Low Carb Lunch Box

[luceeloo]

Hubby has announced that he would like to lose some weight and would like to try that "diet thing" that I do. I could also do with a big fat LCHF boot up the bum, so this is perfect timing and means that I can really go to town with our evening meal.
However, Mr Luceeloo is a carb monster and lunchtimes are a problem for him.
He has a very active, sometimes dirty outdoors job. So the types of food he can take to eat are quite limited. He cannot take salads or anything messy or that takes a long time to eat. He won't take leftovers,
His current lunch box consists of: Cheese & Pickle Sandwiches (4 slices of bread), three packets of crisps, three penguin bars, two mini rolls.

I'm going to sub the junk for any of the following: mini babybel cheeses, pepperami sticks, small packets of nuts, pieces of fruit, homemade peanut butter low carb biscuits, mini green and blacks chocolate bars.
I'm struggling on the sandwich replacements. He won't eat Livlife or Burgen because he doesn't eat anything with seeds in or on it. I could probably get Ryvita down his neck a couple of times a week, but I know how these go soft in a lunchbox and he isn't able to prepare anything at work. (Work is more often than not the middle of a field, a woodland, or a tractor).
Does anyone have any ideas of some kind of replacement that could fill him up? I'm currently thinking that we may have to concede and go with a good brown bread... at least the rest of the carbs will have been dramatically reduced.

 

[bulkbiker]

You could try making a low carb pizza crust and using that as a base for sandwiches maybe? And for snacks I bet he'd love a bag of Pork Scratchings?

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

Savoury almond muffins. Curry/chilli/stew/soup in a wide food flask.

 

[Brunneria]

wrap his sandwich fillings up inside a lovely big crisp leaf of iceberg lettuce. It is just like eating a wrap.

you can also buy 'low carb' wraps, and use them.

I would definitely send him off with a low carb muffin or some kind of baked goods every day too. Amazing how eating cake will reduce the feelings of diet-deprivation.

 

[Kristin251]

Would he eat an avocado? Just cut in half and put it back together. Send a spoon and some sea salt. Or maybe even make guacamole ( smash it with some spices) and put it in a smaller container.

I love lettuce wraps!!!

 

[hels]

Cold meats like sausages (high meat content), chicken pieces. Chunks of cheese.

 

[AndBreathe]

From one of my favourite sites:

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2016/04/13/low-carb-picnic/

This one targets kids, so there may not be much in it: http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2016/04/13/low-carb-picnic/

Some more:

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/07/29/low-carb-spinach-and-feta/

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/08/12/bacon-covered-meatloaf/

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/06/02/ham-and-egg-cups/

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2014/07/30/paleo-scotch-eggs/

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2014/02/22/chicken-lemon-and-rosemary/


If you have concerns about his hands not being the cleanest, and on contact with food, the items in most of the links I have posted, could be wrapped in foil, and partially unwrapped for eating (sort of peeling it back for eating, as you would a banana on the go. Places like Lidl do much cheapo foil, as well as heavier weight, decent strong stuff. If he takes a lunch box with him, he could bring the foil home to go into the recycling, rather than litter wherever he is working.

 

[luceeloo]

You've all given me some good ideas, thank you! He loves his cheese and pickle... and I'm thinking low carb Pizza crust with plenty of cheese, and some sliced pickled onions to replace the branston.
And yes... baked goods will be a must!

 

[luceeloo]

And Paleo Scotch Eggs... there will definitely be Paleo Scotch Eggs!!

 

[Cat0409_]

My OH joined me in the lchf journey. Though he eats way more carbs than I do. He also has gluten intolerance which was realized whilst on lchf. He sub's a lot of corn based products for bread and crunch factor. Corn tortillas, corn nachos etc.
I make things like bacon and egg and cheese muffins or quiche using a mix of coconut flour and psyllium husks. Its tasty and nutrient dense so is very filling.
OH has lost over 12 KGS without upping his exercise and has plenty to eat, he eats at least 3 times as much than me. He snacks on popcorn most nights or nuts. His vegie intake has certainly increased and he limits himself to 3 small potatoes if we have a roast. He now eats things like jicama and eggplant and is also far more adventurous in trying new things.
Best of all he is now growing far more veg that he likes. Loads of snow peas,egg plant , book choy, pak choy, and herbs. We both pick and use our homegrown efforts in our meals.

 

[luceeloo]

Today was the first "low carb" lunchbox day, and it went well.
It wasn't what you or I would call low carb, but it wasn't bad. I did have to pack him off with brown bread sandwiches (though half as many), as he flatly refused any substitute. That's fine though because the three packets of crisps, and chocolate biscuits were replaced by: small pot of brazil nuts, pepperami, mini babybels, and a naked cocoa bar (as I said, not low carb... but better).
He enjoyed it and has asked for more of the same tomorrow.

 

[ExD]

Hi Luceeloo
Oh how I empathise with you!
My OH is a farmer and a lover of sandwiches (also 4 slices WITH lashings of brown sauce and salad cream, with cakes, chocolate and biscuits) for his lunch. He is very overweight, I daren't ask! he can eat for Britain and still come back hungry.
I agree, salads don't make a good lunchbox for a wet windy rural environment and sandwiches made from lettuce leaves instead of bread are difficult for large clumsy fingers to manage whilst driving round a field on a tractor. I don't fret about the hygiene factor as he's been eating sandwiches with fingers that have been G knows where, since he left school, and its his own daft fault if he gets poisoned.
One thing, he will eat Burgen bread although eggs are out, he says he was forced to eat them as a child and will never touch another.
I've tried just a two slice sandwich and filled it very full (not keen on rabbit food!) with a 'side order' of cold sausage and hunks of cheese, followed by fruit - mostly apples and pears, and things like peaches at this time of year. He still says he's hungry when he comes home but I'm not sure this isn't all in his mind as it seems a humongous amount of food in one lunchbox.
I tell him if I had a magic wand that meant he could eat like he used to and still lose weight I'd have waved it for myself by now.
Let us know how he gets on.
(Do you know ..... I actually miss baking cakes and watching Great Br Bake Off really sets me off!!! How stupid is that?)

 

[AndBreathe]

We're obviously all different in our tastes, but given a choice between a sarnie of any sort or a roast chicken thigh, I'd always choose the thigh and I'd be fuller longer. Thighs are particularly good as there's plenty of meat on them, stay succulent when stored in the fridge and plenty fat under the skin. Sprinkle some seasonings on the before roasting and I can even have several flavours from a single batch in the oven.

If he enjoyed what he had last time, does that give you a springboard to try a few more options, like adding in some extra chicken, or crisply cooked bacon strips? Most of the big supermarkets do them ready cooked, but I do then in the oven myself when I'm cooking something else. Sooooooo yummy.

 

[ExD]

Yes, bits of roast chicken are a good idea too, and we've already thought cold sausages and crispy bacon bits, nuts and pork scratchings. How did he enjoy today's lunch Luceloo - what did you give him? I find my hubby can cope with quite a lot of carbs and still lose weight (I think its the nature of the physical work they do and the fresh air) so I wouldn't worry about a couple of slices of bread. He can cope with a small potato too but I know he'll start missing his chips and pastry soon.
Please let us know how you get on.

 

[luceeloo]

Yes, bits of roast chicken are a good idea too, and we've already thought cold sausages and crispy bacon bits, nuts and pork scratchings. How did he enjoy today's lunch Luceloo - what did you give him? I find my hubby can cope with quite a lot of carbs and still lose weight (I think its the nature of the physical work they do and the fresh air) so I wouldn't worry about a couple of slices of bread. He can cope with a small potato too but I know he'll start missing his chips and pastry soon.
Please let us know how you get on.

Our husbands sound similar! It must be the Farmer brand of man! Mine is currently in the midst of crop harvest, so we have to pack double rations for the long days.
My husband has never had to diet. He's not a big man, but he's creeping up to his mid-40's and middle aged spread is slowly hitting and he's not too happy about it.

The lunch box has been pretty similar for the last few days. I'm breaking him into it slowly. Tomorrow I'll go shopping and get some little tiny tupperware type pots and see if we can replace another packet of crisps with a pot of berries!
The trouble I have with my other half is that he basically has the food palate of a three year old child. He won't touch meat on the bone, doesn't do "cold leftovers", and is quite awkward. However, am now thinking of making some chicken nugget type goujons. I think he'd go for stripped up chicken breast if I dipped it in an egg, flour and seasoning batter before cooking. May try it with coconut flour and thai spice, see what happens!
I reckon that by the end of the week we could replace a whole sandwich with something... probably a couple of paleo scotch eggs.

The way I see things is that even a slight reduction in lunch time carbs will be beneficial to him.
I've also found it really helpful to have him doing an attempt at low carb. It means that temptation is out of my way too.
I've cut my carbs down to less than 30g a day. So far it hasn't been too hard because I have no one at home moaning about eating low carb dinners... he's quite enjoyed the food we've been eating, and it makes it easier to cook low carb food if the audience is receptive to it lol.

 

[ExD]

They're a strange breed, I agree.
I laugh at his boasting 'Oh I'll eat anything you put in front of me' statement he makes - when he won't eat eggs, won't eat 'foreign muck', won't eat 'rabbit food' and insists that milk is so good for you that you need at least a pint a day.
We don't have any arable, so our biggest harvest of hay is over, (horses, sheep, pigs) so my double meal lunch boxes are finished for this year and at the moment its sheep sale time for him so the biggest temptation seems to be the fast food available at the auctions. I've no control over this, so I continue to do what I can from home and reckon he's a big grown up boy now (?) and if he chooses to eat that junk its not my fault if the weight doesn't fall.
He's still working hard at age 77 - I hope your hubby has more sense when the time comes to retire and doesn't keep on going like mine seems to be prepared to do.
Mind you, I don't know what I'd do if he was home all day.

 

[Jasperville]

I was a bread monster before going LCHF, but satisfy most of my cravings with Joseph's low carb pita bread..................very expensive from Amazon, but your Hubby may be willing to try it.

 

[ExD]

That may be worth a try. Thank you.

 

[richcbaker899]

What are these 'low carb' wraps? I have been searching for something to replace bread.
Thanks
Richard

 

[Quirkybee]

How will I find out how many carbs I should consume daily please?

Plus how much should we be guided by when looking at the nutirional value on reverse of food products whether it be for a lunch time meal or other?