High energy, quick to eat lunches?

[Gerty1002]

I've just gone back to work after maternity leave, a job where I'm running around for 5-7.hours at a time. I only get a break of 15 minutes in which to eat.

I also have a crawling 8mo, who is over 25lb so I'm weight lifting just carrying him around!

Consequently I have lost a fair bit of weight since giving birth, as much as 5lb in the last ten days, and I am the skinniest I've been since I was 18 (having had an eating disorder until 16).

I don't like it, and I'm utterly exhausted! So any ideas for lunches I can take to work that are quick and easy to eat (very slow eater) and are full of energy/calories would be fantastic. Not junk though...

TIA

Take whatever you fancy, and then add a whole ripe avocado - just eat it with a spoon on the side of your lunch. Full of protein, good fat, filling, a good amount of calories and easy to carry/eat.

I LOVE peanut butter, good thinking! Flapjacks are a great idea too.

Dislikes - avocado! I really want to like it but just cant stomach it! Liver. Aubergine. Not much else really.

Since posting this I came to the realisation (after a few dizzy spells) that I think I may be anaemic again, so iron rich foods would be helpful. Starting to take supplements too but they bung me up terribly so hopefully that will help.

They're not really enough for a whole lunch but what about some homemade baked bits - fruity muffins with wholemeal flour are good for a quick boost and complex carbs for slow-release energy and they don't taste 'good for you', which I hate! If you make them on the weekend you can freeze them ready for the week.

Try some smoothies too maybe? You can blend non-starchy veg into them without even noticing and they're good for slower release energy. Smoothies can be quite filling if you make them with some natural yoghurt & lots of berries, which help to avoid the sugar crash you get with high GI fruits like mangoes, papaya etc. Just whack it in the fridge the night before and grab it on your way out the door!

You can make veg crisps easily enough too, try sweet potato crisps for extra carbs without a crash .

Thanks for all the suggestions, have pinched one of DS' banana muffins out of the freezer!

I forgot about smoothies. I made a freezer batch of those with oats in when I was pregnant, and when DS was born I would take one out every night for the next midnight snack morning to make sure I got some nutrition in me.

What about snacks for the commute to and from work. I have a busy job like you and eat slowly so often find I eat when I'm commuting and dont feel so pressured to gobble it down. I often miss lunch at lunch time.

Frittatas are a great idea for lunch boxes, I take leftover curry, shred a chicken on the weekend and make a sandwich during the week (it seems less hassle by shredding it on a weekend and goes further as well), I carry small bags of dried fruits and nuts to keep me going to. These aren't necessarily high iron unless you do a hot meal that was left over from the night before. Making up savoury muffins might also be a nice change. Convert a spinach and feta pie into a muffin if you like it.

Just a quick tip, get liquid iron supplements- you shouldn't get bunked up then.

Thank you, will give them a try!

Mojito My commute to work is only 20 mins, ten of that is walking so not really practical to eat. I do get there ten mins early though so tend to take a cereal bar or something for then.

I'm armed with a huge pot of yoghurt, frozen berries and oats... question is, can I possibly make smoothies while baby sleeps?! Not sure I'm brave enough to try :)

almond butter cookies are really easy to make and nutritious.

Add a pot of full fat yogurt and sprinkle in some ground linseed and dried fruit (I like the Lidl tropical mix) to your lunch and that will help boost calories in a good way.

Don't forget to add cream to porridge/rissoto, cheese to pasta, some nuts to stir frys, and a drizzle or olive/rapeseed oil to pasta dishes to give them a boost

Snack on nuts (unsalted ideally) whenever you get the chance. High in calories, good fats, loads of minerals.

Hard boiled eggs? you can cook a whole batch in one go, keep in fridge for several days and then peel and eat when hungry. Again high in calories but also in nutrients. Frittatas as mentioned above are a good idea.

Cheese would be good. With oatcakes perhaps.

Muesli? Not exactly "lunch" but really filling and easy if you have milk available at work.

Bananas.

Banana and a berroca drink. Even better, sliced banana on whole grain oat cake with peanut butter.

Banana smoothie:
1 banana
50g oats
200 ml milk
25g almonds

Whizz in blender.

Very filling and around 600 calories.

2 slices of toast, 2 tsps margarine, 40g peanut butter and 10g Strawberry jam. 500 calories.

Fried egg sandwich -350 calories.

Oh yes and these suggestions are less healthy and more expensive but I must admit I relied on them a lot during maternity leave:

• ready made mini quiches (the Higgidy ones are good)
• mini pork pies
• salami or kabanos

Why don't you just mix them daily to eat without blending? That's my normal breakfast (with added nuts)