Looking for portable healthy food

[Not Sure]

I work for a railroad as a freight conductor, which means I'm spending 10-12 hours at a time sitting in a locomotive cab. I work on call, so these trains can run at any time of the day or night. Now, I will get off my butt and do physical activity when we stop the train, such as apply handbrakes, throw switches, etc. and in many cases I get one half to one mile of walking done during this time. But for the most part, I sit in the cab and monitor the train, rail traffic, etc.

I rarely drink sodas - usually just cold water or black hot tea, so I don't have to worry about those calories. Eating, not drinking, is my problem. I've tried getting Subway sandwiches with no mayo or munching on pistachios or eating fruit. I've made my own sandwiches, packed tins of tuna or chicken, even tried a salad once (bad idea - not good when it's not cold). What I really want is portable food that I don't have to keep cold, food that will fill me up, help me stay alert and not gain weight. If I eat the same thing every five days, that's fine with me. I can't do the same thing every day, but when I find favorites I don't have a problem sticking with them.

I'm just at a point where my food/caloric intake vs. exercise/caloric expenditure is unsustainable. And I have a long way to go toward retirement...

Any ideas?

[NYC_SKP]

1. Thank you for your service!

As to selections, I just started weightwatchers, with the pointsplus system.

It really favors proteins and most fruits and veggies.

Bring apples to work, and water, to keep you filled up.

I'll bet you have a microwave in the loco, see if you can bring a frozen chicken breast for lunch, 3 points while two mint milano cookies are 4 points-- I'll take the chicken.

Lessons: cookies and candies and nuts SUCK, avoid them, same with HEALTH BARS!

Go with smoked salmon treats and jerkey, stay with fluids and fruits and veggies and proteins.

Weight watchers costs money, a good alternative is myfitnesspal.com and others.

Good luck!

[Not Sure]

2. Thanks!

Unfortunately, no microwave for us. Some railroads have them, but we don't get to use their locomotives very often.

Smoked salmon is a great idea. I love the stuff. I'm a fan of apples, too. Bananas tend to get mashed, so I avoid them. I rarely have anything more than a mini cooler with ice in it to keep anything fresh - definitely no freezer or refrigerator - so if it might spoil in a few hours, I just won't take it. It's not worth the risk of food poisoning.

Fortunately water, along with coffee and tea, is free for us. We get all we can carry, and carry we do. I'll go through 6 to 10 bottles of water in a trip.

Myfitnesspal looks pretty neat. I'll give it a whirl.

[noamnety]

3. I like roasted chickpeas

My dollar store has chickpeas that are roasted so they are crunchy like a nut, with a chili-lime flavor. They're delicious, super cheap (actually a good value unlike some other dollar store items), high fiber and high protein, and low calorie.

Staying on the chickpea theme, you can also buy cans of hummus which would work well with pita bread for dipping. Or do a classic hummus and fresh spinach leaf sandwich on good quality bread.

Peanut butter sandwiches are a classic, though not as good for weight loss because you can do carbs and low fat, or low fat and carbs, but when you combine the fat and carbs the calories seem to convert to fat much quicker.

Vegetarian sushi rolls travel well, and you could have a side thing for soy sauce for dipping.

Tabouleh should travel okay.

[Not Sure]

6. I've never tried chickpeas

but I'm willing to check them out. I can tear up some peanut butter, and I've been known to take some with me on trips.

Vegetarian sushi rolls sounds really intriguing. I like sushi quite a bit. I should see if I can figure out how to make my own.

[postulater]

4. Here's what I take for lunch nearly every day

An insulated lunch box with freezer packs that fit.

In it I have:
1 container in which I put a half cup of frozen blueberries
and a cup of Dannon Plain Natural Yogurt.
1 container with chopped dark leaf lettuce, 4 ounces of either cold grilled chicken breast or nice Wisconsin cheese plus whatever other finger vegetables I have on hand (celery, peapods, cherry tomatoes, etc)

A baggie of roasted unsalted shelled sunflower seeds that I put on the salad.
A baggie of chopped walnuts (pecans are too expensive) that I put into the yogurt.

I work inside but the cooler packs keep things pretty frosty till lunch.

The variety in the salad and the fruit on the yogurt make it so I don't get tired of the same thing. Been doing this for a couple years. I don't miss the bread.

[Not Sure]

7. I'm very hesitant to take either lettuce or yogurt

because of the possibility of spoiling quickly. I don't know what it is with lettuce, but I've had severe upset stomach pains the last couple times I had lettuce on a sandwich or had a salad. Maybe it's something else, but it stopped when I stopped the lettuce.

Some of the other stuff you mention - celery, tomatos, nuts - will work quite well. I don't know why I haven't thought of carrots yet. I love them!

[postulater]

9. Yes, I have to keep the yogurt cold.

I use a flat gel pack frozen overnight. Plus the blueberries are frozen. While I work indoors the berries and yogurt are still quite cold at lunch. Depends on how hot your environment is I spoze.

The lettuce? No idea. If it is not wilted it shouldn't be spoiled that fast. Maybe just bad bugs on it.

[Lisa D]

5. Dry cereal in a ziploc bag is an option.

Make sure it's one that you like and that it has a decent amount of fiber and protein to fill you up. Frosted mini-wheats works for me Add a piece of fruit with it, and that should work for a few meals.

[Not Sure]

8. Now you're talking!

My wife says I eat like a kid, because I'm totally content to have a bowl of cereal while watching cartoons.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. It sure has helped me get out of a rut of eating the same old thing.