobs with meat and veggies, pull them off the sticks, and put them in a big baggie. Again, each day pull out a serving, heat it up and stick it in the thermos to keep it hot. Even easier to eat in the car.

How about cold things? Salad-in-a-jar is a great way to go. Cut up veggies and deli meat and cheese on Sunday and keep them in baggies. Each morning, put some dressing in the bottom of the jar, then layer several of those items in the jar, leaving some room in the top of the jar. Keep it in the cooler. In the car, simply shake up the jar , twist open the cap, and eat while driving. Again - the jar contains the mess.

What about deconstructed sandwiches? Cubes of bread, turkey, ham, cheese, tomato in a tupperware container with a little tiny container of "dip"? How would this be different than chicken mcnuggets with sauce? Answer: not any different.

Or what about wrap sandwiches in tortillas? Make them up in the morning, wrap tightly in foil, and unwrap just like a mcsnack wrap in the car. Again, possibilities are endless with that one!

Crackers, cheese, cubed up fresh veggies, veggie-based chips, cubed up fruit, cubed up meat, non-spillable "dips" (like spinach dip, or alouette cheese spreads) - these are other ideas.

Of course the drinks are easy - you could even make fruit and yogurt smoothies and keep them in your re-useable bottles, keep in the cooler, shake before drinking, and enjoy.

Be sure to pack your utensils, napkins, wipes, and a grocery bag in the cooler.

Do this every day during the week and I promise, you'll be happier, and healthier, and most of all PROUD that you took care of yourself so well! What do you think?

Or, you could just not eat lunch?

With all due respect, I would reject this suggestion wholeheartedly.....