Before I was banded I ate fast food for lunch every day. Since I have been banded it has been easy to pack my shakes during the liquid phase, and some cottage cheese and apple sauce and yogurt for lunch during the mushy stage. I'm now moving on to solids and I am at a loss what to pack for lunch. I want something with some substance to it, but I cannot stand tuna, and microwaved or cold chicken appear not to be a bandsters friend. I just need some ideas so I don't have to eat the exact same thing every stinkin day for lunch forever because I can't think of something to bring that is easy to just grab out of the fridge and go. Thank you so much in advance for your suggestions.

I have taken some lunch meat and a small salad, or greek yogurt and a peice of fruit, or lean cuisine and eat half of it. Hope some of these ideas help you.

I have the same thing most days- deli turkey and cheese on a low-carb wrap. For a side I'll have cocoa or cinnamon almonds. Sometimes I'll add veggies and hummus, sometimes I'll have cottage cheese that I scoop up with soy chips... but it's easy to pack and easy to grab.

LOVE Greek yogurt!

I have taken some lunch meat and a small salad, or greek yogurt and a peice of fruit, or lean cuisine and eat half of it. Hope some of these ideas help you.

My version of chicken salad:

1 individual portion sized can of chicken breast

1 wedge laughing cow light cheese (any flavor)

Chopped up pickles

1 boiled egg (chopped up)

1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all this together and eat. You can eat with crackers, but I just eat plain. Very flavorful and around 200 cals and 20+ grams Protein. (I can't remember exact numbers). Very filling, too.

That sounds really good! Will have to try that.

My version of chicken salad:

1 individual portion sized can of chicken breast

1 wedge laughing cow light cheese (any flavor)

Chopped up pickles

1 boiled egg (chopped up)

1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all this together and eat. You can eat with crackers, but I just eat plain. Very flavorful and around 200 cals and 20+ grams Protein. (I can't remember exact numbers). Very filling, too.

Thanks, Sarah. I love it. It's so moist. I am not a tuna fan and I don't like mayo or miracle whip (salad dressing), so this is a great option. Hope you enjoy!

Not everyone has trouble with chicken. It's usually dry chicken, like grilled chicken breast, that is an issue. You might do well with chicken salad. Bumblebee makes little chicken salad packs to go that are easy.

You said you don't like tuna.. fair enough. Do you like smoked salmon? If so, chicken of the sea makes smoked salmon in a pouch. I take that and mix with either reduced fat cream cheese or ww cream cheese and spread on Wasa "crisp & light" crackers.

I make spaghetti sauce with lean ground turkey or lean ground beef and eat it over shredded zucchini instead of Pasta. That should be easy enough to portion out the night before and have ready to "grab & go".

Make meatloaf in muffin tins. When I do that, one meatloaf muffin is about 3 or 4oz.. which is perfect bandster size. Add a veggie of your choice.. there's lunch.

Taco Soup is a favorite at my house.. and while it's called "soup", you can make it as thick as a stew.. so it "sticks to your ribs" longer.

And I can eat dry meat.. IF I use a food lube of some kind. I know the conventional wisdom is "eat Protein first".. well, I eat 1 or 2 bites of protein to 1 bite of veggie. That helps lubricate things. Also a small amount of some kind of gravy, sauce, ketchup, will also help food go down and isn't going to be enough to throw most people out of weight loss. And I mean a small amount.. not 1/2 cup ::grin::

Hope some of these ideas help.

If you buy the rotisserie chickens from the deli at your loccal grocery store ... they are incredibly moist. My NUT suggested this. I bought one yesterday, tore the meat off the bone, discarded the skin and fat, and put it in ziplocs. I ate it last night and for luch today. Very filling, low carb, and high protein.

Not everyone has trouble with chicken. It's usually dry chicken, like grilled chicken breast, that is an issue. You might do well with chicken salad. Bumblebee makes little chicken salad packs to go that are easy.

You said you don't like tuna.. fair enough. Do you like smoked salmon? If so, chicken of the sea makes smoked salmon in a pouch. I take that and mix with either reduced fat cream cheese or ww cream cheese and spread on Wasa "crisp & light" crackers.

I make spaghetti sauce with lean ground turkey or lean ground beef and eat it over shredded zucchini instead of Pasta. That should be easy enough to portion out the night before and have ready to "grab & go".

Make meatloaf in muffin tins. When I do that, one meatloaf muffin is about 3 or 4oz.. which is perfect bandster size. Add a veggie of your choice.. there's lunch.

Taco soup is a favorite at my house.. and while it's called "soup", you can make it as thick as a stew.. so it "sticks to your ribs" longer.

And I can eat dry meat.. IF I use a food lube of some kind. I know the conventional wisdom is "eat Protein first".. well, I eat 1 or 2 bites of protein to 1 bite of veggie. That helps lubricate things. Also a small amount of some kind of gravy, sauce, ketchup, will also help food go down and isn't going to be enough to throw most people out of weight loss. And I mean a small amount.. not 1/2 cup ::grin::

Hope some of these ideas help.

Great ideas! Thank you! And SUPER congrats on your weight loss!! You are amazing! An inspiration!! Why did you go lap band instead of bypss? I had "only" 90 lbs to lose, and my dr. tried talking me into bypass, which I think is way too invasive, restrictive and unrealistic.

Great ideas! Thank you! And SUPER congrats on your weight loss!! You are amazing! An inspiration!! Why did you go lap band instead of bypss? I had "only" 90 lbs to lose, and my dr. tried talking me into bypass, which I think is way too invasive, restrictive and unrealistic.

My surgeon suggested RNY, but didn't try to talk me into it.

I was scared of it, I had heard too many bad results (yes, I know RNY works well for many, but it just wasn't for me). I did not want to have dumping .. I had similar reactions before WLS from eating the wrong foods and know how miserable it makes you feel.

I'm post-menopausal. RNY is not always recommended for women who are post-menopausal and have a family hx of osteopenia/osteoporosis (me). I have some other medical issues that would make malabsorption not advisable.

All I needed was help to control my appetite. The band does that most of the time.. hehe.. I am a member of the Bariatric Bad Girls Club.. I don't follow the "rules" 100% of the time.. but I do work at it pretty hard.

Thanks for the compliments. Ideally, I still need to loose about 20 more lbs.. which some of which probably needs PS to get off. I'm still on the fence about that.

I regularly take left overs and I agree with Melissannde about lube to help with dry meat. I love alfredo sauce and found that Ragu has a lowfat alredo that only has 60 calories (2 Protein, 2 carbs) and I put that on chicken or shrimp to add flavor and help keep it from being dry. I also like the chicken sausage from Sam's club - you can eat it plain or add marinara sauce. In a pinch, I just do a salad with 3-4 oz protein and low fat dressing.

I know that everyone has their own opinions about Snacks, but I take snacks with me to work just in case I need them...while I rarely eat them, it is good to plan for it so you don't grab junk if you get hungry. My favorite small snacks are Babybel Light cheese (50 calories, 0 carbs, 6 protein) or Light String Cheese (50 calories, 1 carb, 6 protein).

My version of chicken salad:

1 individual portion sized can of chicken breast

1 wedge laughing cow light cheese (any flavor)

Chopped up pickles

1 boiled egg (chopped up)

1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all this together and eat. You can eat with crackers, but I just eat plain. Very flavorful and around 200 cals and 20+ grams Protein. (I can't remember exact numbers). Very filling, too.

This sounds so yummy! I'm looking forward to solids so I can try this!

I am so glad that this question was asked. I am 9 days post op and have been wondering the same things. It will be good to be able to eat "regular" food again. Thanks so much for the suggestions.....they are a HUGE help! Have a good day all!

I've modified a chicken tortilla recipe that I make frequently to make it more band-friendly:

4 oz cream cheese (can be regular, reduced fat, or fat free)

1/2 cup pace mild picante sauce (this amount and spice level could be varied according to your taste buds and ability to handle spicy foods)

1 tsp ground cumin

4 oz shredded boneless skinless chicken breast, pre-cooked (I cook a big batch of chicken breasts in my crockpot until they're very tender, then shred them and package them in 4 oz servings to add to recipes)

2 cups reduced fat shredded mexican blend cheese

This makes approximately (7) 1/3 cup servings.

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan on your stovetop until the cheeses are melted and everything blends together. Usually about 1/3 cup of this mixture is plenty. Yesterday I took 1/2 of a 100% whole wheat tortilla and spread the mixture on top of it, then put it in a skillet to crisp up the tortilla, quesadilla style. It was very filling and delicious. I did not feel hungry again for about 4-5 hours!

The nutrition info on this, based on putting the above recipe into myfitnesspal's recipe builder is:

Calories 133

Total Fat 5.8g

Sat Fat 3.5g

Cholesterol 27.9

Sodium 392 mg

Potassium 0 mg

Total carbs 2.7

dietary fiber 0.7 g

sugars 1.7g

protein 9.9g

(note: this info is based on using reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat shredded cheese)

The recipe can also be modified to your tastes by adding your favorite mexican spices.

The original recipe includes the above ingredients, plus tortillas. You put 1/4 to 1/3 c mixture in each tortilla, then roll it up and place it in a baking dish. Then put more picante sauce over the top and spread 2 more cups of mexican blend cheese over the tortillas, then bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted.

The chicken tortilla recipe sounds yummy!!! I may actually make that tonight for supper. Thanks! I might also add fat free refried beans as a side to up the protein. Great idea!!!