I had my Lap Band surgery on August 12th of this year and it has been a challenge to learn how to eat again. I especially have trouble with lunch. I work/go to class all day, so it is tempting to go out to eat daily which is expensive, wasteful, and generally unhealthy. So this is what I did; I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of individual-sized lunch “ingredients” (either a protein, veggie, fruit, or dairy; see below) and brought them home and spread them on the table. I then took cheap ziplock sandwich-sized bags and in each one I put one choice from my protein foods, one veggie, one fruit, and one dairy. I made a bunch of these little lunch bags, enough for 2 weeks and put them in a drawer in my fridge. Each morning I just grab one and run out the door so that I will have my lunch all ready and I won’t make any bad lunch choices. Wal-Mart and places like that now offer many food products in individual sized servings (even pickles, LOL) so it is easy to go buy the “ingredients” for my lunches. There are so many combinations, go see what you can find! Here are some ideas of the things that I buy to put into my lunch bags.

Protein:

beef jerky, just throw a couple pieces in the bag

mini 3 ounce cans of tuna

individual serving cups of peanut butter

soy nuts/other nuts

Veggies:

mini bags of baby carrots (4 for $1 at Wal-Mart)

cut up fresh veggies

individual size canned vegetables

Fruit:

individually wrapped prune (they look like candy J)

little box of raisins

fresh fruit cut up

fruit cups

Dairy/Other:

package instant oatmeal

string cheese

individual size cup of cottage cheese

yogurt

These are some of my lunch bags this week:

Monday

Protein: Beef Jerky

Grain: package instant oatmeal

Fruit: box of raisins (put on oatmeal, yum!)

Veggie: baby carrots

Tuesday

Protein: Mini can of Tuna

Veggie: few slices cucumber

Fruit: Diced peach cup

Dairy: individual cup cottage cheese (add the peaches on top, yum!)

Wednesday

Protein: Individual cup of peanut butter

Veggie: Celery sticks

Fruit: Raisins

add the three together and get ants-on-a-log!

Dairy: yogurt

Thanks for the helpful hints, i also pack a hunts sugar free choc pudding foe work when i get hungry, that takes the place of my ice-cream craving. Also, try non fat vanilla yogurt with bananas cut up---yummy snack.. Good luck to you on this wonderful journey. I am 43 pounds lighter after 4 months and feeling great!!!irish

Great ideas!!!

Thank you for posting.

Good, healthy choices to keep you from making the wrong choices and you save money too.

What are individual serving cups of peanut butter?? And where do you get them. Sounds like just what I need!! Becky

What are individual serving cups of Peanut Butter?? And where do you get them. Sounds like just what I need!! Becky

I know Jif makes some and I find them right next to the regular pb in my store. You need to be careful though, a serving of my pb's is 2tbs and these *cups* are way more than that.

What are individual serving cups of Peanut Butter?? And where do you get them. Sounds like just what I need!! Becky

I was at walmart in the paenut butter aisle and they had a package of individual sized plastic cups of peanut butter for on the go. They also sell pickles and so many other foods like that. I havent seen them at the regular grocery store but if you check out a wal mart super center they should have them.