What's everyone having for lunches?

FutureMrsW9

I would post this over on my BMB but a lot of those women don't follow the rules and I'm sure it would get snarky.  I take the rules with a grain of salt, too, but right now it's too early and my IF brain just wants to follow the rules to a T, so no deli meat for this girl - at least not yet.

I'm having such a hard time figuring out what to bring for lunch.  We have an awesome cafe at my office, and they actually give us a $3 per diem to use, but lately nothing down there has been appealing to me and I just can't take the smells uuugh!  Without being able to make a traditional sandwich, what else really is there that's portable?  I know I could do salad but bleh, plus it's hard to get a protein in there without meat.  What have you ladies been doing for lunches, specifically at work?  I'm at the point now where I wouldn't say I have morning sickness, but not much food appeals to me (I am ever so slightly nauseous all the time) especially meat of any kind - so it's kinda limiting.  All I want are bland carb-filled things like crackers and grits, but I know I really should be careful with this since I'm at high risk to get GD.

hootie123

Does your cafe make grilled cheese?  I ate a lot of it during my first tri when nothing else sounded good to me. 

FutureMrsW9

So the definition of grilled cheese in my cafe is a few slices of cheese on white bread stuck in a toaster oven for about a minute - it's disgusting lol.  It's about the only thing they make that's NOT good, everything else is pretty fabulous for a corporate cafe.

LadyMacaron

I make a big batch of soup on Sundays and take that with me for lunch sometimes. I also do tuna or egg salad on sourdough or wheat, crackers and cheese with a fruit cup, veggie or salmon burger, hummus with pita chips...I often just bring leftovers from home too.

katekat8721

I've been taking soups, salads, random snacks since sometimes I'm too nauseous to eat a big meal. Today I had a sandwich, I don't feel too horrible about it, but I'm of the belief in moderation. My appetite picks up in the evening. Sometimes for lunch I just have jolly ranchers lol. Going to stalk this post for ideas though!

MJC1116

Maybe it's because it's my 2nd pregnancy, or I made my OB explain the "no deli meat" thing, but I haven't really been following it too closely. I just won't eat anything that isn't either freshly carved from the deli or straight from the package myself. I didn't have any leftovers from last night, so I ordered from our school hot lunch (which is a former parent who has a catering company) and she made me a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich, a scoop of mac and cheese, and some crackers with hummus. Can you tell I have my appetite back?

I totally get what you're saying about feeling flamed on other boards! I'm so hesitant to post there. I hope this didn't seem like a snarky comment either! It's hard when nothing sounds good or when things smell funky. When I was feeling gross, even sandwiches were unappealing. I'd try something new every day, it would be okay, and then the next day it tasted funky. I really did like making smoothies for meals, though!

Peanutz21

my cafeteria stinks too. i'm also too lazy to bring lunch to work. when there's nothing to eat i opt for a chicken salad sandwich.

twistsandturnsto2

What about wraps with veggies and hummus? I've seen some great recipies on Pinterest and used to make some yummy ones with a whole wheat wraps.

Wrap, hummus, tomato, cukes, onion, feta, olives, edamame......

auntjessy

Amen to the snarky thing!  I think some women on other boards, not having to go through the experience of infertility together, just didn't develop the respect and care for each other, that's all.  So, they're just hormonal without the compassion.  I avoid the other boards, LOL.

On food, I work from home, so I don't have to worry about portability, but I've been (oddly) eating a lot of fruit and cottage cheese.  It's good for me, I can tolerate it through my nausea, and it's really balanced.  I finally broke down last week and ate a Jimmy Johns italian sub - my fave.  It was so delicious, but I had the worst heartburn ever afterwards, even on meds.  I wouldn't try to sway anyone else on the deli meat thing, but I basically read that anywhere that you didn't get sick before you were pregnant, is probably safe afterward.  They were referring to sushi, but I figure it's the same thing.  Besides, it was 1 sub.  And it was a tasty, tasty thing.  

twistsandturnsto2

@auntjessy I had 3 Vito subs from JJs last week "> it was the only thing that sounded appetizing.

MJC1116

@twistsandturnsto2 that sounds sooooooo good!!

zazu13

What about other types of sandwiches - egg, chicken, tuna salad... Or a Philly where the meat is heated? I mainly bring dinner leftovers, but when I don't have any I usually eat a salad or frozen burrito.

tryingyetagain

I like to make a batch of something (pasta salad, couscous with veggies, casserole) that I can eat on for a few days. On the lunch meat issue, I read a great article that said lunch meat is totally fine as long as the sandwich is toasted. The odds of lunch meat causing issues are probably slim anyways, but if anyone was worried they could try that. I'm too scared to try any of the other boards. The snarkiness is not fun to deal with at all. I like it here much better!

FutureMrsW9

Thanks ladies, lots of good ideas!  Keep them coming :-)

I've been doing a lot of grilled cheese, as much as they stink in my cafe.  And when they have a good soup I'll do that.  I like to try to eat there as much as I can so I don't give up my $3/day!  Our cafe is actually really good, their hot specials everyday are restaurant-quality, and a few of the cooks actually work at some of the local restaurants at night and on the weekends, so their food is delish.  Anyway, that's off topic....I think the hardest thing right now, the rules on deli meat aside, is that I cannot stomach the mere thought of meat.  Any kind of meat.  Steak, chicken, turkey, ham, even fish....nope, yuck, getting nauseous just writing this thinking about it lol.  So even when they do have fresh sliced turkey or something like that at the deli counter I still can't do it.  All I've really been wanting are potatoes in any form, grits, cheese, and fruit.  So weird, I know.  Really anything bland I guess.  I guess I'll just have to suck it up and stick with what I can stomach until the aversions ease up.

BeeBee08

I'm a fan of dinner leftovers.  I've also been having tuna melts and egg salad...mayo is my best friend   Today I'm having a toasted tomato sandwich.  Honestly, at 7w I was eating whatever sounded good.  Since I couldn't enter the grocery store, I was at the mercy of DH and I'll be honest, I ate a lot of regular pasta and a lot of cereal. 

If you can do a ravioli or something and reheat for lunch, you can get your desired carbs and required protein.  Good Luck!

FutureMrsW9

I see a lot of you ladies mentioning tuna....I was told to be careful with tuna, and if I must have it make it at home, nothing store-bought or pre-made (this also goes for any other salads made with a mayo-base such as egg or chicken salads).  What kind do you get and how do you make it?  I've also seen that you should be careful with mayo because it's got raw eggs in it....I'm not sure how much weight this holds because I would assume that anything from the grocery store has been highly processed and is free of bacteria, etc.  Maybe this just pertains to homemade mayo, which who the heck makes their own mayo?? lol  OMG a tuna melt sounds really really good right now!

BeeBee08

I think just like the great cheese debate, mayo fom stores is made with pasteurized eggs and is generally considered safe.  If you wouldn't eat it before you were pregnant (after it sat out for hours at room temp), it's not safe now either.

As for tuna, I was told that it's because of mercury, but you can eat up to like 4 cans/week or something before it's dangerous.  I don't eat nearly that much!  I use a can of flaked light tuna packed in water and a dollop of Hellman's Olive Oil mayo, dice up a pickle and add some pepper and I'm done.  There are these really good breakfast rounds https://us.ozerybakeryinc.com/ozery/morningrounds.php and I toast one whole, then put my tuna and cheese (I'm non dairy so it's daiya cheese) and throw it under the broiler.  So satisfying!

kflynn81

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hootie123 said:

Does your cafe make grilled cheese?  I ate a lot of it during my first tri when nothing else sounded good to me. 

That's what I had for dinner last night OMG delicious!!!!

auntjessy

@FutureMrsW9 - for about 3 weeks last month I ate almost nothing but baked potatoes and white rice.  And even then, it was not easy.  A few more weeks, it'll ease up.  I'm still not feeling great, but I can tolerate grilled chicken in moderation.  Oh, and to answer your question, Martha Stewart.  I'm sure she makes her own mayo, LOL. 

LadyMacaron

FutureMrsW9 said:

I see a lot of you ladies mentioning tuna....I was told to be careful with tuna, and if I must have it make it at home, nothing store-bought or pre-made (this also goes for any other salads made with a mayo-base such as egg or chicken salads).  What kind do you get and how do you make it?  I've also seen that you should be careful with mayo because it's got raw eggs in it....I'm not sure how much weight this holds because I would assume that anything from the grocery store has been highly processed and is free of bacteria, etc.  Maybe this just pertains to homemade mayo, which who the heck makes their own mayo?? lol  OMG a tuna melt sounds really really good right now!

I guess I'm a super weirdo, because I make my own mayo. Lol. I don't like the taste of store bought, and I grew up on homemade. It also takes, like, 2 minutes. For tuna salad, you can eat canned tuna. It's fresh raw tuna that is most exposed to mercury. I usually get the kind that is packed in light water (in the pouch), I mix it with mayo, a sprinkle of cayenne, chopped green onions, chopped hard boiled egg, salt and pepper, and sometimes chopped walnuts or almond. So yummy!

auntjessy

@LadyMacaron - wow.  You're a real-life Martha!  Without the jail time, of course.  

Hmmm....My understanding on the tuna thing isn't how it's packed, but the size of the fish.  The longer a fish lives, the more mercury it's exposed to.  The books say not to eat canned albacore, but chunk light a couple of times a week is OK.  The reasoning with fresh raw tuna is probably just because those are premium fillets that would come from a larger fish.  

And also - even eating your own homemade mayo is probably fine as long as you use pasteurized eggs.  

FutureMrsW9

auntjessy said:

@LadyMacaron - wow.  You're a real-life Martha!  Without the jail time, of course.  

Hmmm....My understanding on the tuna thing isn't how it's packed, but the size of the fish.  The longer a fish lives, the more mercury it's exposed to.  The books say not to eat canned albacore, but chunk light a couple of times a week is OK.  The reasoning with fresh raw tuna is probably just because those are premium fillets that would come from a larger fish.  

And also - even eating your own homemade mayo is probably fine as long as you use pasteurized eggs.  

Yup, the chunk white being the best choice is what I understand, too, and what my nutritionist told me, as well, so I think that's right.  Now that I'm actually pregnant I should probably go back to the nutritionist, but I'm trying to wait a little longer until we're in a safer zone, maybe after Thanksgiving.

LadyMacaron WOW!  Good for you!  I'm impressed :-)  I wouldn't even know where to start to make my own...I'm a Helman's fan, so I'm just fine sticking with that as long as my taste buds agree that day haha.

kmw722

I only work part time, but I've been snacking for lunch when I'm at work. Pretzels, yogurt, crackers, loving chex mix for some reason!, the vanilla almonds, some watermelon...random. But today I was home and I had a choc. chip bagel from Panera with PB on it