meat and grain free packed lunches that taste nice cold?
m6277
Posts: 7 Member
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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Can you get yourself an insulated lunch box?0
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »Can you get yourself an insulated lunch box?
I wish, can't afford it at the moment!0 -
Why are you eating meat AND grain free? What does that leave? Vegetables and beans?0
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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.
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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.0
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Hummus and carrots, yogurt, hard boiled eggs...0
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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!0
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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.0
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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!0
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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
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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
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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!0 -
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!0 -
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.0 -
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!).
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).0 -
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.0
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