What to pack in lunches for very picky man???

[Joanna]

To save $$$ I am pack his lunch everyday. I rotated with Peanut butter & jelly or turkey sandwiches with carrots or peanut butter celery, cornbread and/or chips. Now he says he is tired of those & wants more variety. I'm happy to comply but here is my problem.

 

He is on the road all day=no access to heat anything up or keep anything very cold (we got him a cooler but in FL heat it just barely keeps things from going sour)

 

He won't take veggies unless they have something on them/to dip them in and every dip I've tried except peanut butter he says he doesn't like.

 

He won't have any canned fruit or anything he has to eat with a fork or spoon.

 

He doesn't want any of your standard "lunch box proteins" like cheese sticks or any sweets.

 

I'm just at a loss what to try next! I am the type of person that takes the same lunch every day & likes it, but I'm marrying a guy who wants LOTS of Variety in his lunches.

 

So here is the challenge...how many lunches can we come up with that will be healthy for him & he will actually eat & enjoy?

HELP ME!!!

[mommato3boys]

First of all get several of those blue reusable ice packs and layer between his food. Go with the hard coolers they tend stay cooler longer.

 

Change your bread style. Switch out from flat bread, pita pockets to flour tortillas.

 

Pita pockets...

 

Stuff with lettuce, bell pepper, onion, chicken. Send ranch dressing or Caesar dressing for him to add just before eating.

 

BLTs are great in pita pockets especially if you use the grape tomatoes (that way there is no tomato juice running everywhere)

 

I did this for hubby, I took and made roast beef and cheese pita pockets wrapped them in roast beef. He would go out at break lay them in on the dash board of the car and two hours later when it was lunch time he would have a hot roast beef sandwich; grilled cheese, bologna and cheese all work with the solar cooking (I toast the bread then add cheese and bologna and wrap in foil)

 

As a matter of fact any sandwich that he would like hot just wrap in foil and tell him to lay on the dash board for a couple of hours. Solar cooking at its finest! Make sure that you send only cooked meat though don't want him to get sick.

 

tortilla wraps or flat bread:

 

Bean burritos--solar cooked

 

Peanut butter and banana - spread peanut butter on shell peel banana and wrap in shell

 

Chicken Quesadillas: grilled chicken torn in to pieces, onions diced, green chilies, and 4 cheese mexi cheese roll like burrito--great solar cooked

 

Lettuce wraps

 

Chicken Cob wrap -- shredded chicken, onion, bell pepper, 2 tbsp of whole kernel corn, avocados strips and creamy blue cheese dressing. Wrap in lettuce leaf like a burrito

 

Lettuce leaf, Buddings sliced beef (or anything really thin sliced beef) green onion cleaned and cream cheese. Lay two slices of beef side by side slightly over lapping on top of lettuce leaf. Lay green onion on top of beef long ways in center. Cut a think slice of cream cheese from slide. Slice in half long ways. Lay on top of green onion. Roll onion in beef and lettuce.

 

Thermos:

 

Great for soups, stews, beanie weenies anything can be heated and poured into these. #1 trick when dealing with thermos—fill with HOT HOT water and let sit while heating food then pour out water and pour hot food in immediately.

 

As for the fruits send dry fruits that way he won't need a fork or spoon.

 

Cheese crackers, peanut and vanilla wafers, graham crackers and peanut butter, nuts.

 

Home made snack mix:

mini pretzels

gold fish

mixed nuts

m&ms

crisp-x cereal

 

Mini blueberry muffins stuff with ham or sliced turkey or chicken

 

Make fruit smoothies and freeze in empty 20 oz water bottles, that way by afternoon they will be thawed and make a freshing drink. They will also help keep his food cold.

 

Gogurt sticks are good to. Freeze them and they make and awesome snack.

 

Frozen grapes make a great snack

 

Good luck I have 4 guys just like yours been there burned the t-shirt!

[susie]

Bread and water for a few weeks ought to cure him.

[Leah]

heh,heh, Susie - my thoughts exactly... Of course, I've been married for 30 years...

 

Seriously... Why are you trying to figure out what he likes? He knows what he'll eat, he should tell you. To leave you floundering around trying to figure it out is not the way to get the food he wants...

[LazyBear]

Originally Posted By: susie

Bread and water for a few weeks ought to cure him.

I actually did that!!!!
He had the funniest look on his face when he got home that night.
I wish I had a home movie of him telling me how surprised he was to open his lunchbox.

He never complained again

[Becca_Anne]

They sell portable coolers that can plug into your vehicle. Combined with ice packs this might be a way to keep things cooler.

http://www.nextag.com/Koolatron-12-Volt-...FD3C3CD4307BB78

 

I would send tuna, roast beef, chicken sandwiches, Burritos- cooked and then chilled as alternative sandwiches.

Definately insist he give you a lot of suggestions, otherwise I'd tell him to make his own lunch LOL

[westbrook]

We had dinner with our bike club.. my DH (the D in DH doesn't always stand for Dear!) decides to help the neighbor move his dead van and gets my truck stuck (just because it is a 4x4 doesn't mean it can do everything! sheesh! men!). I go to dinner alone he may or may not follow. He shows up.. we are all eating and on the table where he is going to sit.. bread and water! the club won't let him live down he was in the dog house!

 

 

and now .... Lunch.

 

If I prepare steak for dinner, I make 2 or 3 extra as with pork chops or roast or Italian sausages or ????. I cut the meat into strips so it is easy to eat and they don't look so animal like when eating.. men should look dignified! >wink< now I FREEZE these extras. I also freeze a bran muffin but have also made egg muffins for a morning snack. I add a piece of fruit..usually an apple and lunch!

 

If you take it out the night before it will be partially frozen and thaws by about 11am. (I use foil because it is recyclable).

 

I guess what I am saying is cook extra finger foods he likes, freeze it and pack that.

 

the only other thing is to take him shopping and let him choose!

[Aint2nuts]

You pack him a note saying "If you are going to be picky, learn to make your own lunch"

 

 

Okay, I googled lunch box, and found lots of links to some good ideas. You just have to weed out the ones for kids.

 

 

[susie]

He could maybe be responsible for his own lunch?

 

I realize that you making his lunch is a lovely 'wifey' thing to do...but perhaps he could learn to be somewhat more appreciative, which he might do, if he makes his own for a time.

[HSmom]

I'm with Leah. My dh is very picky, too. Plus he has these weird texture issues...

 

I think it's fine - and even admirable - that you make your dh's lunch. However, if he wants more variety, he shouldn't expect you to mind read.

 

I guess the polite and diplomatic thing would be to fetch a pen & paper, sit down with him and ask him for suggestions. You can also offer suggestions, but he needs to communicate.

[susie]

Ok, as all women do...we evenually give up and they get their own way. So I am offering some suggestions...

 

Small chicken pies

Cold roast chicken or pork

Quiche

Thermos with something hot, such as soup or chili

A different kind of bread

Scotch eggs...hard boil an egg and wrap sausage meat around it, dip in egg and then breadcrumbs, and fry it

Pizza turnovers

Rice salad..leftover rice wixed with vinaigrette and anything else chopped up...egg, onion, cucmber, tomato, pepper, olives, etc

Boiled eggs with a little container of salt and pepper to dip them in

A small jar of paté and a crusty loaf of bread

A chunk of good cheddar cheese and crusty bread

Chinese springrolls

An omlette cooked with potatoes, peppers, onions, and bacon, and served cold

A tuna salad stuffed tomato

Stirfried chinese noodles and crunchy vegetables, topped with sesame oil and served cold

Salmon or tuna fritters

A can of sardines and buttered bread

Fresh fruit

Small cakes or brownies or cookies

Cheese and crackers

Bread pudding

Custard or rice pudding in disposable cups

Dried fruit and nuts

Yoghurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

[westbrook]

give him a couple of bucks and tell him to go out to eat! some of those $1.00 menus are cheaper then cooking.

[JCK88]

My dh packes his own lunch, but when he get "the tireds" I pack him one with special stuff in it.

 

He likes to take small cans of V-8 juice, cut up veggies, apples. I lived in Florida for a while and learned that packing lunch means a cooler. I put my drink in a mason jar with lots of ice. I liked hard boiled eggs, beef jerkey, small salads. I used to take leftover rice and pasta and make salads with them.

 

Best bet for variety is to use differing breads--and even try something besides peanut butter such as Goober jelly which is PBJ mixed or nutella, which is hazelnut butter with chocolate.

 

Once in a while, he should have a non-pack lunch day where he can get a "cheap eats" lunch from the dollar menu someplace.

 

If you are using cold cuts ,get something exotic. Instead of ham and cheese get honey ham and some exotic cheese or instead of plain turkey, get pepper crusted or rosemary coated....sometimes a new taste gives an old lunch a new zing.

 

Make some snacks like roasted chick peas...will post recipe if you want it. Or cinnamon walnuts or almonds or something just to have something fun.

 

In my house, I provide nice little cannisters of home made goodies like that, but it's up to the people making their lunch to use them! (Everyone in my house packs their own lunch!)We all like fruit cups. HOme made jello cups are possible...and even home canned fruits can be put into muffin cups, frozen, and then packed in a small tupperware for lunches. By lunch time, it's thawed, but still cold!

 

I love all the suggestions in this thread....great ideas, folks! Thanks much