Question for WORKING Moms/dads

My husband grills chicken breasts every Sunday night, cuts them up into individual servings and then puts them in the freezer. He bring spinach, cheese and whatever else he wants on his salad to work. Heats up the chicken and has a great meal!

We sometimes pre-cook chicken breast and keep it in the fridge and have it for lunch for the next few days. You can use it for a salad, in a wrap, on a sandwich, or whatever. It's especially yummy baked with a coating - dip the washed/dried chicken breast in milk, then roll in a mix of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasonings (oregano, salt, pepper, whatever you like.) Bake at 350 until done (about 45 min., less if you cut the breasts into smaller pieces.)

Flour tortillas are cheap and can be the basis for wraps with whatever you like inside. Lite cream cheese makes a great spread for wraps - add some lettuce for crunchiness and whatever else you like. I bring tomatoes, pickles in a separate baggie and assemble at lunchtime. I don't like deli sandwich meat so I've had to get creative. Sometimes I take a sort of antipasto - some chunks of meat (chicken, ham), cheese, some olives and some french bread.

We also make side salads, and we have several favorites that are healthy and yummy and last in the fridge for a few days. For example, three-bean salad. We also make a salad with a viniagrette, a couple of cans of beans (pinto and great northern, for example) a can of corn, onion, lime, cilantro. It's very filling and has tons of protein. Another combo that's easy and yummy is viniagrette, onion, garbanzo beans (chick peas) and sliced black olives.

Hummus can be used to make the familiar seem interesting, too. Sandwiches seem new when you try new spreads and ingredients - avocado, hummus, pesto - and new kinds of bread/wraps.

I think wrap sandwiches (tortillas, cheese, meat, veggies, whatever) do fairly well in waiting a few hours. You can get ranch dressing to keep in the work fridge to "dress it up" without it getting soggy. Making lasagna on the weekend and then freezing it until mid-week, for example could be good too.

Even if you can agree to cutting back 3 days out of 5 OR you always bring your own drink, etc., you'll hit your goal of saving money and eating better.

Good luck, I have great intentions like this, and then usually find that I don't have what I need that morning and end up with a banana and wheat thins or something silly like that.

Dear N D,

here is one of the things that I used to take to work with me. As long as you have a microwave it's quick and easy. I would take a flour tortia shell and then pizza sauce (in a bottle) and then some peporni and some shredded cheese. Put the chesse on last. I would microwave for 30-45 seconds then fold it over and eat it with a piece of fruit. I to liked to take sandwhiches to work. I would just think about what kind of sandwhiches I would get at subway and then make them my own way. I would get different kinds of breads and meats. I would even go to the deli and get lunch meat from there. Some times I would get creative. I would do wraps to. I have cooked up some bacon and then made a chicken bacon sandwhich. And you can even do it with eggs and sausage.
B.

I take Lean Cuisines or Healthy Choice meals with yogurt and fruit and my husband takes whatever leftovers we have. Also, whenever I make things in bulk, like a bunch of chili or a casserole or italian beef or spaghetti, we freeze the extra so that if he's not in the mood for last night's leftovers, he can always find something in the freezer. He doesn't like the HC or LC meals b/c of the small portions and taste, but does like having our meals in the freezer.

Well as far as healthy you have many choices. I make a variety of sandwiches for my husband from turkey, ham, low fat bologna, and even pbj. I also buy the bulk bags of baked chips for him. He even puts some fruit or a fruit cup in his lunches. As for me we have a fridge so I stock it with grapes, apples(with low fat carmel dip), salad bags, some dressing, and cheese. I also buy some tuna and crackers. Try to mix things up. Buy a variety so no one gets bored with their lunches.

I do a couple things for food at work....
First, I keep a drawer with crackers, granola bars, peanut butter, some instant soups, etc, in my office. I also keep a block of cheese in the fridge at work. In a pinch, cheese and crackers and a piece of fruit is pretty good for lunch.

Most days I take leftovers if there are any, from the previous night or two at home. Otherwise, I do sandwiches. I'm personally a fan of peanut butter and jelly, but the secret is that they really taste much better if you eat them freshly made. I also do cheese, lettuce and tomato. This is very good with mustard to spice it up. In the summer when more veggies are in season I eat a lot of cut up peppers, carrots, broccoli etc. (i'm not much of a dip fan, but put a bottle of salad dressing in the fridge - if you have one available - and you can use it as dip). Actually, salads are good too. Sometimes I add some chick peas or cheese to beef a salad up a bit.

Good luck!

When I was working (I'm on leave from my job at the moment) I would take leftovers from the night before. Granted, it isn't the sandwich route you're asking for, but it is another option.

I would make a regular recipe, which for 2 people is way too much food anyway, then set aside a serving for both my husband and I to take the work the next day in a plastic container. It worked well for us, cut down on portion size, and stretched our grocery dollar even farther each week.

ND:

www.gormetinaday.com

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com