I'm fairly certain I got fat out of convenience. I am not lazy by any means, I am actually super busy. I have two kids who go to different schools, neither in our district so I have to drive them both and pick them both up. They both do activities after school and are on totally different schedules. I own a business that I run from my house that has me in the car most of the time and I spend a few hours of each day at my martial arts school. I'm fairly anal about keeping my house in order and I like to have dinner most nights for my family, even if we don't all get to sit down and eat together. I barely have a minute to myself but I know that my lifestyle is not at all unusual.

You'd think I'd be like my best friend, super skinny because there is no time to eat, but I was the queen of fast food. I loved Wawa because of the huge variety of chips and Snacks and convenience foods on the go and it was nothing for me to go through a drive through for myself 2-3 times a day. I didn't feed my family fast food because I know how unhealthy it is but that didn't seem to apply to me in my mind.

One of my biggest obstacles after WLS was the lack of convenience foods for quick grab and go. I need a lot LESS food at a sitting, but I need quality food now or I feel miserable. After 19 months, I have finally found some staples that I can keep in my fridge for convenience and now that it's cold out, my cooler keeps my snacks fresh all day. My capacity is VERY small, so I do eat 5-6 mini meals a day which is a bigger challenge and I really prefer real foods over Protein drinks and bars as does my NUT. When I want to eat, I want REAL food, not snacks.

Suggestions to make your busy life easier and healthier. I would love you to add yours, too. As you will see, I do high protein, low carb and I don't give a flying fart about fat. High fat is OK in my book. These are the foods I keep in my fridge, prepped and ready for a quick, I'm starving "meal/snack".

cheese. Full fat, yummy delicious REAL cheese. Cubed up off a block.

Shrimp. Steamed or in a shrimp salad (aka mayo and spices).

London Broil. I marinate and grill a London Broil every other week or so. I slice it thin, serve it for dinner and then snack on the leftovers for the rest of the week. Happy girl with my read meat.

Deviled eggs. Yum! Not just for Easter anymore.

Browned ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic. I keep a bowl of it cooked and ready. I add mozzarella or cheddar to a quarter cup or so, pop in the microwave, heat and eat.

Refried Beans. Add cheese or the browned meat above and YUM!

Good quality hot dogs. I know, yuck, right? But roll one up in a paper towel, nuke it for 45 seconds and it's all meat, no carbs and delish. I do all beef and light. They don't go bad so a pack of six will stay in my fridge for three weeks or so safely.

Ham Slice. I grill and cub one of those Smithfield ham slices that's about 1/2 inch thick. The kids and husband will throw it on salad, in a tortilla or eat in an omelette and I just eat out of the container.

I'm not a fan of chicken, it sticks terribly, but my kids love rotisserie chicken so I cube up the leftovers into a curry chicken salad that's almost always ready. I can manage anything with mayo. REAL MAYO.

Bacon. I cook a pound and keep it in the fridge. It goes just like the ham.

Frozen mini quiche. At Target and Sam's they even have crustless quiche. YUM!

What are your convenience REAL foods?

I'm going to hang this on my fridge! Thank you!!! Can't wait to see more ideas!!

Great list! I am 22 months post surgery and I use most of what you listed. I don't eat much red meat because I have Iron overload (what was a curse is a post RNY blessing!)

I make meatballs with pork and turkey meat and eat those as a quick food.

I also make greek yogurt panna cotta with sugar sub and have those with fruit. Yum.

I do eat lots of Greek yogurt and add some homemade high Protein granola-- think nuts!!

You made me feel better about what I'm eating and snacking on, because your list is almost identical to mine! You do an "Atkins" type of eating, as do I. Sometimes I felt guilty eating full fat cheese and mayo, but it obviously has worked for you, and it's still working for me at 3 and a half months out. The only thing I don't do is the frozen mini quiche. I'm going to try that! Thanks!

This is actually very helpful! I am still working through some of the foods that my pouch will or won't get along with. I end up eating a lot of chicken! Apparently chicken and fish go down the best for me but I am getting tired of them. I was planning on trying shrimp again this week so I may have to cook some up, I loved shrimp previously but they were a little hard to chew up small enough a few weeks ago. Now I think they would be fine.

Other things, I have been cooking and keeping on hand:

Baked chicken wings with hot sauce - I pull the skin off and eat the meat only

Fresh mozzarella and tomato salad with balsamic and olive oil

Chicken souvlaki - I grill up the skewers of chicken marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, fresh oregano and a little salt. YUM. I use my indoor grill and make sure you don't over cook them.

Fantastic list! Printing also and highlighting my favorite ideas. Thanks!!

You know that there are good hotdogs that are only 45 calories? Wrap that baby in a hunk of lettuce, or just eat with a knife and fork and a bit of mustard. Great little snacky!

Excellant ideas !! Thanks. Still on broth yet but it's nice to look forward to . Definitely a keeper

Yes! Meatballs!

Great list; looks very similar to my own at this point! I love to take peel and eat shrimp with a little cocktail sauce to work for lunch. My co-workers think I'm fancy. Which I am.

String cheese is one of my favorite on the go snacks! I also made up pounds of meatballs and freeze them. I can take out as many as I want and heat them up with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese on top. The world according to eggface website also has tons of great make ahead and freeze recipes. It is a great way to keep a choice of real food on hand in portion sizes appropriate for us.

Great topic idea!! I can't wait to see what other ideas are shared!

I try to keep beef Jerky handy. I know it's high in sodium but it has so much Protein and I love it.

I make egg salad (which is basically lazy deviled eggs), tuna salad and buffalo dip. Buffalo dip is canned chicken with Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce, a little cream cheese, blue cheese dressing and shredded cheddar. I usually scoop it up with celery (that luckily I can tolerate). It's a little bit of heaven and worked well for me on the puree stage (without the celery).

I also like ground beef. Sometimes I use it as taco meat and mix it with lettuce and shredded cheese. Sometimes I like to add a little A1 to it and eat it plain.

I haven't tried any steak yet, I probably need to wait until my sleeve is a little more mature. LOL I am going to look for the quiches.

Great ideas ! I can't tolerate chicken breast, I get stuck everytime, but I love chicken thighs and wings. Also, turkey jerky ( Costco), Peanut Butter on Wheat Thins, homemade breakfast oatmeal cookies, nuts,

any thin fish like tuna, salmon, fresh, or mixed with mayo on crackers or celery. Steak or hamburger meat, mixed with salad greens, homemade chili, nuts, homemade spaghetti sauce. Try googling Myfridgefood.com , you put in whatever you have in the fridge and it gives you recipes !!

I'm fancy, too. And sparkly.

I have not tried beef jerky but I love it. I am going to have to pick some up.

I have not tried beef jerky but I love it. I am going to have to pick some up.

Beef Jerky is a total "go to" for me, also! I did notice one day that beef jerky really has the same nutritional stats as turkey jerky, so I just stick to the beef jerky. I like the texture better Just make sure to chew it well!