limited time to eat. what to do?

[deeljay77]

ok so here is my day. wake up at 8 take supps, eat a small meal at 8:30. Then I am at school from 10-2:50, then work 3-9. I have 10 mins between class at 12 and 10 min before work to eat.I can eat at work but have no way to heat it. So I am looking for a low carb protein bar or healthy snacks that I can eat in class. Im not really looking to bring fruit cause I always make a mess. anyone have any suggestions or what would you guys do?

[mex0050]

idk what kinda of food you are eating (what kind of snacks)

but you could have natty pb on ww bread for something clean and easy to pack.

you can always do what I do (my diet is really strict with cleanliness/timing) I'll bring a teeny cooler with my norm of chicken breast/broc and just eat it cold, its really not that bad. Anything you don't mind eating cold can be treated like this...you don't need to reheat, and there are lots of super small cooler-type bags that have pouches on the side which hold cooling ice packs to keep foods cool for a decent amount of time. I use them and have never gotten sick from my food, sometimes left in for 6 hours. My bag stays in AC too though....don't leave in the car or anything!

tuna packets, just slit em open and mow down with a plastic spork (prolly piss off classmates with this one though bc tuna is stank imo)

You can get little plastic bags and put a scoop of whey in and bring a big bottle of water, when you get hungry throw in the whey (make sure it's a kind that has good mixability or you'll be drinking clumpy whey w/o access to a blender)

I know you said no fruit...but bananas are fairly clean bc of the peel.

Sry I can't help with protein bars...I have never tried any, they're too damn expensive for food that's worse for you than reg food, but you could probably find some good meal replacement bars online for kinda cheap if you think this might help.

Maybe someone else has some other recs for you....

[Chaohinon]

you might have to make changes for the low carb thing, but I too have a hectic schedule, and have found homemade granola bars to be pretty effective for eating on the go.

Mix up some almond butter, hempseed butter (or whatever nut butter combinations you'd prefer), quality granola or muesli, raw oats, protein powder, and a couple of large, creamed bananas. Play with the ratios until you hit your desired consistency.

Also, shredded turkey or chicken on a bed of dark greens (spinach, romaine, a little kale or collards), dressed with some cottage cheese. Takes 2 minutes to throw together, and won't get gross if it sits in the fridge for a few hours.

When you have time, whip up and freeze a double or triple batch of kale and roasted vegetable soup (look it up on simplyrecipes.com, I can't post links). Though I'd replace the white beans with chickpeas, and the squash with sweet potatoes. Heat up as you need it.

[dr_robert]

This is the kind of stuff that I take with me when I've got to eat on the go. On my current schedule, that's pretty much every weekday:

-- Granola Bars -- I like Fiber One bars: high fiber, mostly clean carbs, decent amount of protien, relatively low fat, sugar & sodium compared to most alternatives. Some flavors have better macros than others, so read the labels.
-- Power Bar Harvest -- As above, better macros & lower in processed sugar than most alternatives. Ditto on the labels / flavors.
-- Apples & banannas -- Easy to eat in a hurry without making a mess.
-- Whey powder -- Bonus points if it's pre-portioned into a shaker bottle or sandwich bag before you leave the house.
-- Fat free yogurt -- It doesn't keep very long without refrigeration, but a single serving container of yogurt is very portable.
-- Raw almonds, cashews, etc. -- Healthy fats. I have a tendancy to overeat these if I just snack on them, so I never take more than a single serving (1 oz) with me.
-- Tuna fish -- The single serving foil packets are easy to eat right out of the bag... as long as you don't mind the taste of plain tuna.
-- Instant oatmeal -- Not as good as the real thing, but still an option if you have a microwave available.
-- Disposable plastic "silverware" -- If you pack yogurt, bring a spoon, if you pack tuna, bring a fork, etc. This is the thing I most often forget to pack.

Anyway, that should give you a few ideas. You could also get one of those thermal lunchboxes and an ice pack, which would give you even more options (pre-made wraps, pre-cooked chicken breast, fresh veggies, etc.).

Also, Zip-Lock bags are your friend.

-DR


Edit: mex0050 beat me to some of this stuff. Also, mex - love the sig. RIP Mitch.

[deeljay77]

thanks yeah shreaded chicken or turkey might work.I bought some tuna packs but after thinking about it i figured everyone will be looking at me trying to figure out what stinks.Yeah i havnt tried protien bars either but i figured they might get the job done. I know some people on the site make their own with regular whey. anyone have a good recipe?