Lunch box essentials?

I make a fresh salad every day, which I pack in a plastic container with a lid. I chop fresh romaine hearts and mix them with shredded carrots, chopped scallions, corn and celery. I occasionally add roasted mushrooms. I top the salad with a protein, usually chopped ham or chicken. I keep salad dressings in the refrigerator at work.

I drink herbal tea during the day, usually roobois, 3-4 cups.

I take 3  prescription electrolyte sachets in a drink bottle,a small banana and rye bread sandwich with either chicken,marmite hard cheese fillings,porridge is good also.

@CTBarrister posted:

I make a fresh salad every day, which I pack in a plastic container with a lid. I chop fresh romaine hearts and mix them with shredded carrots, chopped scallions, corn and celery. I occasionally add roasted mushrooms. I top the salad with a protein, usually chopped ham or chicken. I keep salad dressings in the refrigerator at work.

I drink herbal tea during the day, usually roobois, 3-4 cups.

Salad is a good idea, ill keep that in mind!

My takedown was June and (I am not yet ready for salads) When I travel or have to be out of the house for a day  I pack a lunch box for myself: peanut butter sandwiches, Chobani yogurt cups, hard boiled eggs, bananas and Cheerios.  And there's always a bag of Utz pretzels close by - great to keep up the sodium and easy to digest.

Also - and not sure if you'd be amenable to this - I found using an app like My Fitness Pal helps me keep track of protein, nutrients and total calories among other things. I use a Garmin so also helps me keep track of how I am sleeping.  My son introduced me to the app years back when we were both focusing on reducing weight. Which seems almost funny now. But it's been an even better tool for me post J-pouch.  And there are great recipes in the associated feed.

@AMB posted:

My takedown was June and (I am not yet ready for salads) When I travel or have to be out of the house for a day  I pack a lunch box for myself: peanut butter sandwiches, Chobani yogurt cups, hard boiled eggs, bananas and Cheerios.  And there's always a bag of Utz pretzels close by - great to keep up the sodium and easy to digest.

Also - and not sure if you'd be amenable to this - I found using an app like My Fitness Pal helps me keep track of protein, nutrients and total calories among other things. I use a Garmin so also helps me keep track of how I am sleeping.  My son introduced me to the app years back when we were both focusing on reducing weight. Which seems almost funny now. But it's been an even better tool for me post J-pouch.  And there are great recipes in the associated feed.

I love about all of these.

When you say peanut butter sandwhiches, do you mean sandwhiches with just peanut butter slathered all over it?; do you put anything else on it?

Ive been thinking about hard boiled eggs, as theyre usually mentioned quite frequently on this site and others. Do they not give you gas compared to normal eggs?

Cheerios give me really runny stools and frequent bathroom trips, do you eat them alone or with milk?

I track everything with the samsung health app, it tracks everything like calories, protein, sodium, fat, carbs, etc., i just wish it would track sugars. I do that myself though

@Isaiah Jones The body turns most starches into sugars pretty briskly. For most J-pouch purposes they are likely to be nearly identical, and well covered by the carbs category. Diabetics sometimes need to carefully distinguish complex carbohydrates from simple sugars, because they can raise the blood sugar at a different pace, but they’re pretty much the same when they get to the pouch.

@Scott F posted:

@Isaiah Jones The body turns most starches into sugars pretty briskly. For most J-pouch purposes they are likely to be nearly identical, and well covered by the carbs category. Diabetics sometimes need to carefully distinguish complex carbohydrates from simple sugars, because they can raise the blood sugar at a different pace, but they’re pretty much the same when they get to the pouch.

So does the amount of starches/carbs i eat, like bread or something, influence my sugar intake as well?

How do those two balance out when preparing a meal?

@Isaiah Jones posted:

Salad is a good idea, ill keep that in mind!

Isaiah, you can get creative with salads and do not have to have the same things in it every day.  You can also incorporate hard boiled eggs as your protein in the salad.  That is what they call a Cobb Salad which sometimes also has avocado in it.

In addition to sometimes varying up my veggies, I sometimes add the dried veggie toppings they now sell.   For example, see the dried beets and red peppers in the pic I will post below.  I also vary the proteins which this week included honey ham, Perdue cooked chicken breast strips, and smoked salmon.  You can certainly add hard boiled eggs as a protein.  I also sometimes use chopped bacon and nuts, like almonds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.  Goat cheese is another possible add-on, as well as dried cranberries.  The possible salad mixes are limitless if you use your imagination!

See the below:

@CTBarrister posted:

Isaiah, you can get creative with salads and do not have to have the same things in it every day.  You can also incorporate hard boiled eggs as your protein in the salad.  That is what they call a Cobb Salad which sometimes also has avocado in it.

In addition to sometimes varying up my veggies, I sometimes add the dried veggie toppings they now sell.   For example, see the dried beets and red peppers in the pic I will post below.  I also vary the proteins which this week included honey ham, Perdue cooked chicken breast strips, and smoked salmon.  You can certainly add hard boiled eggs as a protein.  I also sometimes use chopped bacon and nuts, like almonds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.  Goat cheese is another possible add-on, as well as dried cranberries.  The possible salad mixes are limitless if you use your imagination!

I eat salads here and there, ill try more combinations and add more stuff to try and mix it up

Do hard boiled eggs not give us as much gas compared to scrambled/fried? Ill definitely incorporate them

Isaiah,

I personally don't like hard boiled eggs. When I eat eggs I make them scrambled. So I can only answer for scrambled. I have no problem from them.

If I order a Cobb Salad I always tell them no hard boiled eggs. Same thing with BiBimbop at Korean restaurants. I do eat Tamago at sushi restaurants, but all Tamago is is a custardized scrambled egg.

@Isaiah Jones posted:

So does the amount of starches/carbs i eat, like bread or something, influence my sugar intake as well?

How do those two balance out when preparing a meal?

All carbs (starches and sugars) digest into sugar (fiber behaves differently). There is no “balancing” really, other than your preferences - they just  add together. Many starches are part of more complex, nutritious foods than most sweets, but that’s not about carbs.

I'll jump back in to say that the early advice I received from my Pouch specialist and the dietician who works in the practice was to go easy on refined carbs and get a good deal of lean protein. I do a lot of chicken - cutlets coated with corn flakes or potato flakes (Bob's Red Mill has a good product) which are  also good cold. Pearl barley was suggested by the dietician and that has worked for me.  It can also be used cold in salads.

Another thing to consider is rice pudding. It can be made with almond milk if you're staying away from lactose. Very easy to prepare. Also ok in a lunch box.  If you're a rice pudding fan there's a decent brand of individually packaged product you can get in most stores: kozyshak

As for the Cheerios - I'm ok with milk, but also have found oat milk to be a great alternative. And I often add them to plain greek yogurt, sometimes with a bit of honey, because you just need crunch every so often.

I do peanut butter plain on bread with some protein powder, and either honey, grape jam or guava a jelly - small amounts just to mix it up, and no fiber. I can tolerate light whole wheat bread but not much if it. I also put PB on corn bread, which is easy to make and you can prepare it with little sugar.  

And if you've made it to the end, here's my favorite J-pouch snack.  Marshmallows seem to be well tolerated. As is rice. That translates into Rice Krispie treats for me, so I make them frequently and will sometimes  add peanut butter.  Never gets old.

@AMB posted:

I'll jump back in to say that the early advice I received from my Pouch specialist and the dietician who works in the practice was to go easy on refined carbs and get a good deal of lean protein. I do a lot of chicken - cutlets coated with corn flakes or potato flakes (Bob's Red Mill has a good product) which are  also good cold. Pearl barley was suggested by the dietician and that has worked for me.  It can also be used cold in salads.

Another thing to consider is rice pudding. It can be made with almond milk if you're staying away from lactose. Very easy to prepare. Also ok in a lunch box.  If you're a rice pudding fan there's a decent brand of individually packaged product you can get in most stores: kozyshak

As for the Cheerios - I'm ok with milk, but also have found oat milk to be a great alternative. And I often add them to plain greek yogurt, sometimes with a bit of honey, because you just need crunch every so often.

I do peanut butter plain on bread with some protein powder, and either honey, grape jam or guava a jelly - small amounts just to mix it up, and no fiber. I can tolerate light whole wheat bread but not much if it. I also put PB on corn bread, which is easy to make and you can prepare it with little sugar.  

And if you've made it to the end, here's my favorite J-pouch snack.  Marshmallows seem to be well tolerated. As is rice. That translates into Rice Krispie treats for me, so I make them frequently and will sometimes  add peanut butter.  Never gets old.

I eat a good portion of refined carbs. White bread, white rice, pasta, and tortillas have all been reccomended to me over whole grain options. I also eat lot of chicken and poultry for protein

I looooove cornbread, but ive never made it. Definitely will look into it!

I love mashed potatoes, but ive never had them cold. Ill keep that in mind

I looked up the rice pudding: too much added sugars for me. Maybe in the future i could tolerate it. Same with the marshmallows

Egg fried basmati rice with shrimps,peas,red onions,chicken marinaded in teriyaki very nice.

As a vegetarian I do peanut butter and jelly or sunbutter and jelly sandwchiches. Sometimes I will pack desserts like honeybuns and eat desserts for lunch lol. There is vegetarian lunch meat and cheese you can do too with bread.

Ensure drinks for protein is good too.

Now that I'm working from home I eat a variety of things for lunch including sandwiches, ramen noodles, quesadillas, or leftovers form the night before. When I was in the office I'd bring lunch 2 or 3x a week and this usually consisted of a ham turkey and cheese sandwich on a hard roll with mustard and pickles with cashews on the side. Having a high calorie/protein snack to munch on throughout the day is key. Cashews, yogurt, beef jerky, cottage cheese with crackers are a few things that come to mind. You can also incorporate avocado into most things. To get out and away from my office I would usually go grab a cup of soup to accompany my sandwich. In time you'll find you can tolerate nearly every food, however you may need to be cautious with certain things. I make a lot of salads, but just eat a smaller portion now. I still enjoy spicy things but I make sure to pair it with something that will absorb the acid - I find I'll have a rough 24 hours if I eat hot wings by themselves for example, but hot sauce on a sandwich or mixed in with mac and cheese, etc. is fine. Try not to restrict foods completely but be mindful of things that cause discomfort. Sometimes you'll just decide you really want something but know you'll pay the price for it later, and that's ok - especially considering all we've been through. The world is your oyster!

@BK 123 posted:

Now that I'm working from home I eat a variety of things for lunch including sandwiches, ramen noodles, quesadillas, or leftovers form the night before. When I was in the office I'd bring lunch 2 or 3x a week and this usually consisted of a ham turkey and cheese sandwich on a hard roll with mustard and pickles with cashews on the side. Having a high calorie/protein snack to munch on throughout the day is key. Cashews, yogurt, beef jerky, cottage cheese with crackers are a few things that come to mind. You can also incorporate avocado into most things. To get out and away from my office I would usually go grab a cup of soup to accompany my sandwich. In time you'll find you can tolerate nearly every food, however you may need to be cautious with certain things. I make a lot of salads, but just eat a smaller portion now. I still enjoy spicy things but I make sure to pair it with something that will absorb the acid - I find I'll have a rough 24 hours if I eat hot wings by themselves for example, but hot sauce on a sandwich or mixed in with mac and cheese, etc. is fine. Try not to restrict foods completely but be mindful of things that cause discomfort. Sometimes you'll just decide you really want something but know you'll pay the price for it later, and that's ok - especially considering all we've been through. The world is your oyster!

sandwiches, ramen noodles, quesadillas, or leftovers are things I eat all the time. Totally on board with that. I'll take a look into hard rolls. Beef jerky and spicy foods sound super appealing (with caution of course). Thank you!