meat and grain free packed lunches that taste nice cold?

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m6277
m6277 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm trying to lose weight and looking for some healthy packed lunch ideas (300-400 calories) to take to college with me. We don't have a fridge or microwave there and I don't have an insulated lunch box so it needs to keep at room temperature in my bag for 4-5 hours and still taste nice. Haven't tried tofu yet but I'm not a fan of soya! I'm out of ideas, any help would be appreciated!!

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  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Can you get yourself an insulated lunch box?
  • m6277
    m6277 Posts: 7 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Can you get yourself an insulated lunch box?

    I wish, can't afford it at the moment!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Why are you eating meat AND grain free? What does that leave? Vegetables and beans?
  • Azuriaz
    Azuriaz Posts: 785 Member
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    BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
    Why are you eating meat AND grain free? What does that leave? Vegetables and beans?

    It's quite doable. Lots of veggies, maybe eggs and cheese if not vegan, nuts, seeds, fruit, dried fruit, every variety of potato, B12 if not eating eggs and cheese is the only thing missing from a well-balanced vegan diet, but I hope OP isn't full on vegan, because that diet is way too expensive for someone who can't afford a cooler pack! Or I found it to be, anyway.

  • 42firm03
    42firm03 Posts: 115 Member
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    Lentil salad. Lentils plus crunchy veggies you like (celery, onion, carrots) dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Lots of protein and fiber. Yummy too. No frig needed.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    Hummus and carrots, yogurt, hard boiled eggs...
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    Really any kind of salad will do. As long as the only dairy there is some salty cheese... That stuff will last you 4-5 hours. Experiment with different fruit and vegetables!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,583 Member
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    Apple with peanut butter. Dry roasted soybeans (if that's not too soya for you - I don't know if you dislike it, or are worried about the phytoestrogens or what) or dry-roasted nuts and any whole fruit.
  • bluemaine1212
    bluemaine1212 Posts: 19 Member
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    beans, rice, vegetables, fruit, hummus, nuts - all great choices, require no refrigeration and can be very economical if you eat in season!
  • tcaley4
    tcaley4 Posts: 416 Member
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    Look at this thread on using Bento boxes. The whole concept of bento is exactly what you are talking about.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10043413/using-bento-boxes-for-lunches#latest
  • m6277
    m6277 Posts: 7 Member
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    BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
    Why are you eating meat AND grain free? What does that leave? Vegetables and beans?

    I'm trying the vegetarian route and cutting down on unhealthy carbs such as pasta and cous cous

  • m6277
    m6277 Posts: 7 Member
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    Azuriaz wrote: »
    BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
    Why are you eating meat AND grain free? What does that leave? Vegetables and beans?

    It's quite doable. Lots of veggies, maybe eggs and cheese if not vegan, nuts, seeds, fruit, dried fruit, every variety of potato, B12 if not eating eggs and cheese is the only thing missing from a well-balanced vegan diet, but I hope OP isn't full on vegan, because that diet is way too expensive for someone who can't afford a cooler pack! Or I found it to be anyway

    thank you! No, I'm not full on vegan, just trying to go vegetarian and cut down on heavy carbs like pasta!
  • m6277
    m6277 Posts: 7 Member
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    42firm03 wrote: »
    Lentil salad. Lentils plus crunchy veggies you like (celery, onion, carrots) dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Lots of protein and fiber. Yummy too. No frig needed.

    thank you, sounds nice, I'll try it out!
  • m6277
    m6277 Posts: 7 Member
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    cmtigger wrote: »
    Hummus and carrots, yogurt, hard boiled eggs...

    I always worry about how long I can keep yoghurt out of the fridge but I've never had hummus so I'll give it a try, thanks for the suggestion!
  • m6277
    m6277 Posts: 7 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Apple with peanut butter. Dry roasted soybeans (if that's not too soya for you - I don't know if you dislike it, or are worried about the phytoestrogens or what) or dry-roasted nuts and any whole fruit.

    I just don't like the taste of soya but I'll try your other ideas, thanks so much!
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    peanut butter & apples, peanut butter & celery, nuts, seeds, dried fruit; check Pinterest too; you can probably find ideas for lentil/bean salads that only require vinegar/oil, which don't need to be refrigerated.

    Also if you can't get an insulated bag, you can either buy a single ice pack and put into any bag (other than brown paper bag). OR you if you have access to ice, put some ice in the bottom of a plastic gallon bag (I'd probably double bag this). Problem solved.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,583 Member
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    m6277 wrote: »
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Hummus and carrots, yogurt, hard boiled eggs...

    I always worry about how long I can keep yoghurt out of the fridge but I've never had hummus so I'll give it a try, thanks for the suggestion!

    "Real" yogurt (live cultures, non-scientist intelligible ingredients) should be fine for a few hours in moderate temperatures, if you're not bumping right up against the sell-by date, especially. If you can't afford an ice pack (should be only a couple bucks for a tiny one), consider any small water-tight container with a few ice cubes in it, or just freeze a water-tight container (open, until frozen) with water in it (allow some expansion space!).
    m6277 wrote: »
    BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
    Why are you eating meat AND grain free? What does that leave? Vegetables and beans?

    I'm trying the vegetarian route and cutting down on unhealthy carbs such as pasta and cous cous

    I wouldn't call those things "unhealthy", especially if you were eating whole-grain, but I've pretty much cut out those things to lose, too - just not enough nutrition for the number of calories right now. As a similar substitute, you could consider quinoa (34 cal, 1gm protein per ounce, cooked).
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    m6277 wrote: »
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Hummus and carrots, yogurt, hard boiled eggs...

    I always worry about how long I can keep yoghurt out of the fridge but I've never had hummus so I'll give it a try, thanks for the suggestion!

    Yogurt is already spoiled milk, and it is fine out of the fridge for a few hours as long as it's not crazy hot.

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