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Breakfast/lunch for FT working, overwhelmed mom, picky eater
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:19 pm
I've never been able to get my breakfast and lunch straight. I'm a very picky eater, work full-time, and don't have access to anything to warm up my food during the day.

If I'm lucky, I grab a fruit for breakfast, but more often than not, I skip it. That already has me at an energy deficit.

Lunch is even worse. If I have leftovers from the day before then I can manage, but most of the time, it's either buy something (not too easy since there are no kosher stores near me, and it's a fortune to order) or starve.

There have been many, many times where the first bite of food I had in a day was after 5pm.

The thing is, I don't like any of the following:
- tuna
- egg salad/eggs in anything other than an omelet with lots of cheese, veggies, and spices
- cream cheese
- whole wheat bread
- farina or regular oatmeal, besides the Quaker oats sugary one
- most yogurts, except the really sugary ones
- eating foods that are meant to be warm at room temperature
- most salads

There are probably going to be other suggestions here that I just don't like Sad

Can anyone help? My palate is sometimes like a child's. Also, I have no time to prep anything in the morning; everything needs to be done in advance.
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amother
Teal


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:33 pm
Have you tried overnight oats? You can make them however you like--I like rolled oats with almond milk, raisins (they absorb the liquid and get juicy), and a spoonful of pb. I put it all in a container at night and mix up and eat the next morning at work. There are lots of different recipes online and you can play around with the amount of liquid for the texture you like.
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MiracleMama




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:37 pm
Whatever you would enjoy eating if you did have a way to warm it up at work.... heat it up at home in the morning and put it into a thermos. I do this for my kids' lunches. Stays piping hot for hours.
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amother
Lilac


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:38 pm
Peanut butter? On bread or bagel..?
Awesome add-ons
-jelly
- chocolate syrup
- raisins
- marshmello fluff
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amother
Ivory


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:40 pm
Granola?
Do you like cooked/baked/sauteed veggies? I bake a sheet of eggplant with oil and keep it in fridge. I grab a couple in the morning and I have a microwave at work so I can warm it up, but otherwise, I'd just keep it out of fridge and eat at room temperature. Can work just as well with other veggies.

Spaghetti Squash. I bake a big one and take a bit each morning with a bit of cottage or farmer cheese.

Can you take plain yogurt and add a bit of sugar/splenda with cinnamon?

Carrot sticks with tahini

Baked Potato (good room temperature with sour cream)

Chick Peas

Sour cream mixed with cottage or farmer cheese. ITs good with crunchy pepper and celery. Seems like you have a sweet tooth. Try adding sweetener, if you'd like.
My other takealongs are on your 'do not eat' list.
I do eat breakfast before I go, though.

Good Luck.
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amother
Forestgreen


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:40 pm
Why don't you make more food every night and set some aside before you eat, so you're guaranteed to have leftovers?

Alternatively, do you like salads? Buy dressings you like and put them in small containers so the salad doesn't get soggy. I like having things like feta cheese, parmesan cheese, craisins, and different nuts to mix up every day. I use a base of greens and add in easy things like grape tomatoes, chick peas, olives. If you have more patience you can cut up anything you like. Bring some Melba toast or whatever crackers you like to fill you up a little longer.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 7:47 pm
All the following can be brought in on Monday and left at work for the week if you have access to a fridge

Cereal and milk
Chummus and cut up vegetables or baby carrots
Kind bars, snack bars, granola bars
Fruit
Peanut butter and bread
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amother
Sienna


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:00 pm
Can you keep things at work
Is there a fridge
Crackers/bread/wraps
Cheese and cheese sticks
Deli Meat
Yogurt
Cereal and milk
Instant oatmeal packs
Tradition soups
Apples
Carrots/Celery sticks
Chumus
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:09 pm
amother [ Teal ] wrote:
Have you tried overnight oats? You can make them however you like--I like rolled oats with almond milk, raisins (they absorb the liquid and get juicy), and a spoonful of pb. I put it all in a container at night and mix up and eat the next morning at work. There are lots of different recipes online and you can play around with the amount of liquid for the texture you like.


Interesting idea, I'll look into that. Thanks.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:10 pm
MiracleMama wrote:
Whatever you would enjoy eating if you did have a way to warm it up at work.... heat it up at home in the morning and put it into a thermos. I do this for my kids' lunches. Stays piping hot for hours.


It would mainly be grilled cheese or leftovers from the previous night. Also sometimes pasta.

A thermos could be used for these things?
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:11 pm
amother [ Lilac ] wrote:
Peanut butter? On bread or bagel..?
Awesome add-ons
-jelly
- chocolate syrup
- raisins
- marshmello fluff


So I do have pb sandwiches (can't do it on a bagel because I have jaw problems), but I can't have them 5 days a week.

I'm trying not to go crazy unhealthy or I'd definitely do those add-ons. Marshmallow fluff? Lol I'd be sure to eat that for lunch! Wink
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:14 pm
They make amazing thermoses and food jars nowadays thst keep good really hot. I’d advocate taking lefotivers from
Dinner. Also soups will stay very hot


Last edited by pesek zman on Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Navy


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:14 pm
I think you can teach yourself to like more foods. I have done it myself. works like this. pick a food it would be "handy" to like, say eggs. force yourself, at least 3 times a week, to have a tiny tastw of egg. one mouthful, that's all. at first it will make you gag maybe. but you will get used to it. and maybe even come to enjoy it. you have to tell yourself - this is an interesting, different flavor - instead of yuck this awful.

I did this. now there are very few foods that I dont eat.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:15 pm
amother [ Ivory ] wrote:
Granola?
Do you like cooked/baked/sauteed veggies? I bake a sheet of eggplant with oil and keep it in fridge. I grab a couple in the morning and I have a microwave at work so I can warm it up, but otherwise, I'd just keep it out of fridge and eat at room temperature. Can work just as well with other veggies.

Spaghetti Squash. I bake a big one and take a bit each morning with a bit of cottage or farmer cheese.

Can you take plain yogurt and add a bit of sugar/splenda with cinnamon?

Carrot sticks with tahini

Baked Potato (good room temperature with sour cream)

Chick Peas

Sour cream mixed with cottage or farmer cheese. ITs good with crunchy pepper and celery. Seems like you have a sweet tooth. Try adding sweetener, if you'd like.
My other takealongs are on your 'do not eat' list.
I do eat breakfast before I go, though.

Good Luck.


Thanks for all the ideas- they'd be really good for any normal eater!! I actually don't like most of those things- spaghetti squash, carrot sticks and/or tahini, plain yogurt with additives, sour cream, cottage or farmer cheese... I said I'm pretty picky. I try to give my kids all the foods I don't like so that they follow in their father's footsteps, and not mine!

I like roasted veggies- not eggplant, but tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, snap peas... I don't really like them at room temp though. Also, those are side dishes but not enough to give me energy. I'm on my feet all day... same issue with chick peas. Protein, but not really filling enough on their own.

I also like baked potato but same issue- I only like it hot.
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brat_islava




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:16 pm
hi you say there are no kosher stores nearby but is there a national chain grocery that carries/sells kosher food? a lot here depends where you are and what hachsherim you hold, etc BUT you can always buy fresh fruit/vegetable and eat raw or cook the dishes you can eat cold. We have to do a lot of this as my kids don't like room temp "hot" dishes either. I make them sort of luncheables with crackers, toasted breads, fruit, veggie, we have little cholav isroel cheese hear that comes individually packaged in wax, trail mix - you can make your own and vary it, dry berries, apricots.
What about smoothies for breakfast, you can make the night before and make it as calorie dans as you need it and vary it as well (fruit, veggie, milchig, pareve :almond milk)
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:18 pm
amother [ Navy ] wrote:
I think you can teach yourself to like more foods. I have done it myself. works like this. pick a food it would be "handy" to like, say eggs. force yourself, at least 3 times a week, to have a tiny tastw of egg. one mouthful, that's all. at first it will make you gag maybe. but you will get used to it. and maybe even come to enjoy it. you have to tell yourself - this is an interesting, different flavor - instead of yuck this awful.

I did this. now there are very few foods that I dont eat.


I've already done that with many foods- I didn't used to touch omelets, any fish, mushrooms, and several other things. The foods I listed, I've tasted multiple times and can't stand.

Take carrots. I'm okay with the taste, but it's just not something I like to eat. If I take it for lunch, I will skip lunch. I skip meals if I don't enjoy them, especially since I'm busy at work anyway. I'll just get carried away with other things and won't touch food.

The one food that I will not touch - ever, under any circumstances - is tuna. I'll eat tuna steak, but regular tuna is so gross to me that I can't even bear to be within 15 feet of it.
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amother
Firebrick


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:24 pm
What would you eat if you were home?

If you want food to be hot, can you bring a small microwave and keep it in your office? Obviously, this depends on your job situation.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:26 pm
amother [ Firebrick ] wrote:
What would you eat if you were home?


Good question. Almost always pasta or frozen pizza. Or skip lunch. Give the kiddos eggs, canned salmon, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, etc.
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oliveoil




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:29 pm
eat the sugary yogurt and the oatmeal packets. It's far better than going all day without eating.
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amother
Ivory


 

Post Sun, Aug 25 2019, 8:32 pm
pesek zman wrote:
They make amazing thermoses and food jars nowadays thst keep good really hot. I’d advocate taking lefotivers from
Dinner. Also soups will stay very hot


Thermos is a great idea. I used to do this in the winter for soups. I make a big pot at the beginning of the week and it lasts for a week. You can make it really filling either with beans and veggies, or with meat/chicken.
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