Re: Good home lunch ideas?

[Guest guest]

Aimee, I never feel deprived at lunch! It takes a bit of planning, but so worth it!

First of all, I only buy Kinnikinnick hamburger buns and english muffins and use these for sandwiches. They are the best bread out there (to me anyway!). My daughter and I cut out the middle of the rolls and re-freeze the middles to use for french toast or grilled cheese, so we save a lot of money that way - the buns and muffins are that big!

I have a toaster at work and I bring to work my sandwich fixins' in a little cooler (or bring in a bag and put in refrigerator at work). I have brought all sorts of cheeses and lunch meats, a little container of mayo or mustard and lettuce. Then I toast my bread just before lunch and make my sandwich. Absolutely delicious - what a difference eating a real sandwich!

I also have a toaster that I plug into the cigarette lighter in my car. Want a Mcs hamburger or In/Out burger on a real bun for lunch? I just plug in my toaster with my bread in it on the way to the fast food joint at lunch and by the time I get there, my bun is toasted, warm and ready for a burger to be put on it. I just pop it into a sandwich bag and head in to order my lunch. At Mcs, I order a cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato but no bun, and of course In/Out has their protein burger in lettuce - which I just transfer to my bun.

I also eat at Chipotle's and Baja Fresh - I bring my own tortilla chips for their salsa and my own corn tortillas. I warm up a microwave pad, put in a lunch box, and then warm up corn tortillas and put in the lunch box before I head over there. When I get there, I just order a taco or chicken bowl at Chipotle's without the shell and then put the taco or chicken in my warm tortilla. When I go to Baja Fresh, I spoon the bare burrito in my warm corn tortilla.

I bring leftovers to work on Mondays and Tuesdays, because I do most of my cooking and baking on Sunday. By Wed., I am ready to eat something a little different. I do eat out a few times a week; however, I know that some celiacs don't feel comfortable eating out a lot.

On a side note, my family and I went to a catered birthday party last Sat. night. I knew they were going to serve barbecued chicken and beans. I stopped by El Pollo Loco in the afternoon and bought a couple of chicken breasts and a cup of their beans. I brought those along to the party so my daughter and I could eat the same thing as the rest of the party. I even brought homemade g-f carrot cake to the party so we feasted on that while everyone ate cake.

The secret is planning, planning, planning, but, oh, life and eating is so much better when you do!!!!

Sue

From: on behalf of Aimee GraceSent: Thu 9/15/2005 4:03 PM Subject: [ ] Good home lunch ideas?

Hi everyone,

I want to start taking home lunches on weekdays, and was wondering if people have good gluten-free ideas? I was thinking about rice cake sandwiches and veggies...would love other suggestions.

Thanks!

Aimee

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue,

What is the microwave pad and where do you get them?

Sabreena

I warm up a

microwave pad, put in a lunch box, and then warm up corn tortillas and put

in

the lunch box before I head over there. 

[Guest guest]

The microwave pad I use came with a bread basket which is used to warm up rolls

- the one with the gingham cloth and the microwave pad underneath it. I have

found microwave pads on the internet you can buy, too.

Sue

-----Original Message-----

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Sabreena Haque

Sent: Friday, September 16, 2005 7:19 AM

Subject: RE: [ ] Good home lunch ideas?

Hi Sue,

What is the microwave pad and where do you get them?

Sabreena

I warm up a

microwave pad, put in a lunch box, and then warm up corn tortillas and put in

the lunch box before I head over there. 

[Guest guest]

Be sure that the brand of tuna you use is GF -- not all are. Same for tortilla chips, of course.

H.

In a message dated 9/16/05 7:16:55 AM, bree1970@... writes:

corn tortilla chips with tuna or egg salad. 

[Guest guest]

If you can afford the calories, Kozy Shack Rice Pudding is lovely! It comes in tiny containers, as does the Greek yogurt sold at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

Harper

In a message dated 9/16/05 6:38:13 PM, pknewbury@... writes:

I think there are some brands of pudding that come in small containers.  Yogurt is another possibility.

[Guest guest]

When eating away from home, I take a small insulated bag with a bottle of frozen water (any kind of cold pack will do, but the frozen water can be drunk when it melts) and pack any items that need to be kept cold next to the ice. Crackers and other items can also be packed at the top of the same bag if they are in some kind of waterproof container. The key is that if you can keep your food cold for a few hours, you expand your options greatly. I think that the investment in a lunch-sized, insulated container is well worth it, and I believe there are several available. Here are some of our favorites:

Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers cut in chunks. Pack tuna salad in a separate container and use the bell pepper to scoop it up. Other veggies that work well with this are fennel, celery, cabbage leaves, romaine leaves, and carrots (cut up a week's worth of veggies on Sunday and they are handy to pack each morning). Other spreads You can use are hummus (many prepared varieties are GF; you can also make your own), babbagannouge (a middle-eastern eggplant dip), bean dip, or ham-spread (you can make your own put chunks of ham (Beelers is GF), relish, and mayo through the food processor until smooth). Slice tomatoes and salt and pepper them. Having a variety of small plastic containers helps here (you can reuse sour cream or yogurt containers; small ziploc bags work well too).

Gluten-free Crackers: our favorites are Blue Diamond Almond Nut thins, and Sons Vegetable Brown Rice Snaps, San-J Tamari rice crackers.

To go with the GF crackers: Cheese cut up in small squares, goat cheese, lunch meat (Diestel has several gluten-free varieties of turkey lunch meat), pepperoni, salami, ham. I prefer less processed foods, but several varieties of Meyer lunch meat and other brands are GF (check your product list or call the manufacturer). I cut up the meat and cheese in the morning so they are ready to eat with the crackers.

Leftover BBQ chicken is another favorite that tastes good cold.

Deviled eggs are easy to transport if you pack the whites separate from the yokes and bring a spoon for scooping (or just make egg salad to eat with the veggies).

We also sometimes have dolmas, stuffed grape leaves, that come prepared in cans (you can get them at Trader Joes).

If you have access to a microwave this can open whole new vistas such as home made or canned soups (Amy's makes a variety of good, GF soups) and chili (we like Shelton's Chicken with black bean chili) . You can also heat these up in the morning and take them in a thermos (remember those? they do still make them). Amy's makes several frozen GF entrees that you can pack in a cooler pack and reheat in the microwave. Don't forget leftovers such as GF Pizza. Kinninckkinnick bagels are also a possibility if you have a microwave or a hot pad.

Lots of other snacks such as Mrs Mays Almond or Pumpkin Seed Crunch (available from celiac.com) make a great treat. Health Valley makes rice crisp bars (available at Trader Joe's). You can get organic fruit leather at Trader Joe's. Also from trader Joe's are Cheese Crunchies (like Crunchetos) or soy crisps. Small bags of GF pretzels (celiac.com) are a great treat. Shelton's Turkey Jerky is gluten-free (this also makes a great emergency food supply to have in the car or office in case of disaster). Homemade or purchased GF cookies travel fine if they are packed in small containers.

If you are really in a hurry, there are several varieties of GF food bars. My favorite is the Think Thin Brownie Crunch (Trader Joe's).

Fresh fruit is also good: Pears, apples, and mandarin oranges (Satsumas and pixies are favorites) travel well. Other fruits (grapes, peaches, nectarines) can be cut up and carried in a small container.

I think there are some brands of pudding that come in small containers. Yogurt is another possibility.

Cruise the aisles of your local health food store, read labels, get inspired. Rice cakes are fine if you like them, but don't feel limited by the GF diet; once you get started you will realize how many other options you have.

Happy lunching,

Pam Newbury Santa Cruz Celiac Support Group 831-423-6904 pknewbury@...

-----Original Message-----From: [mailto: ]On Behalf Of Aimee GraceSent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 4:03 PM Subject: [ ] Good home lunch ideas?

Hi everyone,

I want to start taking home lunches on weekdays, and was wondering if people have good gluten-free ideas? I was thinking about rice cake sandwiches and veggies...would love other suggestions.

Thanks!

Aimee

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

> If you can afford the calories, Kozy Shack Rice Pudding is

lovely! It comes

> in tiny containers, as does the Greek yogurt sold at Whole Foods

and Trader

> Joe's.

> Harper

> In a message dated 9/16/05 6:38:13 PM, pknewbury@e... writes:

>

>

Yum... You are so right about both of those items from Trader Joe's.

For the Greek yogurt, I will stir in some fresh fruit or honey...

It's just like my little Yugoslavian grandmother used to make from

scratch. So many of these delicious foods I would have never

discovered/rediscovered had I not had to go GF...

I bring my lunch to work every day, as I work part-time, and

generally don't leave the office to eat. The previous posters are

right -- once you get inspired, there are plenty of options. I pack

up my lunch before putting away the dinner leftovers each night. In

the morning all I have to do is grab (the lunchbox) 'n go!

I believe the key is bringing along little containers of the

appropriate condiments (fresh GF salsa and sour cream for my nachos

today, for example) so you don't feel like what you're eating is in

any way deprived or second best.