Last Night, This Morning And Lunch Dilemma

[ChrisT2D]

After a disappointing trip to Morrison’s where I was trying to buy all the great stuff I have read about here to find they stock ***** all I ended up at the takeaway eating donner meat and cheesy chips. Thankfully the BS hovered around 12.1 for a few hours but was still 10.1 this morning. I’m quite new to this so my mornin* readings have usually been about 9.6 anyway.

So I’m back to work tomorrow following my paternity leave (2 weeks is definitely not enough but that’s a different topic) and I’m really stuck as to what to have for lunch. I used to have sandwiches crisps pasta salads etc but obviously want to go low carb. We dont have cooking facilities but we do have a microwave and fridges. If you’ve seen my other posts I’m not a fan of plain salads uncooked onion tomatoes (love these things cooked by the way) etc so I’m stuck as to what to take for lunch. I was considering taking some cooked chicken thighs but worried I’m going to get hungry. Any suggestions from all you lovely people?

Edited by mod for language.

 

[Jenny15]

Hi @ChrisT2D if you want hot food you could get one of those thermos flasks that are wide and short, designed for soups and put cooked meat and veges in it. Do you like coleslaw? You could make your own from cabbage (red is nice with green cabbage) grated carrots, grated cheese and a dressing of your choice that you add in at lunchtime from a small container. You can add all kinds of things: chopped parsley, chopped spinach etc. Mustard seeds, sesame seeds, cashew nuts. The cheese makes it rich and somewhat filling.

Lots of ideas on the forum. Don't worry if you have to eat sandwiches for a few more days while you get organised. That's better than eating chips, crisps or pasta salads, which are just like eating pure sugar, lol. At least the sandwich fillings can be higher in fat and protein (eggs, meat paste, sliced meats, cheese spread etc etc.) And if you can find lower carb bread or even just grainy bread with seeds etc in it, that is better than white bread as it is digested more slowly and is packed with good nutrients.

Have you ever tried bean salad? You can make it with red kidney beans and sliced green beans - lower carb than pasta salad but slightly higher carb than coleslaw. Egg salad is great.

Cooked veges are nice hot or cold (as a salad) too. This is making me hungry but its nearly midnight here.

Have a great Sunday, Chris and keep up the good work!

 

[Arab Horse]

Naughty boy, cheesy chips had me drooling and I confess I had chips last Wednesday when I took my daughter out for a birthday lunch but was good and gave the pudding a miss!

Do you like curry? A chicken curry (or what you like but mine is always chicken!) with lots of veg (and cheese on top if you want) that you can heat up in the microwave. You could also add some nuts (not peanuts as they are a bit carby). A beef stew with just meat and veg for the microwave. You could add celeriac as bulk. I make a load and keep it in the fridge for several days or you could freeze it in single portions. When I go with a friend to horse shows I make an "eggy" thing. I use lots of chopped veg; onion, garlic, red peppers, spinach, leek, sugarsnap peas or mangetout. tomatoes etc fried in coconut oil and then add several beaten eggs and cheese to the veg in the pan and stir fry until set. I make it the day before and put it in the fridge overnight and that is lovely. He is vegetarian so I just made it the first time so he could eat it but I surprised myself by actually liking it!!! Before I was diagnosed we used to buy our food at the shows and I nearly always had something with cheesy chips.

Congratulations to the new addition to your family, boy or girl? If you reply I am sure we would all love some photos!!!

 

[Arab Horse]

Forgot to add some chillies or other spice to give the eggy thing a bit more flavour.

 

[Scimama]

Hi @ChrisT2D congratulations on your new baby, the first few weeks are hectic and exhausting - but so worth it

Can you make a larger evening meal and take a portion to reheat for lunch the next day (also pop a portion in fridge for your partner so they can have a lunch with minimum prep time).


There are some quick grab and go items that you can get in most supermarkets and petrol stations etc that are less likely to raise your blood sugar levels (but always test as everyone is different)
roast chicken (without coatings)
sliced meats (not breaded)
cheese (without fruit bits in it)
olives
cucumber/pepper - crudites
boiled eggs
crustless quiche (but check the labels - some have hidden sugars/carbs)

Do you have a slow cooker? making a large meat casserole in a slow cooker first thing in morning (Morrisons sell bags of casserole cubed steak, in freezer section, which is very good value and even my fussy eldest child likes it) Throw some meat, chopped onion , pepper and pint of stock into slow cooker before work and its ready when you get home. Takes my OH less than 10 mins in morning to make it.

Morrisons also sell frozen cauliflower rice which is great if you are short on time (you have a new baby so easy is good !!)

 

[MrTickle]

I'm relatively recent on the 'Lower carb lifestyle' and I admit that I cheat more than most people on here and have a much less nutritious diet, but always in the context of my numbers - that is, I measure my morning reading and my pre and two-hour post meal numbers. I'm well within the 'normal range' for blood sugars now and have lost 2.5 stone since March, although will be running a formal HbA1C test next month which I expect to be much better (touch wood).

Obviously your mileage will vary, and in the early weeks I was very strict low carb.

For breakfasts at work, I tend to try and get there a little early and have a bacon, sausage, egg meal. I've found that if I have that I generally am not hungry at lunch so can get through to the end of the day. If I don't get early enough for the canteen to do breakfast, I skip it and have something for lunch. If I am out of the office, such as visiting our London office, then I've found that a McD's double sausage muffin doesn't appear to raise my bloods too much (no hash brown though of course).

When I do have lunch during the week, and assuming the canteen don't have something suitable (they sometimes do steaks, gammon, chicken portions etc), then I either grab some potted jacket potato fillings they sell (tuna and cheese), mix them and eat with a fork, or I nip to a nearby Boots and pick up some mattessons 'fridge raiders' chicken as well as some strawberries and creme fraiche which always goes down well (has some carbs, but not too bad).

If I get the urge to snack at home, I always keep some snack-cheeses in the fridge, as well as some M&S cracking crisps and chorizo crisps, as well as some occasional salted almonds. Although I don't feel the need to snack anything as much as I did before starting this.

Dinner is my main meal - all the usual stuff - steaks, chicken, eggs, curry (with cauliflower rice) etc. For occasional treats, I find that a KFC doesn't spike my bloods much as long as I swerve the fries, or I have a mixed kebab with chilli sauce but don't eat the naan bread.

As I'm going forward I'm trying to introduce more healthy stuff (more veg, avocados etc) into my diet too but I'm not beating myself up too much about that just as long as my blood sugar and weight are going in the right direction. Oh, and I take a multivitamin (multibionta - with the probiotic) each day too, which seemed to take care of increased cramping I had - although I'm not sure that is anything to do with the low carbing as it runs in the family.

Good luck with your journey

 

[Deleted member 308541]

We dont have cooking facilities but we do have a microwave and fridges

Put pre cooked meals into a microwave container, put meal into microwave at work, nuke it for whatever time you need to get it hot enough to eat.

Simple.