Green Days How to eat now I'm working....need help!!!

TobiiRheaStarr

Away with the faeries....
Hiya.

As some of you have seen, I have started work after 10 years of bringing up the kids full time. This week I have been struggling with it all as I have chronic fatigue also therefore not had the time or the energy to eat/prepare food.

Also I am up at 6am, get ready and leave for work, which is a mission as things take me a lot longer than most people due to the CF. Then at work, most days I only have 15 min break. No proper staffroom, no kettle or anything that can be used as is all in the kitchen and used at all times as I work in a VERY busy baguette shop. I am struggling with VERY bad pain in my feet which is getting worse by the day so the minute I get home I just need to sit down, by 8/9pm now I am in bed.

As you can imagine I am really struggling with food. I gained half a lb this week, which I know is nothing really in the grand scheme of things but I don't want it to continue. So I need some help on how and what I can prepare/eat that follows green days.

Examples at the moment are a banana or apple or yoghurt for breakfast at Starbucks, with a tall triple skinny latte (1.5A) I need that otherwise I really cannot focus at work.

Lunch has been one of either of these,

a small pot of grapes and strawberries,
about a 1/4 pack of savoury rice,
an apple,
a banana,
1x alpen light,

and then dinner has been either the rest of the savoury rice, noodles and veg, spag bol or pasta salad, but not much of.

Then water and a cup of tea in the day.

That's mainly been it, which isn't enough at all I know. I really need some help with what I can have, that is cheap, simple, green day, and doesn't involve too much time or energy.

Thanks :)
 
Congratulations on your new job x

I can't see any healthy Bs in your day. Could you manage cereal in the morning?

And no protein? If you like quorn, some of their fillets and steak things take only 2 minutes in the microwave. Maybe you could include it in your evening meal. Or eggs.
 
You could prepare some couscous the night before & take that in or a pasta salad/potato salad. Or you could make a sandwich using your hexb. There's not a lot you can eat in 15mins:cool: You could take a flask of soup or hot water & add to a mugshot. I think Wilkinsons do a food flask, maybe you could make a spag bol/chilli for tea & take the leftovers for lunch?

That's all I can think off for now.
 
Wholemeal pitta bread with Quorn burger (1/2 syn if I remember) and stuff it with lots of lovely lettuce, sweetcorn, leek and etc. The burger takes 2 1/2mins in the microwave and is lovely with some mixed spices. Can even put some cheese on there as well if you like! Would have to check syn value though. Oh, and for afters top it all off with some grapes, plums, melon or whatever fruit / yoghurt you have in.

If you're struggling for protein how about taking in a hard boiled egg or two for a quick snack?

Lots of love, Caramelle X X X
 
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Hi ya, congrats on the new job :) Sorry you have CF, My best mate who lives with me suffers from it too.
Would you be able to summon the energy at the weekend to batch cook and freeze stuff for the week?
spag bol sauce, cottage pie, sausage caserole, chilli con carne, curry, meatballs and pasta ( all of these made with Quorn mince, Quorn sausages and Quorn meatballs)
Jacket potatoes for dinner, bung in oven as you get in then leave for 1 1/2 till cooked and eat. SW pasta carbonarra takes just minutes to make.

For lunchs, leftovers ( make extra on batch cook days) soups in flask - soups can be very quick to make and also freeze well)
Taking boiling water in a flask to add to mugshot, supernoodle to go pots, cous cous,
cooked eggs, cooked Quorn sausages, fruit.

How many hours are you at work?? 15 min break doesnt sound very good, especially when you have CF.
 
All really good suggestions so far. Couscous takes all over 5 mins to 'cook'. The Ainsley Harriot ones are low syn (0.5-2syns per packet I think!). Or plain couscous with some chopped salad in it.

The hard boiled egg suggestion is good. I always take at least one to work, pre-chopped, so I can quickly eat it. I hardboil 3 at a time normally.

Are you veggie? You could cook Quorn sausages in oven, and chop for easy to do lunch. Or tofu.

I start the day with magic porridge - HEB of Oats (28g) mixed with tub of FF yogurt, left overnight to swell up. Tastes yummy and is really filling.

HTH and good luck hun!

x
 
Great minds think alike *Honey, I was just going to suggest cooking as much as you can on your days off! Also take a look at the grab and go type of healthy extras in the food optimising handbook, these might help x

Quick meals might be things like:
* soups (make on weekend, then freeze or fridge and reheat on the day for lunch)
* jacket potatoes (could be baked in oven on weekend, then heated up at lunchtimes) with filling
* egg on toast (HB), beans on toast (HB), cheese on toast (HA HB),
couscous is really really quick to prepare and nice with some herbs and chickpeas stirred through
* quorn -the tikka strips/pieces are lush! and just need dry frying in a pan, the sausages could be dry fried in the morning (5mins) and then eaten hot or cold with something for lunch
* scan bran (HB) on banana with a bit of cinnamon is lovely

Is anyone else you know following SW too, could you pair up and take turns to prepare something simple
 
I just ordered a food flask from argos so that i cant take in some stews/soups/curry/ratattoulie with some bread for lunch. Might be an option for you, again all the suggestions above are good and will be keeping note
 
Is the pasta you use whole grain? If not, switch to that right away! :)

Too much fruit is a lot of sugar, but I know it's hard to not go high sugar when you have a sensitive gallbladder and need to watch the fat... maybe try carrots in replacement of the banana to reduce sugar?

I may also suggest having fat free yogurt, which has protien in it.

Best of luck to you!
 
Is the pasta you use whole grain? If not, switch to that right away! :)

Too much fruit is a lot of sugar, but I know it's hard to not go high sugar when you have a sensitive gallbladder and need to watch the fat... maybe try carrots in replacement of the banana to reduce sugar?

I may also suggest having fat free yogurt, which has protien in it.

Best of luck to you!

Heyy,

I ONLY eat wholegrain pasta, I can't stand claggy white pasta.

Fruit wise now I will have either a banana for breakfast OR with my lunch, OR I'll have a bowl of fruit salad with a low fat yoghurt on top for pudding.

A typical days eating now on a work day tends to be...


Breakfast - skinny latte and a banana

Lunch (after work) - either a pasta salad full to the brim of beans and vegetables/salad OR a jacket potato with beans from work.

Dinner - A plate full of vegetables/beans with wholemeal pasta and gravy is one of my favourite meals!! OR potatoes with vegetables/beans and gravy or vegetarian bolognese and wholemeal pasta.

Snacks - Raw veg, fat free yoghurt and/or fruit, oatmeal with a tsp cinnamon sugar or an apple and cinnamon, wholemeal waffle with PB&J.

Thanks for your message :) xx
 
Just wanted to say congratulations on your new job!!!

Lots of brilliant ideas for you here, I also recomend something slow releasing especially when you work all day. I work in a hospital and do 13hour shifts and I have to have pasta or potato for lunch or I literally feel sick with hunger around 5pm otherwise!

Loving the idea of getting a flask - think I may have to invest when I get paid this week x

ps - treat yourself to some lovely cream to soothe aching feet. Smoother feet in it and pop some socks on before you go to bed and in the morning feet are lovely! xx
 
Just wanted to say congratulations on your new job!!!

Lots of brilliant ideas for you here, I also recomend something slow releasing especially when you work all day. I work in a hospital and do 13hour shifts and I have to have pasta or potato for lunch or I literally feel sick with hunger around 5pm otherwise!

Loving the idea of getting a flask - think I may have to invest when I get paid this week x

ps - treat yourself to some lovely cream to soothe aching feet. Smoother feet in it and pop some socks on before you go to bed and in the morning feet are lovely! xx

Thanks My_Girl.

I have been in the job since September now so am pretty used to it but thanks for the message.

I always have either potato or pasta salad after work/before gym to keep me going.

I'm lucky that I can use on of the fridges in the kitchen and as long as it's not too busy when I've finished I can use the microwave to reheat a potato.

xx
 
When you say you work in a baguette shop I'm assuming its a sandwich shop - if that's so can you blag :D or buy a portion of salad and make yourself a nice salad sarnie for lunch? 2 small slices of wm bread is another slow release food for energy and if the salad is already prepared for you then making up a sarnie only takes a couple of mins.

ETA - how old are your kids? and do you have a partner at home? Perhaps you could persuade someone to prepare a meal for when you come home so you just have to cook it.
 
When you say you work in a baguette shop I'm assuming its a sandwich shop - if that's so can you blag :D or buy a portion of salad and make yourself a nice salad sarnie for lunch? 2 small slices of wm bread is another slow release food for energy and if the salad is already prepared for you then making up a sarnie only takes a couple of mins.

ETA - how old are your kids? and do you have a partner at home? Perhaps you could persuade someone to prepare a meal for when you come home so you just have to cook it.

Yeah I work in a baguette shop called Eat4Less. It's a small company with about 15 branches around the Coventry area. Very fast paced and cheap shop. Salad wise the only thing that I eat there is lettuce lol. Sometimes if its not too busy with my jacket potato I have beans, a little cheese, lettuce and pickle. I try to avoid bread.

My kids are 13,11,3 and yeah I have a partner at home. Recently I've been pretty good and make up a batch of pasta salad etc or veggies chopped ready to just throw together. It's a lot easier now than when I first started.
 
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