Yet another special snowflake lunch question.
February 20, 2016 7:18 PM   Subscribe

Purchasable, ready to go soft food lunch/snack that's satiating and not cold? I’m about to be even more obnoxiously picky, but I’ll try to keep it brief.

I have braces on the back of my teeth. Right now I also have almost no motivation or energy to make and pack lunch, but I’d like to go to a store (or better, Amazon), order a food type thing or three, put it in my bag the morning of work, pull it out at lunch, and unwrap it/maybe heat it/eat it.

I would like this ideal lunch or large snack type food to be protein and/or fat rich, but also braces-friendly - so no hard foods like nuts or beef jerky. Something like an Epic bar might be okay, but the last few of those I bought weren’t vacuum sealed quite right, so I’m a bit leery of them. Perishable is OK, but I don’t really like cold food like yogurt in anything but the warmest months (it’s winter where I am now). Fish is tasty, but I don’t have a private space to eat lunch so smells impinging on coworkers are a concern. Very sweet or very salty things are… challenging, but maybe there’s a low sodium grab and go soup product you’ve encountered? Oh, and I eat low FODMAPs, so beans, legumes, and a variety of other tasty things are out other than in condiment-level portions on pains of… well, less metaphorical pains.

What does that leave me? String cheese? Avocados? Some magical holy grail of a protein bar you’ve discovered and wish to share? Swallowing a large handful of fish oil pills and then drinking a bottled smoothie? Hope my lunch.
posted by deludingmyself to Food & Drink (23 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: baked potato with various toppings?
posted by mollymillions at 7:21 PM on February 20, 2016


Best answer: If you have access to Costco, they have a variety of imo really great microwavable meals in their fridge section. There's an indian food brand I don't know the name of but has really pretty packaging--so far all of the flavors I've had from that brand have been great--and they have a rotating selection of roasted meat/veg things that are also quite good.

I make a bunch of rice (because I like rice, but really you could probably do anything), divide it up among tupperwares, then splorp out a serving of the pre-made food into each one, then pop them in the fridge for the week. Very low effort and they're designed to be microwave heated so they don't lose texture quality in reheating at work.

Buying the meals in the "family size" portions and separating them myself is much more budget friendly than single serve packaged food, and the quality on the Costco stuff is heaps better than any other pre-packaged entrees I've tried.
posted by phunniemee at 7:27 PM on February 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Whole Foods and Fairway (and I'm guessing most of the larger grocery stores) have excellent hot/cold buffets. You can have pasta salads, creamy soups, etc. I don't know about the sodium content but I think Whole Foods would have nutritional info ready if you want it.
posted by theappleonatree at 7:28 PM on February 20, 2016


There's a product called "Lunchables" which is a single-serving package that contains crackers, meat and cheese. In one version the meat is Turkey; in another it's Ham. They taste good and will make a reasonable lunch, and keeping them out of the fridge for four hours won't be a problem.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:29 PM on February 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Can you eat couscous? Nile Spice makes instant lunches in a cup (like Pot Noodles) and while almost all of them are lentil bases, there are two that are just couscous. The Dr McDougall's are very varied and often low in sodium. Could you eat Pad Thai?
posted by DarlingBri at 7:46 PM on February 20, 2016


Best answer: Boiled eggs. They sell them in a pouch, pre-boiled, pre-peeled at my grocery, but the bag goes bad faster than I can eat them--whereas if I boil a dozen eggs and leave them in the shells, they last till I eat them all They'll keep in your bag all day; they're high protein, soft, low stink. Sprinkle some smoked paprika on them and they're delicious.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:13 PM on February 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


P3? Protein, nut and cheese. My daughter got her braces off earlier this month, but she never had an issue with this.
posted by Ruki at 9:03 PM on February 20, 2016


Best answer: Room temperature Sharp cheddar with cashews.

Avocado mixed with chèvre, salt and pepper with bread.
posted by pintapicasso at 9:05 PM on February 20, 2016


I just looked up FODMAPS.

Dolmas (comes in a can!) are on your list! This is cooked rice wrapped in grape leaves. You can match these with your protein or veg of choice to round it out, hard boiled eggs would be great! Any mediterranean type food market has them. Cheap. Like $2.50 a can. Half a can is about all you can enjoy, unless you are starving.

Can be paired with cheese or avocado, too, I imagine.

Sauteed greens of choice with quinoa? You can buy bags of greens and pre-cooked quinoa (or rice) separately and then heat up at work. Or put the heated grain on the greens for a warm salad.

Pickles seem to be OK for your diet - I like to roll smoked turkey with a thin slice of pickle and mustard. This is not something you can buy in the shops, tho. Pickles are also great with hard boiled eggs.

Not sure if marinated artichoke hearts (can or jar) is on your list, but they are high in fiber and fodmap diets are low in fiber and you need fiber - so look into these! Can be added to roice or other grain, or enjoyed alone.

Ditto Hearts of Palm.

I feel like most Indian meals in a packet are not on your food list, but some dishes might pass muster. Some stores sell individually frozen cooked rice, and as an example, Spinach with Paneer Cheese (Palak Paneer) could be tasty (sometimes too spicy depending on the brand, tho.)

Asian sautéed Vegetables frozen and heated on frozen rice.

Canned soup is evil, but maybe if you peruse brands (organic type) at the store you might find one that goes well will those pre-cooked frozen rice I mentioned.

Zuchinni is your friend. Can you find Roasted Vegetables in your frozen food section? Heat that up.

And Mushrooms (sliced, fresh from a packet) added to anything you are heating up is boss as long as they are actually fresh and smell great (they look and smell badly when they are still sellable, but are actually "off." If you add a dry paper towel to a fantastic looking sliced bag of mushrooms they will be edible for over a week if bought when still fresh looking. I was CRAZY about only buying whole mushrooms until my life got too hectic. Now I buy them sliced and use the paper towel trick. I add them to anything and everything because they are really good for you and add an earthy meaty note to dishes that need that flavor component, like anything too acidy. YMMV.)

No. I can not think of anything besides canned Dolmas and Jarred Artichoke Hearts and Frozen Veg or Frozen Rice that are pick up and go. Wish I could. Hope this helps anyway!
posted by jbenben at 9:11 PM on February 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Have you looked at Heater Meals or MRE's or the Hormel Breakfast ?
posted by Sophont at 9:16 PM on February 20, 2016


Note that artichoke hearts and mushrooms will both be problematic if you are sensitive to FODMAPs.
posted by yarntheory at 9:30 PM on February 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Do you have a microwave at your work that you could use?

If so, I also recommend a potato. It may seem bland at first blush, but there are many varieties and toppings that you could employ to both literally and figuratively "spice it up."

For example, there's sweet potato, russet potato, red skin potato, among others.

Then, to name a few toppings off the top of my head, there's butter, sour cream, plain greek yogurt, chives, chopped onion, garlic, green/red/yellow pepper, mushrooms, cilantro, oregano, salt, pepper, Tabasco, Siracha, Cholula.

The number of possible potato-and-topping(s) permutations is literally astonishing.

I had a co-worker once who ate a sweet potato w/ butter for lunch everyday. She would stab the raw potato w/ a fork a few times, pop it in the microwave for a few minutes, slice it down the center, slice each half down the center, then put a slab of butter in each crevasse. If you are willing to add other toppings, it could be a low perishable, highly sustainable, cheap, quick, and long-term solution.
posted by TimBridge at 9:33 PM on February 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Breakfast burritos? They come frozen. Tamales? We have Trader Joes in Denver now and they have some options. Or just pick one up on the way to work and reheat it. TJ's also carries vaccum packed chunks of tofu over by the salads. There is a greens and grains frozen option that I like, it has chickpeas but it's mostly greens and quinoa. Safeway has those tubs of soup, some of those are pretty tasty
posted by BoscosMom at 9:56 PM on February 20, 2016


Best answer: Have you investigated the things from Amy's? They have a whole section of their website dedicated to special diets and are very clear on their ingredients. And since it's frozen, most of their food is relatively squishy. I like their rice bowls especially for their high protein and reasonable calorie count, and also their green enchiladas, and their roasted vegetable pizza. I'm not overly familiar with FODMAP restrictions but they're also really responsive to customers, so if you wrote them asking about what might work for you I'm pretty sure they'd get back to you with suggestions (and probably coupons.)
posted by Mizu at 1:23 AM on February 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Check out these vacuum sealed Indian meals. Perhaps too salty, and some are high in fodmaps, but some seem to be less so (I'm not sure what all is in and out). Might be worth a look.
posted by salvia at 2:14 AM on February 21, 2016


By the way, if you like that ^^ then you can probably find much cheaper prices if you shop around. It's much cheaper at Trader Joe's.
posted by salvia at 2:16 AM on February 21, 2016


Best answer: My sister is vegetarian and on FODMAPs; you have my sympathies, because it makes -easy- food a lot more difficult. Honestly, she doesn't eat a lot of convenience food, because of exactly what you're running into here. She does a big food prep on Sunday afternoons - which I know is hard when the field of your fucks runeth low - and eats off that all week.

That said, there are options for convenience food (Amy's, linked to above, is a great start; you can filter out for gluten and dairy - I know it's not exactly either but it's an easy way to filter out some of the big stuff - and start scanning for triggers from there). If you're willing to post your specific triggers (how's your lactose tolerance? What else gets you besides the beans and legumes you mentioned?) or Memail me, I can ask her what she turns to when she just can't be arsed and we should be able to come up with some suggestions for you.
posted by joycehealy at 5:32 AM on February 21, 2016


Cheese and gluten free crackers

Oatmeal is nice and warm, you can tart it up with fruit or yogurt (warms it up for you so it's not cold.)

Hard boiled eggs and veggie sticks with gluten free pretzels.

PBJ on gluten-free bread.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:12 AM on February 21, 2016


I think the shrimp bisque I can get from my local grocery store (Raley's) is delicious. It's very high in fat, which you asked for. It tastes sweet and creamy, not particularly salty, but it may be fairly high in sodium like other soups. Maybe it could be thinned with milk. I don't recall it having a seafood odor as it mostly tastes like corn, potatoes and cream, but my memory may be incomplete.
posted by puddledork at 7:35 AM on February 21, 2016


Coworker has oatmeal cooked in the microwave almost daily for lunch. He supplements with sliced apples spread with peanut butter on the side. You could do this with banana, which is lower FODMAP, I believe than apple.

Not sure if Tanka Bars (original flavor) would be ok with your braces, but they are definitely well sealed. They are available online from the company, amazon, etc., and also from places like Whole Foods.
posted by gudrun at 7:44 AM on February 21, 2016


I came in to recommend Amy's brand (linked above), too. Their canned soups are really tasty and they have low sodium options.

A word of warning about Lunchables: they are extraordinarily high in sodium and contain very little nutrition. Better to bring in your own crackers, meats, and cheeses if that's a good option.
posted by juliplease at 10:38 AM on February 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Post-grocery store run update: I feel like I just bought the entire Safeway. I should probably have eaten breakfast first. TimBridge, I especially love the potato suggestion, because I can probably bring myself to slop some sour cream and butter into a container and put a potato in my bag. (Bonus: even if I'm not happy with it as a lunch option I can at least stab the potato to feel better.)

For those asking about particular sensitivities, my system can handle lactose pretty well, galacto-oligosaccharides very poorly, and everything else on the FODMAPs list not great, although highly processed wheat flours and avocados are pretty safe bets even though they're on the do not eat list.

Basically the more fiber a food has, the more likely I am to have 24 hours of stomachache from eating it, which is annoying because I really like eating fresh veggies and bean soups and whole grain breads and such, but instead I'm stuck sorting through mushy garbage processed nonsense because I don't have the energy to make anything better.

Keep the suggestions coming if you have any more. Maybe I can work towards the motivation to start making and pre-portioning soup for at least some of the week.
posted by deludingmyself at 11:42 AM on February 21, 2016


Did anyone say quiche? Quiche would be good.
posted by BoscosMom at 1:32 PM on February 21, 2016


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