I am going back to work next week. I work a ten hour day, and commute an hour each way for a total of 12 hours away from home. I need ideas on what to pack for breakfast/lunch/snacks. The only food that I don’t like are plain hard boiled eggs. Pinterest ideas really aren’t helping. Throw your ideas at me please :)

And I should add, I know what to eat but physically having to pack lunches is giving me a mental block. I also don’t necessarily have to pack, as we have plenty of refrigerator space at work to take a weeks worth of stuff.

Do you have a microwave? When I went back to work, I relied on ricotta bake, puréed beans (sometimes with cheese), and lentil soup (purred). I’d also take a shake for the afternoon to help me meet my protein goals.

Bento boxes and tiffins might help. You can put anything you want in those.

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Also did puréed egg salad. Basically two hard boiled eggs, 1 Tbl each of mayo and Greek yogurt. Lasted a couple meals.

I liked making a pot of diet-friendly chili and freezing in single serving containers. In the morning, just grab-n-go.

Oh, I should have also added I am on week 7...on regular foods-ish. Haven’t tried raw vegetables.

I prep all of my meals everyday all day. I advance track them in Baritastic...

What I did initially was weigh out 3-4 ounces of different flavors of beans... Bush's has quite a few varieties that are really good. They kept well in the refrigerator and were satisfying.

After a couple of weeks with beans I started making my salads on Sunday to take in for the week, and I load them up with all different types of vegetables, some nuts and seeds, maybe some chickpeas, and always either lean chicken breast cut into really small bites or hard boiled egg. I find that it works out really well and all I have to do is set aside about an hour on Sunday to take care of it.

I usually take whatever I have for dinner for lunch. It’s just easier for me to do that. My coworkers love when I bring fish but it’s such a small amount it doesn’t stink the office up lol

Im a few weeks behind you but I basically am eating ...yogurt, cottage cheese, protein water or protein shake, fish, chili, tofu, tuna in a pouch. I bring a bunch to work and keep it in a section of the fridge so I have food on hand.

I take a lot of what the other posters mentioned and also P3s which you find in the lunch meat section of the store. They are really handy to grab quickly. Also lentil soup is a favorite. The Bariatric Pal store has a couple of entree options I've purchased and they're pretty good.

My lunches usually contain a variety of the items below. I usually bring more than I will eat, so I can have what I feel like and then just repack the next day what I don't eat. I'm still adding new items to this list as I progress with trying/handling new things. it proves a challenge for me to pack lunches as I use to just eat out every day pre op. I have had a few things from fast food, but it's hard to find anything that you can eat. Jimmie Johns can makes all of their sandwiches into an Unwich, no bun - lettuce wrapped. I tried the turkey/ham and it was fabulous... it took me all day to eat 3/4 of it, but my pup was happy to get the rest at the end of the day.. also you can order a side of beans at taco bell which satisfies if you have no other option.

My lunches contain an assortment of:

2 oz tuna salad (fixed as if it was going on a sandwich)

deli meat or some other sort of meat

hot soup in thermos

olives

pickles

light string cheese

cherry tomatoes

apple

orange

P3 (deli isle) meat/cheese/nuts

pistachios

2-4 oz lowfat cottage cheese

2-4 oz yogurt

2-4 oz protein sf jello (unjury.com has recipe)

2-4 oz vegetable, I like green beans

2-4 oz dole no sugar fruits

I ordered some of the bariatric pal protein chips in a variety. I liked about half of them, but will not be attempting this again until I reach maintenance stage. I found myself eating more than one individual size bag a day or grazing through more than one portion at a time. It brought out old habits in me, and I don't need that kind of struggle with self control right now. Be careful with these my nutritionist also says they are slider foods, that dissolve fast and slide right through to the intestine, more calories for less satiety.