Help With Buying Pre-made Lunches

[Busyatom]

I've recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and am trying to get organised with food.

I have a very busy life and little time to cook. I work a demanding job full- time, and end up working evenings and weekends, I'm a single mother of two primary-school-aged children, I'm studying a 1 year MBA and I volunteer on several different community groups.

Cooking just isn't something that I have a lot of time for, and I've been quite exhausted anyway, as I'm currently quite anaemic.

I've figured out breakfasts and evening meals, but I commute and hour and a half to work and I just don't want to have to carry in lunches and have little time to make them anyway. I've tried batch cooking and it isn't working for me.

So - I need to find lunches I can just buy. I have a Sainsbury's, M&S and a Tesco very near work and I can go to any of them. I'm still quite confused by how to choose healthy diabetic-friendly meals.

Can anyone advice on sandwiches/ready meals/ soups / salads that i can just buy and take to work?

Any help would be most welcome.

x

 

[bulkbiker]

Packs of cooked meats are pretty useful.. pork scratchings, ready made salads, cheeses - M&S do quite a few low carb type meals (assuming that is the dietary way you are going). Personally I would avoid anything with bread or bread like wrappers ready meals and the like as they are usually filled with extraneous carbs and or sugar.

 

[Resurgam]

If you have too little time to look after yourself then I would make a case for doing less voluntary work. You need to look after yourself, your children, your home and your future - there is a time for voluntary work - but it is later, when you have seen the children leave home and achieved your goals - you will be a lot more effective then, believe me, and if you have time you can devote to your children, they will benefit from it.

 

[Phoenix55]

Being diagnosed with diabetes is a wake up call for each of us. While we are changing our diet it is a good time to look at the rest of our life and work out what matters. Take a step back, it is too easy to slip into being too busy and your children will appreciate your time and attention. Volunteer groups often find that if they want something done then ask a busy person.
Be wary of salads with pasta or croutons. It is really quick and easy to prepare a low carb salad at home and pack it into a sandwich box. It takes no more than 5 mins, saves money, waste packaging and I get to eat the bits of salad that I like. A pack of ready to eat leaves goes for several meals, cherry toms, cucumber, coleslaw and a protein of choice; cold meat, cheese, eggs or fish. At the moment I have several low carb (well under 10g/portion) ready made soups in the fridge for an even quicker meal. I buy them when I do my weekly shop, not on the way to work. Pork scratchings make a filling snack but check the number of portions in a bag.

 

[edan]

M&S do boiled eggs which are near the sandwiches, packets of cooked meat, single portion size sticks of cheese, pots of sandwich fillings which are in the aisle with things like quiches etc (you could just take a spoon and forget about the bread). They sell sandwiches if you’re not low carb, plenty with brown bread or wraps, and also salads and fruit etc. If it’s sandiches you want you could also make a weeks worth at the weekend and freeze, then take one out each day. So long as you don’t add salad before freezing they are fine. Otherwise, how old are the children, could they help make you a salad whilst you cook evening meal?

 

[sally and james]

One of our emergency, out and about meals is grab some tinned fish and a bag of salad leaves. Dress it up with a few cherry tomatoes, and/or a squirt of Hellmann's "Real" mayonnaise. You do need to have a box/plate and a fork though.
Sally

 

[Scimama]

Assuming you are going a lower carb route, most supermarkets sell salad leaves - read the label to avoid pasta, grains, pulses or sweetened dressings. Add protein and fats such as cheese, meat, olives, eggs. Some meal deals have meat salad option - but read label carefully for hidden carbs (also depends how tempted you would be by the snack in the deal, a few do have nuts)

Or choose a selection of meats, boiled eggs and nuts; or a hot roast chicken.

If you have a microwave in work you can make scrambled eggs easily and quickly.

Supermarket I was in today had a great tapas style selection of meat wrapped around cheese, goats cheese balls, packs of spicy meat and cheese etc - think it was about 3 for £4 ish

Other "fast food lunch" options include subway salads, burger without the bun or fries or fis taken out of the batter.

 

[Busyatom]

Packs of cooked meats are pretty useful.. pork scratchings, ready made salads, cheeses - M&S do quite a few low carb type meals (assuming that is the dietary way you are going). Personally I would avoid anything with bread or bread like wrappers ready meals and the like as they are usually filled with extraneous carbs and or sugar.

Thanks -

If you have too little time to look after yourself then I would make a case for doing less voluntary work. You need to look after yourself, your children, your home and your future - there is a time for voluntary work - but it is later, when you have seen the children leave home and achieved your goals - you will be a lot more effective then, believe me, and if you have time you can devote to your children, they will benefit from it.

Thanks for the suggestion - I committed to some volunteering when my mother died and it is something I can't give up. The other work is career building - sitting on a board to help with a promotion. I've kept the time they take to a minimum but giving up just really isn't an option.

 

[Busyatom]

Being diagnosed with diabetes is a wake up call for each of us. While we are changing our diet it is a good time to look at the rest of our life and work out what matters. Take a step back, it is too easy to slip into being too busy and your children will appreciate your time and attention. Volunteer groups often find that if they want something done then ask a busy person.
Be wary of salads with pasta or croutons. It is really quick and easy to prepare a low carb salad at home and pack it into a sandwich box. It takes no more than 5 mins, saves money, waste packaging and I get to eat the bits of salad that I like. A pack of ready to eat leaves goes for several meals, cherry toms, cucumber, coleslaw and a protein of choice; cold meat, cheese, eggs or fish. At the moment I have several low carb (well under 10g/portion) ready made soups in the fridge for an even quicker meal. I buy them when I do my weekly shop, not on the way to work. Pork scratchings make a filling snack but check the number of portions in a bag.

What type of soups do you buy? Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Busyatom]

M&S do boiled eggs which are near the sandwiches, packets of cooked meat, single portion size sticks of cheese, pots of sandwich fillings which are in the aisle with things like quiches etc (you could just take a spoon and forget about the bread). They sell sandwiches if you’re not low carb, plenty with brown bread or wraps, and also salads and fruit etc. If it’s sandiches you want you could also make a weeks worth at the weekend and freeze, then take one out each day. So long as you don’t add salad before freezing they are fine. Otherwise, how old are the children, could they help make you a salad whilst you cook evening meal?

Thanks - kids are 9 and 11 and can help, I just have a very small kitchen!

 

[lovinglife]

I was in Sainsbury's on a service station yesterday and was impressed with their selection of food to go - some very low carb like eggs but even some of their salads - I had a ham hock and egg salad which had a tiny amount of potato salad and it was 12g carb. I don't have a Sainsbury's near me so it was nice to see.

If you have a Pret A Manger near you they do good salads and breadless sandwiches.

If you can batch cook make a frittata then freeze in portions - grab it from the freezer as you leave, it will travel great frozen and be nicely defrosted for lunch

A couple of places (cafes and pubs) near me do "meal prep" and deliver them -not the best value for money but you could do them yourself say of a Sunday evening - get some food containers enough for three days - make up three salads then add whatever protein you like chicken, ham. Tinned fish (on the day for that one) again grab one on your way out. Making a lunch would only take 5 minutes from every day make it a part of your routine and it will become second nature

 

[Dr Snoddy]

M and S have a couple of lo-carb salads that are filling - nutty wholefood and a cauliflower and chickpea one. Usually 2 for £4.

 

[Rachox]

For a ‘sandwich type’ experience Tesco have started selling an egg and ham omelette wrap. Only about 3g carbs per pack of two if I remember rightly. They are with the pre packed sandwiches.

Edit to add, my memory failed me the carb count is infact 4.2g

 

[anthill]

I do wraps, with greens that you can buy from supermarkets, cheeses, beatroot, and meats too. YUM!!!

 

[NicoleC1971]

Thanks - kids are 9 and 11 and can help, I just have a very small kitchen!

Sometimes I just skip lunch in exchange for a bag of nuts plus coffee. This only works if I've had a decent breakfast! You could add some poppy seeds for extra iron. I also have jar of nut butter (almonds) to stick a spoon into. Eat some steak and salad/brocoli plus strawberries and cream to top up the Vitamin C and Iron on your return budget permitting obviously!