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?

Great thread. I keep Buddig 90 calorie beef pouches, Trader Joe's lite cheddar jack cheese sticks, hummus, celery, and apples in the fridge for grab and go. If I'm feeling lazy, I'll buy a bag of the pre-cooked and shelled hard boiled eggs. I often don't prepare hard boiled eggs because of the time it takes to cook and shell them, but for a couple of bucks I skip the work and have ready made protein. I also keep cans of white meat chunk chicken in the cupboard. At work I keep raw almonds, raw pecans, Quest Coconut Cashew bars, single serving U njury packets for a protein shake, beef jerky, and water enhancer drops in my desk.

Edited December 11, 201411 yr by JustWatchMe

If you eat a lot of hard boiled eggs you might want to invest in an egg cooker. I got one for about $15. Since I live in a small apartment without a stove, it is a pain to boil a pot of water. But with my egg cooker I can make quite a few boiled eggs very easily. It makes great soft, medium and hard boiled eggs.

@Inner Surfer Girl no stove?!?! Seriously!

so I take it you have to nuke everything...if so, let me recommend a great product for you...QVC has a microwave pressure cooker...it is awesome!!! I can do 2 lbs of chicken thighs with a great sauce in about 20 minutes!!! lunch is calling! (among other great recipes)

I have a microwave, toaster oven, rice cooker, electric skillet, egg maker, crock pot, and a two-burner hot plate-type appliance that I use pretty much in that order of frequency.

(I am renting a small efficiency garage apartment from my parents.)

Great list! I think those of us addicted to processed and "diet" foods got fatter and fatter through physical addiction. I just love that 14 months out I am eating delicious, real food and still losing weight. Just goes to show you that food in its natural state is the best for us. Keep up the good work and thanks for the post. I also bought a crockpot and make lots of delicious meals with legumes and all kinds of vegetables so it's waiting for me when I get home from work, rather than picking up something quick on the way home.

The Hormel pack of mini ham slices/cheese and crakers are great go to and Walmart carries a smaller version package for about $5.50 and it can last all week for lunches at work in my work fridge!!!

Thanks for posting this. You opened my eyes to a couple of things I hadn't thought of,,,,gotta check for those mini crustless quiches when I get past pureed and soft....lol

No one has mentioned this yet, so I thought I would. I keep bowls of chopped up veggies, sliced olives, and grilled chicken in the fridge, and buy the bags of pre washed, chopped up romaine lettuce... I can eat a salad with chicken on it almost every day. I was really struggling to eat enough vegetables until I realized that I love salads. It's usually just the prep time involved that keeps me from eating more of them, so now I do the "prep" of washing and cutting the veggies, marinating and grilling the chicken, etc just once a week or so.

Awesome thread! Thank you.

Has anyone bought the p3 snacks after surgery they seem like they would be perfectly portions for post op folks I love them they have meat cheese and nuts and are super portable you can get them in bulk at bjs and the like

@, yep early on it was a meal for me. But now,over a year out,it's still satisfying but it's a snack, not a meal.

I always keep a couple in the fridge.