Need Lunch Ideas

I am 11 years post op RNY, so I shouldn't have any problems coming up with healthy lunch ideas.  But I do!!  I am a full time nursing student.  I do not have access to a refrigerator to store fresh food in.  Last semester I took tuna salad almost every day because the kits were easy and cheap, but I am tired of them.  So I am asking for ideas that are high in protein, easy to fix, and don't need refrigeration.  I also have a commute to school, it is about 90 minutes each way.  Luckily I carpool and we don't stop at fastfood, but I also need ideas for breakfast.  Any input would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Stephanie E

You may want to check out the daily "what are you eating today" posts on this board. There are tons of ideas in those.

Well, I'd eat breakfast in the car.  I usually have a protein shake for breakfast, but a protein bar, or yogurt, or a cup of oatmeal with protein powder added would all be easy to eat on the drive.

For lunch, can you use an ice pack to keep food cold?  Then you could take yogurt, cottage cheese, salads, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, chicken salad or egg salad, etc.  Or fresh veggies and hummus.  Oh, and I love apples with almond butter.

I refuse to put any food in the disgusting refrigerator in our break room, so I carry an insulated lunch box with an insertable ice pack.  It keeps my food cold all day, so I can bring anything I want for the day.  I would suggest investing in one of these. 

If you use a cooler bag with one of the freezable gel packs, you can expand your range of foods. I find it keeps my lunch quite cool even after 3-4 hours.

As for breakfast ideas, check out the bariatric foodie website. She has some really good breakfast ideas. The world according to eggface site has some really good sounding "egg bites" I'm planning on making this weekend. Those could work for you, as well.

As many of the other posters mentioned, getting some sort of insulated bag would make lunch options much easier!

I got one of these bento boxes: http://goo.gl/KWi9pk (this is a link on Amazon, I got mine at Homegoods for like $6.99). The center piece is a gel filled cold pack thingy and the top containers actually sit down in it so those items stay really cold.

Accidentally left my lunch in the car the other day and about 3 hours later I remembered it - the bento was right in the sun, but everything was still really nice and cold, even in the hot car in direct sun. 

Perhaps something like this would be a good option for you! Oh and the World According to Eggface has a lot of great bento lunch ideas.

Maybe along with the insulated packs, depending on how many hours it is until you eat lunch, you could freeze something and then it would be thawed by the time you ate it ?? I don't think this would work with all types of food, but some would.