I need to start bringing my breakfast and lunch to work. The only decent place for food in my area is Starbucks but my account and wasitline are suffering. I work at various schools in a low-performing district that is one of the poorest in the country and the school my office is at does not have a microwave or coffee maker or fridge. I also do not eat beef or pork and I don't like veggie salads. Sometimes I am driving all day so I need things that are easy to eat. I frequently drink coffee instead of eating and feel tired and fatigued from this habit. Any help would be greatley appreciated! I am such a picky eater and not having access to a microwave is tough!
Sandwiches are the easiest bet ~ easy to make, easy to eat even on the road. If you've the opportunity to sit and eat lunch (as opposed to driving whilst eating) why not make a pasta salad? Pasta is filling, and you can add the veggies you like with it. Given the fact that you don't like veggie salads, are there raw veggies you do like? Carrying around a tupperware or baggie filled with chopped veggies like baby carrots or sweet peppers or whatever you like is also good and conveniet to eat in the car. Healthy alternatives that are also filling are things like granola bars, oatmeal cookies, muffins, or just raw granola you can eat with your hands quite easily and are also inexpensive, especially if you want to/can put the effort into making your own. An alternative to coffee ~ which would be healthier and wont bog you down ~ is fruit juice. Coffee (or anything caffinated) dehydrates you, which is probably why you feel tired, so bring a bottle of water with you. If it gets too hot in your car to carry water, you can always freeze a bit of water in the bottle overnight, and then just fill with water, it'll stay cool all day.
I love the pasta salad idea! Because of your mention I am going to make one tonight I think with whole wheat penne, veggies and feta. I don't like raw veggies at all. I am a huge fruit eater, but only like it cut up-into bite size pieces. The oatmeal cookies is a great idea too! I make awesome ones with pecans and bittersweet chocolate with bannanas instead of eggs. I never thought to make them for myself though! I make cookies or muffins for my staff meetings, but never just for me. Same with cooking-I hardly ever cook for myself but love to for other people. I think treating myself and my heath as well as I treat other people will pay off for me big time. In high school I hated sandwiched so my mom would pack me peanut butter and bananas on a cinnmon rasin bagel.-everyday because I wouldn't eat anything else. i think I am really going to make a go of this. I am supossed to be off next week but have to go in tommorow to sign time cards and am going to bring something yummy and healthy! Thank you so much for your great ideas! BTW-How hard is it to learn how to knit? I crochet now, but do not know how to knit.
Oh and I can't stop the coffee ): ! I am going to try and just stick with my one cup in the morning (but not starbucks or overpriced-sugar-ladden mochas) and drink iced yerba matte the rest of the day. I should quit because I do have a bit of an anxiety problem and I did quit for quite awhile. I picked it up again the other month ):
oh man, i love yogart granola bars, they are always good for a snack. along with the pasta salad, you can always have a fruit salad. they are easy to make, yummy straberrys banannas apples oranges... im so hungry now!! umwhat else... also some gas stations have microwaves now a days. you can always get on the go soups and stuff like that
I believe that the thing that made brownbagging easier for me was buying some useable containers - Tupperware, Rubbermaid, etc. I always thought a Japanese "bento" set would be the ultimate brownbagger luxury. Let's face it - you're already fighting an uphill battle. You need things easy to prepare, easy to carry, and often you need things that are good (or at least edible) cold. Trying to add the restriction of "things that won't end up a mess when packed in a baggie" makes it even harder. I ended up going out to eat (selective) fast foods, but not because of those problems. Where I worked no one would let you alone to eat lunch in peace if you stayed on premise. Had that not been the case, I would have bought a spiffy bento and filled it the night beforehand.
