You are working a 12hr shift and didn’t pack a healthy lunch. Across the street is a convenience store. There are no fruits or vegetables, and no deli. All you find are just prepackaged snack style items. What would you choose for lunch?
Great question! I generally avoid processed foods, must avoid all gluten and am intolerant of soy and dairy products. When it comes to convenience foods, I read labels studiously.
I definitely choose nuts. My first choice would be raw almonds, but roasted almonds, pistachios or cashews would do. My goal with the almonds is to get some fat and a bit of protein. Pumpkin seeds are also a good choice. I would not choose candy coated nuts because the sugar spikes blood sugar levels and causes one’s energy to crash later.
I eat meat, so I would also choose some jerky. I ll read the package and make sure there are no wheat products (including soy sauce made from wheat). I’d choose the least processed jerky possible.
Next, I’d look for a jar of salsa and some corn chips. If possible, the corn chips would be baked - and everything organic.
For those who eat dairy, cheese and yogurt would also be a good source of nutrients, including protein.
Water is my drink of choice…
What about you, Hobo?
baked not fried chips of some kind…ideally not flavored ones…pain yogurt…cheese…nuts…
Fortunately I do not have this problem where I work…there are lots of static and moving food sellers throughout the day.
Rice porridge/noodle soup/stir fry noodles/boiled rice with grilled pork or chicken early morning.
At lunch…less moving food carts…but static places have various soup/stew things with lots of veg and boiled rice.
Afternoon…moving food sellers with spicy green papaya (or green mango)salad and fried noodles…and icecream in bread…sweet sticky rice with coconut.
Late afternoon…odd grilled eggs(the egg is blown out of the shell mixed with"ingredients"put back in shell and grilled…oddly grey/green and not recommended) Duck eggs with baby duck inside…8days/12days/15days old…YUCK!!!..more ice cream.
Evening…more spicy papaya salad and odd eggs…lots of beer garden BBQ places with entertainment!
Nuts are great idea. Plus some juice if there is nice one. And in case there are only nuts with chocolate or some high sugar/fat additions, try to do extra physical activity during the work to compensate. If the body has extra effort to perform this sugar and fat becomes very healthy. At least its my theory - I have this picture that our body will burn everything edible in period of high physical effort and fat/sugar becomes a problem only when there is too much of it in the system. I’m not sure if its true, but it makes me more comfortable with such situations where there are not many food options…
I find myself in this situation more than I would like. I used to not give it a second thought. I would grab chips, sweets, and soda. As I became more health conscious I was shocked at how hard it was to find something sensible to eat.
Today I chose a Power Bar, a couple small packs of fig newtons, and water. I also mixed a protein drink with some powder I happened to have.
I generally try to keep apples and bananas around. I’ve even been known to carry a jar of peanut butter.
I found myself in this predicament again today and I thought I’d throw it out there to see what others may do 
I’ve run into this and opted to fast too many times.
First thing is I ask the perveyor if there are or would they consider healthy alternatives.
Then embrace your hunter gatherer and hunt down your alternative.
Read labels. The trail mix packs, and if you can run dairy you’re probably gold as these alternatives often surprisingly have the carbs and proteins near optimal for meal replacement. Might be all you NEED for the fix.
We are often fooled by volume and take in more than needed.
[QUOTE=Hobo;65810]You are working a 12hr shift and didn’t pack a healthy lunch. Across the street is a convenience store. There are no fruits or vegetables, and no deli. All you find are just prepackaged snack style items. What would you choose for lunch?[/QUOTE]
Isn’t there any bakery out there?
I’d buy bread. That would be my lunch that day.
And if I could bring about a nice avocado that would turn into a banquette, yummmm…
You are very lucky. I live in a small town. Here it has became almost the “normal” thing. Since I have became more health conscious, it is amazing how hard it is to find a healthy meal if I don’t bring it from home. Most small stores don’t have any healthy options. Various chips, candy, cakes, snacks, etc. I’ve had my share in the past but no more. It’s no wonder the state in which I live has the highest obesity rate in our country.
Nuts, a smoothie of some kind (the premade ones in the fridge sections, like Naked), and sometimes they have lunch-sized soups like Campbell’s… I’d just grab something small and healthy-ish like that.
Solutions will always emerge from others.
Point to ponder over is ‘don’t we create our own riddles’? We construct a situation, define seemingly impossible boundaries, put the whole thing in a box to convince oneself that there is no exit, or may be just one. The keyword is “to convince”. Because, our own mind knows that there is reality beyond the box and hence, it needs convincing.
If each morning comes anew to greet us, ‘out of box’ thoughts arrive too. They need a chance to show up. A magician mind is not a dependable ally.
If nothing there was organic, I wouldn’t eat lunch that day.
A few years ago I worked in a gas station for about 8 months. During shifts I lived off beef jerky, mozzarella low sodium cheese sticks, minute maid orange juice, raw almonds, raw cashews and more than occasionally - a king sized Hershey bar (with almonds, for extra healthiness). I had the option, but never did buy the pickles-in-a-bag, which are pretty healthy options most of the time. Sunflower seeds were there too., wheat thins, and jars of olives. They also sold deli items like bricks of cheese. If I could go back in time, I’d make a cracker/cheese/olive/pickle party tray and make it last a few days. 
And as someone who works 12 hour shifts now, I recommend buying one of those indian tiffins and making a two story meal every day. You can cram enough food into those things to have a pretty wide selection of stuff, they don’t leak, and the food keeps for many hours in moderate weather (I fly with them full of food regularly, sometimes averaging up to 10 hours of travel time, and my food doesn’t get mushy). Chopped fruits on top with a variety of cheeses and a small tin of crackers… On the bottom I put a salad usually and a tin of dressing (vinegar, mustard, stevia). Oh my god…
I’m hungry.
I can usually find at least a KIND bar in even the most unhealthiest convenience stores. That and a Naked smoothie drink. I would just buy the healthiest trail bar they carry and some nuts (dry roasted at least, it is hard to find raw in even most grocery stores around here). I tend to keep a pack of raw nuts in my bag for emergencies though.
[QUOTE=Hobo;65810]You are working a 12hr shift and didn’t pack a healthy lunch. Across the street is a convenience store. There are no fruits or vegetables, and no deli. All you find are just prepackaged snack style items. What would you choose for lunch?[/QUOTE]
i prefer ton to eat at all or not to drink at all if there is no way I can get healthy food. human can survive your 12hr shift with no food and water
I agree with CityMonk. But iff there is no suitable food and you skip your lunch, you should at least drink a full glass of water, in order to dilute the digestive acids. Skipping meals is not good for the stomach.
[QUOTE=yogam;67191]I agree with CityMonk. But iff there is no suitable food and you skip your lunch, you should at least drink a full glass of water, in order to dilute the digestive acids. Skipping meals is not good for the stomach.[/QUOTE]
Skipping meals also isn’t good for the metabolism. However, if it is just once in a while then it is okay.
awesome question and answers, I have asked this question to myself many times…
[QUOTE=David;66990]If nothing there was organic, I wouldn’t eat lunch that day.[/QUOTE]
I ditto that, David, and add other criteria:
If there weren’t any organic, non-dairy, gluten-free, vegan options, I wouldn’t eat lunch that day.
It wouldn’t be the first (or probably the last) time I would have spent a strenuous day without a midday meal. We live just fine to see the next day if all we skip is one meal.
Better to be hungry and dig into a healthy meal later when I can than poison my body just because I’m impatient.
This is a great thread, I enjoyed all these answers.
I find myself needing a snack while I am out and about and I am usually at a loss. Nuts, Kind bars, and a large fountain unsweetened iced tea are my usuals.
carmetnivy,
You know, since you are fully aware that you often get the munchies while you’re out, wouldn’t it be an idea to keep prepared snacks on hand in various places so that they’re grabbable at a moment’s notice – in your car, in your purse, in your desk, and wherever else you happen to be regularly?
Just keep a sealed plastic container/bag full of options (they can be fresh veggies that you bring with you like celery sticks filled with hemp or cashew butter, avocados that you eat out of the shell [I’ve cut open an avocado with a nail file], nuts, dried fruits like cranberries or dates, even trail mix).
I’ve kept a container of cooked black beans in the fridge at work because they’re good cold or at room temperature (they also could be kept in the car for the day if you need to have them handy).
One thing that’s really cool to keep nearby is a jar of coconut oil. A tablespoon of this when you’re hungry not only tastes good, it quietens the munchie gremlins and it makes the body run more efficiently. It also makes your skin supple and glowing.
There are lots and lots of options.
The main thing to remember: By being prepared with nutrition-packed snacks that you bring with you, you’re taking good care of yourself … and the world you create around you begins with how you treat yourself.
Love and Light!