I need suggestions for packable snacks and meals for work

[Lou]

Last summer while I was doing the Fuhrman diet. I had a big salad for lunch every day. Summertime is when I make a weekly trek to the farmer's market*. I would buy fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, bell peppers, zucchini for my salads. Plus string beans, asparagus, and broccoli for my evening stir fry. And then apricots, plums, and apples for snacks.

At the supermarket, I was mostly just buying soymilk, oatmeal, rice, mushrooms, some seeds, nuts, and chopped olives

One big plus is it made shopping super easy.

The salads didn't get that boring because I was always trying to add new things to it. and changing up the dressing daily. And adding special ingredients: sliced mushrooms; chopped olives; spiralized carrots; spiralized zucchin; roasted tomatoes; grilled onions; canned peas; canned corn; garbanzo beans; black beans; sunflower seeds; almond slivers. The only bad thing is that it put me off chopping veggies for months.

I did buy at least two as-seen-on-TV gizmos to try to chop veggies. only to find that IRL they don't work so good. What useful thing I did learn is that you can just do all your chopping right away and then store it**. If the things are only meant to last a week - they don't suffer too much from chopping ahead of time. In the long run, I think it saves time.

My very best purchase was an expensive kitchen knife and knife sharpener.


* I read somewhere that all the energy saved in buying local is wasted if you have to drive to the Farmer's market. So I would walk there. Its a nice walk but then i was carrying like 20 pounds of produce home.

** I did also develop a new good habit. Come home from the Farmer's market and wash all the veggies and chop them right away. Even if you are not going to eat salad everyday it saves time and makes eating the veggies as snacks more likely.

 

[Lou]

https://www.mamasezz.com/blogs/news/how-to-make-plant-based-foods-taste-great

Great article! lots and lots of good ideas!!

 

[Lou]

Today I did add a teaspoon of olive oil to my bowl of soup because my body is missing out on something, and I've been eating very low fat for a long time. Some nutrients are fat soluble and I wonder if not eating fat is causing me some absorption problems.

If i remember right you only need like 12 or 15 grams of fat per day. I average like 20 or 25.

Split pea soup has become one of my favorite meals. It isn't high calorie. The way I make it is its only like 200 - 300 calories. But I'll also have it with a dinner roll.

 

[Mom2vegan]

Last summer while I was doing the Fuhrman diet. I had a big salad for lunch every day. Summertime is when I make a weekly trek to the farmer's market*. I would buy fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, bell peppers, zucchini for my salads. Plus string beans, asparagus, and broccoli for my evening stir fry. And then apricots, plums, and apples for snacks.

At the supermarket, I was mostly just buying soymilk, oatmeal, rice, mushrooms, some seeds, nuts, and chopped olives

One big plus is it made shopping super easy.

The salads didn't get that boring because I was always trying to add new things to it. and changing up the dressing daily. And adding special ingredients: sliced mushrooms; chopped olives; spiralized carrots; spiralized zucchin; roasted tomatoes; grilled onions; canned peas; canned corn; garbanzo beans; black beans; sunflower seeds; almond slivers. The only bad thing is that it put me off chopping veggies for months.

I did buy at least two as-seen-on-TV gizmos to try to chop veggies. only to find that IRL they don't work so good. What useful thing I did learn is that you can just do all your chopping right away and then store it**. If the things are only meant to last a week - they don't suffer too much from chopping ahead of time. In the long run, I think it saves time.

My very best purchase was an expensive kitchen knife and knife sharpener.


* I read somewhere that all the energy saved in buying local is wasted if you have to drive to the Farmer's market. So I would walk there. Its a nice walk but then i was carrying like 20 pounds of produce home.

** I did also develop a new good habit. Come home from the Farmer's market and wash all the veggies and chop them right away. Even if you are not going to eat salad everyday it saves time and makes eating the veggies as snacks more likely.

You're making me want to go to the farmers market......wish we had one close enough to walk to! I'd ride my bicycle and put all the veggies in the basket.

My weekly meal prep has become a comforting ritual. Adding the chopping up of a lot of vegetables to that would be very pleasant. I need to find a better chopping knife, for sure - the one I have might just need to be sharpened. I guess that's one benefit of living next door to my dad - I'll see if he can sharpen it for me.

That black bean burger recipe seems to be turning out very nice. I haven't eaten a whole burger yet, just crumbles, but they're holding together well and smell great. I doubled the recipe and it's coming out to 10 burgers. I'll freeze some for next week's lunches. Instead of egg I used chia seeds as the binder. I feel so proud of myself for learning that trick.

I bought a toaster oven and I'm doing all the cooking outside so as not to heat up the RV. I do have the instant pot running in the RV, making a batch of maple sugar burboun sweet potato chili.

 

[Lou]

I do have the instant pot running in the RV, making a batch of maple sugar burboun sweet potato chili.

Oh, good you have an IP. I make my split pea soup in the IP. In fact, I just had a bowl for lunch. I love this recipe because I just use an immersion blender after its cooked. No chopping!!

 

[Mom2vegan]

I adore my instant pot - and now I adore my toaster oven. I just made split pea soup in it last week! I love making my own hummus.

OMG I just had a black bean burger on Ezekiel bread with pickles, vegan mayo and ketchup. It tasted fantastic. I have not been so full and satisfied in I don't know how long. I did not know it was possible to be this full and satisfied eating vegan.

 

[Lou]

I like Ezekial bread too. Just discovered it's at Trader Joes for just $3.99.

 

[Mom2vegan]

I like Ezekial bread too. Just discovered it's at Trader Joes for just $3.99.

I need to see if we have a Trader Joes around here.

 

[Mom2vegan]

OK here's the plan for this week. I'm not going to count the calories - I'm just going to do whole foods, nothing processed, no oils added except for 1-2tsp vegan mayonaisse per day.

Breakfast - 1/4C oatmeal cooked in 1/2 C water, with 1T peanut butter and 1/2 banana
Snack - protein smoothie made with a scoop of vegan protein powder, a cup or two of almond milk, and a cup or two of fruit
lunch - a big bowl of maple bourbon sweet potato chili with beans.
snack - fruit
dinner - black bean burrito on 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 1-2t vegan mayo, ketchup, pickles, lettuce
and a salad with 1/2 avocado, 2T salad dressing, some baked jalapeno crisps
1 glass wine

I'm trusting you, Lou. Do not let my figure down!
I'm afraid I may gain weight this week but ...... I'll give it a whirl. Maybe I'll feel stronger and more energetic and feel like going to the gym.

 

[Emma JC]

May I make a suggestion regarding the mayo? instead of mayo on your sandwich use hummus. It is even better flavour and a whole lot less of the oily yuck factor. Also, if you have a freezer, throw in a bag of frozen mixed berries (avoid the mixes with strawberries as they take up too much space in the mix) and add those berries to your oatmeal. Even just a bag of frozen wild blueberries would be a great addition.

Sounds much better than your 1200 calorie days.

Emma JC

 

[Emma JC]

Also, I love black bean burgers too and also falafel or falafel burgers.... here is a great recipe that I have used and absolutely love them. I do love all things chick peas.

https://thevegan8.com/easy-vegan-baked-falafel/

Emma JC

 

[Lou]

May I make a suggestion regarding the mayo? instead of mayo on your sandwich use hummus. It is even better flavour and a whole lot less of the oily yuck factor. Also, if you have a freezer, throw in a bag of frozen mixed berries (avoid the mixes with strawberries as they take up too much space in the mix) and add those berries to your oatmeal. Even just a bag of frozen wild blueberries would be a great addition.

Sounds much better than your 1200 calorie days.

Emma JC

Hummus is great for a sandwich spread. ( I use it on my bagel sandwichs instead of vegan cream cheese). Vegan mayo is usually just oil. Over here we have a brand of vegan aioli. Its no better health-wise than mayo but it is delicious and can go on the other side of the sandwich. I love the garlic flavored one.

When I get back from the Farmers Market I cut up my strawberries and freeze half. they are great to add to oatmeal. And when blueberries are on sale I do the same thing. (we don't have local blueberries). I have never used frozen pineapple or bananas in my oatmeal - but they are great for smoothies.

 

[Lou]

Hi! I often like to take some dish from home... chicken with vegetables or turkey salad
not heavy, tasty and easy to prepare...

Um, Ana, First, this is a vegan forum. No one is going to bring turkey salad to work.
and not that important but Mom2Vegan's account has been idle for months. Not sure if she will ever see this.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Last summer while I was doing the Fuhrman diet. I had a big salad for lunch every day. Summertime is when I make a weekly trek to the farmer's market*. I would buy fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, bell peppers, zucchini for my salads. Plus string beans, asparagus, and broccoli for my evening stir fry. And then apricots, plums, and apples for snacks.

At the supermarket, I was mostly just buying soymilk, oatmeal, rice, mushrooms, some seeds, nuts, and chopped olives

One big plus is it made shopping super easy.

The salads didn't get that boring because I was always trying to add new things to it. and changing up the dressing daily. And adding special ingredients: sliced mushrooms; chopped olives; spiralized carrots; spiralized zucchin; roasted tomatoes; grilled onions; canned peas; canned corn; garbanzo beans; black beans; sunflower seeds; almond slivers. The only bad thing is that it put me off chopping veggies for months.

I did buy at least two as-seen-on-TV gizmos to try to chop veggies. only to find that IRL they don't work so good. What useful thing I did learn is that you can just do all your chopping right away and then store it**. If the things are only meant to last a week - they don't suffer too much from chopping ahead of time. In the long run, I think it saves time.

My very best purchase was an expensive kitchen knife and knife sharpener.


* I read somewhere that all the energy saved in buying local is wasted if you have to drive to the Farmer's market. So I would walk there. Its a nice walk but then i was carrying like 20 pounds of produce home.

** I did also develop a new good habit. Come home from the Farmer's market and wash all the veggies and chop them right away. Even if you are not going to eat salad everyday it saves time and makes eating the veggies as snacks more likely.

I bought a wagon on Amazon. I insist on walking everywhere I can (though I'm not bragging, I know I may be more able bodied or energetic than some people, and sometimes I get really sick of it myself lol there are tired days where I'm like what am I doing???) ....but yeah. Getcha a wagon.

 

[Lou]

I bought a wagon on Amazon. I insist on walking everywhere I can (though I'm not bragging, I know I may be more able bodied or energetic than some people, and sometimes I get really sick of it myself lol there are tired days where I'm like what am I doing???) ....but yeah. Getcha a wagon.

Back in the day when I used to go to a lot of music festivals I had a wagon big enough for a 40-gallon cooler. Could strap on a tent and a few other things. But i got rid of my PU truck years ago and then the wagon became obsolete. (won't fit in the trunk of my car)

For my trips to the Farmer's Market, I just use my old backpack. Sometimes I pick up so much stuff that i also have to carry a grocery bag. But I prefer a backpack to a wagon for normal stuff.

I also got a "packable" backpack. which is nice to have for the small stuff or when you are just out and about.

I did overdo it last week and bought too much stuff. I got to the farmer's market as it was closing and everything was like 10 pounds for $5. So this week its been fruit smoothies every morning, big salad for every lunch and veggie stir fry for every dinner. The only thing i needed at the grocery store was mushrooms, bananas, dry beans, and soy milk.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Back in the day when I used to go to a lot of music festivals I had a wagon big enough for a 40-gallon cooler. Could strap on a tent and a few other things. But i got rid of my PU truck years ago and then the wagon became obsolete. (won't fit in the trunk of my car)

For my trips to the Farmer's Market, I just use my old backpack. Sometimes I pick up so much stuff that i also have to carry a grocery bag. But I prefer a backpack to a wagon for normal stuff.

I also got a "packable" backpack. which is nice to have for the small stuff or when you are just out and about.

I did overdo it last week and bought too much stuff. I got to the farmer's market as it was closing and everything was like 10 pounds for $5. So this week its been fruit smoothies every morning, big salad for every lunch and veggie stir fry for every dinner. The only thing i needed at the grocery store was mushrooms, bananas, dry beans, and soy milk.

I agree that a backpack can work for reasonable loads, I like to use my hiking backpack to do laundry and it distributes weight of groceries better than a couple of grocery bags in each hand. But I started realizing I was envying these old ladies and parents of small children that had things like wagons and strollers to shop with. And some of my friends and roommates use bikes with baskets, but I have a phobia of riding a bike with traffic. I love riding a bike on a trail or on a beach path, but I'm terrified of dealing with cars. I feel more "in control" of the situation on my own two feet. I think I saw too many street-corners with crosses, candles, flowers and tributes to dead bikers in LA.

 

[Lou]

I guess I will know when I become an "old man" or an old woman when I buy one of those vertical wheeled thingies. My grandma had one.

 

[Lou]

 

[Sax]

I love riding a bike on a trail or on a beach path, but I'm terrified of dealing with cars. I feel more "in control" of the situation on my own two feet. I think I saw too many street-corners with crosses, candles, flowers and tributes to dead bikers in LA.

You're not wrong to be afraid, and it pisses me off. Distracted driving is nearly as dangerous as drunk driving, and despite being illegal it's being normalized. Everyone plays with their phone while they drive and there's no enforcement. Then you've got the assholes who see you and decide to swerve, shout, or throw things at you. It's nearly come to blows many times when I catch up to them at the next red light. But it's the ones that don't even see you that I worry about.

I bought a bike at 18 to get to my first job and I've been a bike commuter ever since. I see it as a kind of activism to ride in traffic, pushing back against automobile domination of public spaces. Car culture has been pretty bad for communities and the environment in so many different ways.

I don't know what utopia looks like, but it includes lots of bikes!

 

[Veganite]

Distracted driving is nearly as dangerous as drunk driving

I would go further and say that distracted drivers are far more dangerous than drunk drivers. If you think about this for a moment, at least the drunk is trying to drive in most cases, and not get caught, where someone on their phone checking texts, etc, I believe are far more dangerous, as they're not even looking at the road anymore.

As a motorcycle rider, texter's/phone users, are my worst fear. They also strike at any given time of day, where drunks are often trying to navigate home in the late evening or early hours of the morning. I don't ride much at night, so distracted phone users are by far my greatest threat.

I'd put our island deer at the #2 biggest threat for biker's (not cyclists). I've had two friend hit deer on the road, with one of them being quite seriously injured. They come out of nowhere. I've come very close, myself, to hitting one.

However, I only ride my bicycle on local trails, and in designated bike lanes, where for the most part I do feel safe. I do know several people that ride their bicycles to work, navigating through city traffic, and boy...could they tell you stories of ignorant cars, distracted drivers, etc. I guess at the end of the day it's best to be on your toes around any moving vehicles.

Moral of the story: Don't eat your packable snacks & meals while driving. That is also distracted driving, and would still get you a ticket here where I live.


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