Packing Lunches for Work/Also Dinners?

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I'm posting this on several of the health groups I'm on, so if any of

you see it more than once - well I guess that means we're on the same

groups!

I've been on a leisurely summer. My job in a busy call center has

it's *off* season during the summer. I've only been working 2 days a

week. It's been nice. However the last week of Sept I'll be on 40

hours through mid January. And to top it off from Thanksgiving thru

the week of Christmas I'll be putting in some heavy duty overtime.

Great for the pocketbook, let me tell you! Hard on the brain & body.

What I've been doing for lunches/breaks since about March is:

Kefir fruit smoothie, raw milk cheese, soaked walnuts and tuna salad.

It's been like a staple for me. I've not even gotten tired of the

repetition. But since July 1st I've only been on for 2 days a week.

I'm remembering last holiday season. That was when we stopped after

work at Grocery Outlet for frozen non-food dinners and zapped them in

the microwave. That was the beginning of my search for God-made

foods. I no longer do Grocery Outlet, frozen fake foods or the

microwave! Yeah! But the whole reason I did that last year was

because after putting in 10+ hours 6 days a week, there wasn't enough

left of me to cook.

So, I'm trying to get some ideas on what I could freeze for dinners

that could be warmed up on the stove or oven. Also having a hard

time thinking about tuna salad for my packed lunch in the winter

months (without my fresh garden tomatoes and organic red leaf

lettuce). I don't want to spend a long time in the mornings fixing

my lunch. And without using a microwave at work, I'm wondering about

things like soup or stew. I could take a thermos I guess.

Anyway, any help in this department would be great. I sure miss the

days when I was a stay-at-home-mom and had lots of time for kitchen

stuff. Now at 47+ my situation has changed and I'm still adjusting

to it. My mom says that at 73 she wants to spend less and less time

in the kitchen. But how to eat nourishing foods on a short $budget$

and on short time?

I'm hoping some of you have some ideas.

Thanks,

Rhonda

[Guest guest]

>So, I'm trying to get some ideas on what I could freeze for dinners

>that could be warmed up on the stove or oven. Also having a hard

>time thinking about tuna salad for my packed lunch in the winter

>months (without my fresh garden tomatoes and organic red leaf

>lettuce). I don't want to spend a long time in the mornings fixing

>my lunch. And without using a microwave at work, I'm wondering about

>things like soup or stew. I could take a thermos I guess.

What I do is freeze cooked *meat*. Mostly smoked meat, because

that is my favorite. So I make hamburgers, chicken, ribs, roasts.

Roasts I slice for sandwiches or to put on salads. Also I make proscuitto.

Also I slice liver and wrap it individually. Whenever I cook meat, I cook

a LOT and then freeze it.

For dinner I just take out however many pieces I need and pop them in

the toaster oven. Then take out whatever fruit or vegies are handy,

like, grate a potato to make hash browns or roast a potato, or boil

some frozen peas. Tacos freeze well too, and tamales.

The staples I keep handy are: onions (big bag), potatoes, rice (pre

cooked and frozen), kimchi, spaghetti sauce, kefir, kefir cream,

salad greens, cheese, noodles, tortillas, coconut oil.

You can make just about anything from those, plus whatever vegies

are in season and are cheap (tho I admit I'd just as soon have a dish

of kimchi, it's easier and I like it better). When I was in college tho and

had no time, I mostly ate frozen tacos and kept lettuce/tomatoes/cheese

for the tacos handy in the fridge. Soup I make at the end of the week

from whatever leftovers are handy (I keep leftover bones in the freezer too).

If you keep broth in the fridge, you can whip out a quick noodle

soup (Vietnamese style) which is really satisfying too.

Since I'm doing the Warrior Diet I don't worry about lunch, I just have

a salad or some fruit (one of the reasons I like the diet!). I also have

fruit for breakfast. Going " raw " during the day saves a lot of time

and planning. But you can also do something simple, like crackers

and lox. The freezer blocks help a lot, you can pack anything cold

you like (smoothies are good too).

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Heidi,

Thank you for all the ideas. The Warrior diet isn't my thing. I

tend to do better with some protein/fat throughout the day - think I

struggle with blood-sugar. I'll be doing up some stock (chicken) and

will put that in the freezer in blocks for soups. Thinking about

getting a crock pot and could put on meat/veggies prior to work. I

haven't made kimchi yet just sauerkraut and enjoy that. Anyway thank

you for the great ideas.

Rhonda

>

> >So, I'm trying to get some ideas on what I could freeze for dinners

> >that could be warmed up on the stove or oven. Also having a hard

> >time thinking about tuna salad for my packed lunch in the winter

> >months (without my fresh garden tomatoes and organic red leaf

> >lettuce). I don't want to spend a long time in the mornings fixing

> >my lunch. And without using a microwave at work, I'm wondering

about

> >things like soup or stew. I could take a thermos I guess.

>

> What I do is freeze cooked *meat*. Mostly smoked meat, because

> that is my favorite. So I make hamburgers, chicken, ribs, roasts.

> Roasts I slice for sandwiches or to put on salads. Also I make

proscuitto.

> Also I slice liver and wrap it individually. Whenever I cook meat,

I cook

> a LOT and then freeze it.

>

> For dinner I just take out however many pieces I need and pop them

in

> the toaster oven. Then take out whatever fruit or vegies are handy,

> like, grate a potato to make hash browns or roast a potato, or boil

> some frozen peas. Tacos freeze well too, and tamales.

>

> The staples I keep handy are: onions (big bag), potatoes, rice (pre

> cooked and frozen), kimchi, spaghetti sauce, kefir, kefir cream,

> salad greens, cheese, noodles, tortillas, coconut oil.

> You can make just about anything from those, plus whatever vegies

> are in season and are cheap (tho I admit I'd just as soon have a

dish

> of kimchi, it's easier and I like it better). When I was in college

tho and

> had no time, I mostly ate frozen tacos and kept

lettuce/tomatoes/cheese

> for the tacos handy in the fridge. Soup I make at the end of the

week

> from whatever leftovers are handy (I keep leftover bones in the

freezer too).

> If you keep broth in the fridge, you can whip out a quick noodle

> soup (Vietnamese style) which is really satisfying too.

>

> Since I'm doing the Warrior Diet I don't worry about lunch, I just

have

> a salad or some fruit (one of the reasons I like the diet!). I also

have

> fruit for breakfast. Going " raw " during the day saves a lot of time

> and planning. But you can also do something simple, like crackers

> and lox. The freezer blocks help a lot, you can pack anything cold

> you like (smoothies are good too).

>

>

>

> Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>Heidi,

>

>Thank you for all the ideas. The Warrior diet isn't my thing. I

>tend to do better with some protein/fat throughout the day - think I

>struggle with blood-sugar.

The blood sugar thing is why I tried it ... I used to crash if I didn't

eat after 3 hours. I have tried for 20 years to fix the blood sugar

thing and this is the only solution I've found. I won't say there is

any one solution for everyone though ... and this one really

doesn't seem very intuitive!

>I'll be doing up some stock (chicken) and

>will put that in the freezer in blocks for soups. Thinking about

>getting a crock pot and could put on meat/veggies prior to work. I

>haven't made kimchi yet just sauerkraut and enjoy that. Anyway thank

>you for the great ideas.

Crock pots are nice too! I like to cook the meat and add greens at the end

(I don't like really cooked vegies).

>

Heidi Jean