And so, life happens....

I need some good, solid, shelf stable ideas for protein. My mother has fallen ill and will be hospitalized for quite a while. I came home for the weekend and am trying to prepare for the long road (heading back tomorrow) by getting some things together to take with me. Mornings are fine as I will stay at her house at night and can stock up on greek yogurt for breakfast. I also grabbed some tuna kits at the store and Jacks link tenders, and I will of course have my protein shakes (I did find that the cafe will sell me a cup of soy milk to mix them) and I have a few Quest bars in tow. There are not a lot of solid options at this hospital other than breakfast time and cottage cheese on the salad bar.  There has got to be some stuff I am overlooking.

Edemame, turkey jerky, roasted chickpeas, babybel cheese will last the day if not in heat, string cheese, maybe a hard boiled egg, nuts like almonds, premier protein drink comes unrefrigerated and ready to drink.  If you had a small lunch box with a blue ice in it you could pack almost anything.

I don't like to use the nasty refrigerator at my office, so I keep dried edemame, almonds, jerky and Quest bars in my desk.  I have a lunch box that has a big ice pack in it that keeps my perishables cold all day.  Good luck! 

I've seen some recipes for protein mini muffins and bars. They sounded pretty temperature stable & portable. Check the blogs of Bariatric Foodie & The World According to Egg Face.

Thanks! I made some roasted chickpeas this morning (garlic/sea salt). YUM! I did have to be sure to portion them into snack bags because they could get dangerous. ;) Got some string cheese, lean turkey and pickles as well. Figured that would be a good lunch item that would keep in my awesome new little lunch bag with a bentoish system of blocks and interlocking ice packs. ;)  I think I am good to go!

I hope your mom does well and is out of the hospital as soon as possible. Sending good thoughts your way!

My local Target sells Market Pantry Turkey Sausage Snack Bites and Snack Sticks that are tasty.

Thank you! I have also found that the grilled chicken *****s at chik-fil-a are awesome AND I can eat small bits of spinach with it from the cafe. I have been doing great sticking to the plan and getting in my protein. Believe it or not it has been more difficult to get my fluids in. Weird! It's like I am constantly watching the clock and thinking...crap! I need to start drinking something!!