Help needed - Working away from home

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Bex2BeSlim
Bex2BeSlim Posts: 12
in Food and Nutrition
Morning all,

I currently work away from home. I live in a B&B while I am away Sun-Thurs (sometimes weekends too) and my workplace is a cabin on a construction site, so I have very limited resources. I have a microwave only for cooking and I don't have access to tools for chopping / prepping at the B&B as there are no washing up facilities, but I do at work, within reason.

So any tits, advice, meal idea's are gratefully received.

Thanks in advance for your help :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Does the B and B serve food?
    Are you asking about lunches at the work site?
    Microwave lunches: microwave oatmeal and dried fruit or applesauce, baked potato with salsa, baked apples.
    Also good for the microwave: rice and nuts.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,719 Member
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    I would probably survive on microwaved jacket potatoes with baked beans and pre-packaged salad and raw veg dipped in hummous. Raw veg you won't need to chop are green beans, mange touts, radishes. You can poach eggs in the microwave too, though it is not possible to get a runny yolk because fatty substances cook faster in the microwave. Not so diet friendly, but for this reason bacon crisps up a treat in the microwave. Wrap up in paper towels first. I crisp up turkey salami this way in the microwave too. I melt cheese on Ryvita or Finn Crisps in the microwave. Although normal bread in the microwave is yuck, I get satisfactory results melting cheese on pumpernickel bread.

    Also no cook foods like beef jerky, nuts, fruit, yoghurt. For variety, an occasional low calorie ready meal.
  • FatJockSing
    FatJockSing Posts: 164 Member
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    Hi - have been in a similar situation myself (also construction site based).

    I found Food Monotony to be the solution - i.e. I found 2 to 3 daily meal plans that met met my requiremetns and just repeated ad nauseum!!

    Good food suggestions from acpgee (wish I had been THAT varied!!) - I used nuts, cerals, fruit, jerky, protein powders (meat was difficult to keep fresh and to but on a daily/regular basis) peanut butter and brown bread.

    I would take a weeks supply - put them in the site offices fridge and just grind through it. Not very glamourous, but i managed to not gain and I kept my sanity.

    Good Luck!
  • Bex2BeSlim
    Bex2BeSlim Posts: 12
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    Thanks guys
  • Bex2BeSlim
    Bex2BeSlim Posts: 12
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    Bump
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,719 Member
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    Some labour intensive ideas:
    -if you cook in batches on the weekend you could heat up individual servings of stews and casseroles
    -you could consider getting a slow cooker for either the office or b&b

    Other microwave foods: I blanch vegetables in the microwave. Any veg you could blanch or steam can be cooked in the microwave. Tinned soups decanted into a plastic or glass container. You could make tinned soups heartier by tossing in tinned chick peas or beans.
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
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    Well you're in a tricky situation, aren't you?!

    Purely for convenience I'd be looking at prepared salads from the supermarkets, or microwave meals. Most chains are now doing balanced / low fat / high protein / fuller longer options and some of them are only around the 400-500 calorie mark. Some are higher as well, so check the labels!

    If you stay away from cheesey / mayonnaisey type prepared salads you can keep the calories down and add some cooked chicken / ham / prawns to add protein / bulk. Sainsbury's do nice little salad "kits" that include separate dressings and cheeses / other bits to add. There's also those bags / pots of pre-cut veg and fruit that all the supermarkets do.

    This, of course, assumes you have easy access to supermarkets! And a bit of spare cash, I guess!

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