• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Convenience food

Nomi

Well-Known Member
Messages
151
Hi everyone!

I keep starting low carb but fail miserably. When i’m out and about I often end up in the sandwich aisle of the supermarket trying to work out what to get. Usually ending up with a v carby meal deal of some description.

I’m a sucker for snacks. Chocolate especially and I find it really hard at work as there is a constant spread of cake and biscuits, and the shop there doesn’t sell anything vaguely low in carbs. In fact other than water the only sugar free drink they have is Diet Coke.

I really want to succeed. Can anyone suggest any decent sized snacks that will survive rolling about in the bottom of my handbag for several days?

My schedule is a bit erratic and I don’t always go home straight from work which means I’m limited with what I can eat and usually end up grabbing a Mac Donald’s or similar, whilst I kill an hour or so. again not great but better than eating at 10pm. I don’t really have access to a microwave or any way to heat up food at work and there is only so much chicken salad I can eat...

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can improve/ what would be better options?

I have a massive sweet tooth these days. I used to be a pick n mix kinda gal but I can’t really eat foam bananas these days
 
Hi @Nomi

On the snacks front, how about a small bag of almonds or mixed nuts? Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s do 25 or 30 g bags.

For food on the go, try the deli aisles rather than the sandwich aisles. Cold meat, cheese, rollitos (cheese wrapped in meat), hard boiled eggs are all available in lunch sized portions in most supermarkets - evenWH Smith has 30g portions of cheese.

Do you have a slow cooker? I recently got one and it’s s godsend for days when you won’t have time to cook. Pop something in before you go out and it’s ready when you get home. Similarly, if you batch cook and use the freezer you’ll have things that can be reheated. And of course eggs and bacon take only a few minutes to cook.
 
Last edited:
I hear you loud and clear. It is not easy. My family had pizza out, yesterday and the only thing I could eat with them was 6 chicken wings fried in some form of engine oil.

When on the hoof I found cheese like baby bell for example, nuts and grilled chicken from the supermarket useful. And boiled eggs as previously mentioned (supermarket). I struggled at first but am getting better at it.

I no longer work in an office environment where the cake thing was challenging
 
Hello,
Why don't you make a few sandwiches in the morning and take to work? You can use protein bread, cheese, chicken slices, ham and so forth. Add a small tomato and few green lettuces too

The protein bread I am currently having, just have 6.5 g carbs per 100g. A sandwich like I mentioned is a far better than McD, right?

As for other snacks, if it is possible for you to prepare them on a weekend or so, I have seen recipes for protein bars, lowcarb cookies etc.
 
Agreed. If it was me I might well do that.
 
I’ll see if I can get a bun free burger, good idea! I have around two hours to kill so I need somewhere to go, i usually walk into town and grab food and stay there until I need to go on to my class. Its MacD’s or a coffee shop and I find those a lot worse!
 
What protein bread do you use? I’ve tried looking for low carb bread but I can never find it in the supermarket so I just gave up on bread at home and only have it in instances like fast/convenience food.
My other problem is that a sandwich will leave me feeling hungry. And that’s when I’m more likely to eat something bad for me. I think I just need to get more organised!
 

I’ll give it a whirl see if I can change my habits. I just set foot in a supermarket now and go into panic about what I should eat and often walk out empty handed...

I struggle with take aways, which my other half loves to get when he’s had a long day and insists on buying me something. Eating out too. I just never know what to do for the best and I really don’t like green leaves so restaurant salads are usually a no go and tend to leave me feeling hungry.

It’s a total nightmare.
 
The easiest to get hold of for me is Burgen. But am working on others via home delivery. I still confine that type of bread to small quantities.
 
Yes, compatibility with the other half and family does also present challenges. I only just managed to get them to eat the Burgen bread themselves a few days ago and the little one winged about the “nuts” in it.
 

I agree coffee shops are impossible to eat low carb in, with the exception of Prèt a Manger, they do protein pots and boxes which are low carb and a bit more imaginative tha a chicken salad, plus they have the added benefit of nutritional info, including carb counts on the shelf edge labels.
 
Ah. Pret A Manger. I remember trying to get into one at Trafalgar Square and it was full. But useful for the future. Thanks.
 
If I am to be out in the evening I just pack a couple of bowls of food to take along.
As I eat first thing and have a normal meal of stir fry and meat I don't need to eat until the evening, and don't.
I have a set of bowls with clip on lids so I pack some cold meat - or grab some in a shop during the day, salad stuff, coleslaw celery radish sweet pepper, even a few walnuts. I have small bottles of oil and vinegar with various herbs and spices added - another protein option is to buy cooked fish, or a small cooked chicken. I take along cutlery so I can peel off the batter and just eat the fish. I have been known to use chopsticks...
There are quite a few options if you look around and chose wisely.
 
Marks & Spencer sell quite a decent selection of low carbohydrate pots and nibbles. Sorry if this has already been mentioned - I skim read the discussion
 
I haven’t read all the above suggestions but I know Sainsbury’s sell pots of hard boiled eggs and spinach. For things that last, nuts, babybel, peperami which don’t need refrigerating. Most supermarkets have meat platters with olives etc in the cold meats section.
 
Listlad said:
Ah. Pret A Manger. I remember trying to get into one at Trafalgar Square and it was full. But useful for the future. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I’m too far north for Pret A Manger...we only have costa and Nero. But if i’m ever near one i’ll remember that!
 
Jim Lahey said:
Marks & Spencer sell quite a decent selection of low carbohydrate pots and nibbles. Sorry if this has already been mentioned - I skim read the discussion
Click to expand...
I’ll have a look, I need to find stuff to take camping too!
 
So following your suggestions, for lunch I have had cheese and ham roll ups (think I need to find better ham...), tomatoes, cucumber and peanut butter, walnuts and almonds.

I’m at home though, so easier to do. I’ll pack it up for work tomorrow
 
Jars of pitted queen olives are awesome. Sometimes you can get them stuffed with garlic or jalapeños, or the like. Lots of energy and super tasty. If you like olives
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…