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"complicated" lunch ideas...  

post #1 of 18
Thread Starter 
I need ideas for lunch for my dh. He is a full time writer and often spends his day at the library ( I run a daycare from our home, it gets too noisy for mr artiste )
But he's a bit high need , here's what he cant have/do

no nuts ( coconut is fine)
no grain
no green or red peppers
he wont be able to heat it, but we do have a thermos, but he's not crazy about soup...:
needs to be able to make ahead a few days

I have thought salads, obviously...anything else?

Thanks a bunch!

Tanya
post #2 of 18
I've been packing lunch for my DH for a few weeks. My standby is a chicken breast marinated in something, then broiled and sliced up. Then I make various different salads and dressings and give them all to him in separate containers to mix once he gets to work.

For example tomorrow:
broiled chicken breast - mixed up onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt, and then enough olive oil to make a paste. then I stabbed the chicken with a fork a bunch of times to make holes for the marinade to get into, then rolled the chicken around in the spice paste. broil until it's done
salad - romaine lettuce, parsley, cilantro, sliced fennel, sliced radishes, grated carrots (the last 3 done with the food processor, that thing saves my life, I swear)
dressing - ume plum vinegar and EVOO in a 1:3 mixture, plus fennel fronds and a "salad sprinkle" herb mix I got at whole foods

I also pack him some blue ice CLO capsules and some kind of sweet thing. Tomorrow it's some nut cookies that I made (I guess your DH can't eat those), but I do other things as well - fruit, dark chocolate, low-sugar macaroons.

I'll go look through my old menus and see if I come up with anything else interesting.
post #3 of 18
Thread Starter 
Oh, that sounds good. I have been packing dh's lunches for years but he just recently stopped wroking hsi day job ( yay!) and is now no where near a way to heat up his lunch,....

The grilled chicken sounds good,and I guess i can make roast beef as well...

Tanya
post #4 of 18
Ok here's what I've got:

chicken or lamb kabobs: chop up the meat and put it in a container with coconut milk, salt, turmeric, 1 clove of crushed garlic, some minced ginger, chopped cilantro and/or parsley, and lemon or lime juice. let it marinate for at least an hour while you do other stuff. stick the chunks on a skewer and broil until they're done. -this goes well with a normal lettuce salad or something fancier like a fennel salad

speaking of which, fennel salad: sliced fennel (food processor makes it really easy) with parsley, orange segments, almonds, and evoo/lemon juice vinaigrette

celery salad: celery matchsticks, celery root matchsticks, parsley, walnuts, evoo vinaigrette

crispy nuts

veggie sticks - carrot, celery, jicama

fruit - apples, pears, nectarines, plums, berries

pork chop meal: broiled pork chops (can you tell I like the broiler? heh), saurkraut, green salad with dressing, sliced apple

pancake meal: pancakes that are legal on your diet with a small container of maple syrup, nitrate-free bacon, piece of fresh fruit

chicken salad: baked chicken breast, celery, salt, pepper, mayo. goes well with green salad and a piece of fruit, but then again what doesn't? lol

hamburger meal: hamburger patty with your favorite fixins (we like mayo, ketchup, bacon, avocado) on top of salad. I like it with a hardboiled egg, DH doesn't. can also do meatballs instead

Oh and DH's favorite chicken marinade and/or salad dressing is a tahini mustard dressing that I make - can your DH do tahini? It's basically 1/2 cup tahini, 3/4 cup water, 3 T apple cider vinegar, 2 T mustard, 2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt whirred in the food processor. It gets real thick in the fridge.

All of these meals don't need to be heated up, because DH hates heating up things too (he works in an academic library). Occasionally he will let me give him soup, in which case I heat it up in the morning and give it to him in a thermos.
post #5 of 18
Snacky meals that go well together are nice. Like, I think that a combo of sliced apple, sharp cheddar, bubbies pickles, and some bread are substantial enough for a meal taste good together and pack well. I often pack a kefir smoothie for lunches out as well.

I have also done rice, refried beans, and cheese on a corn tortilla (though, it would still be good without the tortilla).

If your dh likes hotdogs, a thermos of hot water will deliver a piping hot hotdog or 2 for lunch.
post #6 of 18
Thread Starter 
Oh, I like the hot dog idea....

Thanks fot the ideas guys.

I think I need to find a nut free and grain free bread type thing to round out his meals. I have tried coconut flour stuff but that definately taste like coconut, kwim?

Tanya
post #7 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcarwyn View Post
Oh, I like the hot dog idea....

Thanks fot the ideas guys.

I think I need to find a nut free and grain free bread type thing to round out his meals. I have tried coconut flour stuff but that definately taste like coconut, kwim?

Tanya
Latkes? Or maybe flax crackers?
post #8 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by ConsCathMamma View Post
I often pack a kefir smoothie for lunches out as well.
quick question: what do you put in your smoothie that it can stay yummy until lunch? I've made them in the past with flax meal...maybe that's why leftovers would turn yucky. Right now I'm loving kefir, avocado, coconut cream concentrate, pastured egg yolk, and either cocoa or mango. Do you think that would keep?? the kids get popsicles made from any that I can't finish. dh usually does all watery stuff: frozen fruit, ice, water, and whey protein (I can lead a horse to water...) Anyway, do you think his would keep???
post #9 of 18
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kallyn View Post
Latkes? Or maybe flax crackers?
yeah! flax crackers...I need to make more of those. I made this dehydrated soaked seed cracker thing a while back...tasted great but very crumbly, might have made them too thin...great idea!

And latkes sound good, but would they stay tasty cold?


Thanks for all the ideas guys...really appreciate it!

tanya
post #10 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feb2003 View Post
quick question: what do you put in your smoothie that it can stay yummy until lunch? I've made them in the past with flax meal...maybe that's why leftovers would turn yucky. Right now I'm loving kefir, avocado, coconut cream concentrate, pastured egg yolk, and either cocoa or mango. Do you think that would keep?? the kids get popsicles made from any that I can't finish. dh usually does all watery stuff: frozen fruit, ice, water, and whey protein (I can lead a horse to water...) Anyway, do you think his would keep???
I typically just do frozen fruit, maybe a banana, and flax oil, clo, and a sweetener.

If I have leftovers, the banana sometimes makes it turn brown overnight in the fridge; so, I would think avocado would be similar--maybe not bad, just less appetizing. I haven't made it to including raw eggs in my smoothies, but I don't think I would do it if I weren't going to consume it immediately or keep it cold. If I were packing it in the summer, I would probably include an ice pack. I typically use a small mason jar, so, I would think the heavy glass aids a little in keeping it cool as opposed to what a plastic container might?
post #11 of 18
Thread Starter 
You can also freeze the smoothy a bit and then it will defrost over time and be great, slushy and cold when you want to eat it.

Tanya
post #12 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcarwyn View Post
no nuts ( coconut is fine)
no grain
Can he have seeds? Sesame and Sunflower? I've got some recipes using seeds to make cookies instead of nuts and flour. If he can have that, I'll post the recipes.
post #13 of 18
Thread Starter 
Totally...that would be so great...cookies you say? wonderful! Thank you so much!

tanya
post #14 of 18
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Yield 2-1/2 Dozen

1 cup tahini or sunflower butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 cups flour arrow root flour, ground sesame seeds, or ground sunflower seeds (you could also use a little coconut flour in this, but I wouldn't do more than about 1/4 cup coconut flour total for this recipe)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix nut butter, sweetener and oil together until smooth. Add flavoring and salt and blend again. Add flour or ground nuts a little at a time and mix well.

Note: Use a wooden spoon, or better yet, mix with your hands; do not use an electric mixer!

Roll dough into balls, place on oiled cookie sheet, flatten with a fork. Or form into 2" thick rolls on waxed paper. Roll up, chill and slice 1/2" thick.

Bake about 12 minutes. Watch closely to avoid burning.

Uncooked dough keeps well in refrigerator. Bake as needed. Freezes nicely also.


Tip: If you aren't cooking for someone with allergies, you can also sub any flour, starch or nut flour for the arrowroot and any nut or seed butter for the tahini.
post #15 of 18
Thread Starter 
Fantastic...and lo and behold I have all the ingredients in the house...I think I am making a batch right after breakfast.....Thanks so much!

Tanya
post #16 of 18
We love grapes and cheese in our house.
I cut sharp or medium cheddar into cubes.
pair a grape with a piece of cheese .

I dont suppose a man would find it filling though. The kids and I do however.
post #17 of 18
Thread Starter 
Yeah, it is the whole "filling" part. I think it is mostly in his head though...he is just so used to eating grains with everything. He stopped eating grains about a month ago because he wanted to loose a bit of weight and he said it made him feel better. But then all of a sudden all sorts of minor health issues went away too ( and he lost all the weight he wanted to loose in like two weeks....: men! )
Now I am thinking he might have a gluten issue ( I am allergic myself) and he agrees but he is having a hard time adjusting to the new way of things

thanks again

tanya
post #18 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcarwyn View Post
Fantastic...and lo and behold I have all the ingredients in the house...I think I am making a batch right after breakfast.....Thanks so much!
You're welcome. I made a batch today usng tahini and sesame seeds, and my kids like it.
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