Lunch ideas when you don't really get one?

[TakingBabyStepsBack]

Hello bees,

I'm not really sure where to put this question, so if this belongs in another area of the Hive, please tell me where this should go.

I work part-time in retail, and a lot of the time my shifts cross time slots when I should (key word being should) be thinking about having lunch available. The problem is that my shifts are not long enough to get more than one break of only 15 minutes, which is frankly not a lot of time to eat. I'm not a fan of just getting a candy bar from one of the other register lanes, so what's usually happening is that I'm bringing nothing at all...and then it ends up being a good 10 hours between any kind of food at all which is self-destructive towards breaking my problematic disordered eating pattern.

I know that having something prepared ahead of time would be a big help to solving the problem, but I have no concept of what since it would have to be small in the best case scenario. Any thoughts on what would be a good idea would be?

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

When I worked as a retail pharmacist and couldn't go home (and had no access even to a microwave, thanks to a scrooge-like boss, LOL), I'd put a nice thick warm soup, or a chili, in a thermos. Easy enough to eat even standing up. Hope it gives you some ideas.

 

[Tileenah]

A tortilla roll with some beans or eggs and carrots or salad or tomatoes usually did the trick for my short lunch breaks. I also used to pack almonds and raisins, or brought 2 yoghurts and a banana. Peanut butter sandwiches also from time to time. They're not a real meal but they're easy to prepare, pack and eat without much time/place.

 

[Lady Celerity]

Hummus and cucumber wraps are good. Or apple and nut butter. I think you need some protein for sure. Also, I don't know what country you are in but in the US you are entitled to a 30 minute meal break for every six hours worked.

 

[TakingBabyStepsBack]

Thank you @Tileenah @Lady Celerity @PetiteSheWolf

 

[eeek]

I recently started working at a coffee shop (again), and often they schedule me at 5.75 hrs so they only have to give me one 10 min break, so I feel your pain. I am never hungry at breakfast and do intermittent fasting, so being stuck at work when I would normally have my first meal has been hard.
Protein shakes have helped. I sometimes put the powder in a shaker and then mix with water on my break or right before I leave and drink it on the way home from work - which helps me to not binge when I get home. I am also gluten free, so most foods at the coffee shop aren't an option.
Some hard cheeses are safe at room temp, so cheese, crackers, and jerky can be a quick snack. Other easy and quick enough things I've found are freeze dried fruit or veggies, dried fruit, nuts, trail mixes, mandarins, grapes, bananas, flavored mini tuna packets/cans, various types of granola/fruit/nut type bars (there are a lot of easy ones you can make and bake a sheet of them and refrigerate or freeze them for later). Apples are too messy, so they take too long with cleanup, as are some other fruits.
I often keep a bag of freeze dried fruit or a fruit and nut bar in my bag (or car depending on the time of year), just in case I end up stuck places without gluten free options, but I often end up just eating it on my work break and tossing another in when I get home.