TryingOver

@gdh22 For caffeine you could try black tea (I really like chai). It won't have as much caffeine as an energy drink or coffee, though. If you could eat egg muffins or something similar on the go and then have the fruit when you get there, that would make for an okay breakfast. You could add spinach, mushrooms, etc to the egg muffins so that you have protein and vegetables. For snacks you could bring olives and Epic bars. I actually frequently bring pouches of tuna and olives to work events and add them to salad at lunch to make a complete lunch, but I definitely understand if pulling out a pouch of tuna makes you uncomfortable. You could also bring sliced vegetables (bell peppers, cucumber, carrot sticks, etc) along with a compliant dip (guac, beet root hummus, baba ganoush) for a snack before you head home. I frequently travel and eat a pouch of tuna with a pouch of olives dumped straight into the tuna pouch at the airport (not on the plane) and that has lasted as a dinner when there weren't other compliant options available.

I like to add canned pumpkin or squash to my chili to thicken it up. It might not help the "mushy" texture, but it might help with the watery component. Another option would be to use it in something else, like a tex mex casserole. You could use riced cauliflower, the chili and eggs or something to bind it and bake that. The chili would flavor the cauliflower "rice" instead of being eaten alone.

We are having a tex-mex cauliflower rice casserole. However, my go-to for a low key dinner is a stir fry or roasted vegetables with baked fish or chicken.

I love spiralizing cucumber and carrot and making a cold Asian-inspired "noodle" salad with a sesame oil and rice wine vinaigrette (just check the rice wine vinegar carefully as most have added sugar or use a different vinegar). You can add chicken or shrimp plus other toppings like scallions, pepper, etc.

This section of the Whole30 website for resources includes a link to the meal template (and other helpful resources): https://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/ Template: https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

I second the recommendation to roast vegetables. We eat roasted cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin or squash, etc. Cut the vegetables (about 1 in pieces, except asparagus which I leave long) and toss in oil, salt, pepper or other seasoning of your choice. Toss in a 350 to 375 degrees F oven and roast until fork tender and starting to brown (usually 40 mins). Roasting vegetables is now my go to for cooking vegetables. Also, if you aren't adding fat to your meals, that could explain why you were so hungry. Fat helps keep you satiated between meals. A closed handful of nuts, avocado or guacamole, or vinaigrette w/ olive oil will likely help a lot.

I use balsamic vinegar on my Brussels sprouts! I find it adds a hint of sweet and sour without being as sweet as syrup.

@kirkor Thanks for posting about that movie. My husband and I watched it yesterday and really enjoyed it!

I love NomNom Paleo's Atkilt Stew. It is good hot or cold, and can be paired with boiled eggs, compliant sausage, roasted chicken, or other protein for a meal.

My husband and I have a busy week coming up (events in the evening every night, and each day getting up at 4:30 am). So, we're increasing our meal prep today to include dinners (the only meal we usually cook). We're doing a big batch of roasted vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts) plus cooking some tuna, salmon and eggs (we're limiting meat this round, but you could easily cook a batch of ground beef or ground turkey). Then you can reheat dinner easily. I also recommend having "emergency food" on hand - the "I really absolutely cannot cook tonight" food. We keep pouches of tuna and olives on hand that we can easily toss over greens and have as a salad or eat with bell pepper strips and cucumbers for a no cook dinner. Finally, if meal prep isn't your thing and you want a hot meal, you could do stir-frys. They take very little time to cook, especially if you splurge on pre-cut vegetables. Toss the vegetables and a few eggs in a pan and add some fish sauce, coconut aminos, garlic and ginger powder and you have dinner in under 15 mins.

We eat a lot of frittata or sweet potato crust quiche (you slice sweet potatoes and roast the rounds in the quiche tin to make a "crust" of roasted sweet potato, then let the sweet potatoes cool and fill the quiche with eggs and other vegetables). This week we're having roasted bell peppers and balsamic mushrooms and onions in the filling.

I'm not in the Seattle area, but walked into a Korean store today looking specifically for chili flakes (I'm planning on making my own kimchi) and they also had compliant red curry paste at a great price.

@klnyc glad it went well. Good job planning ahead!

When I'm in this type of situation I bring a pouch of tuna and a pouch of olives. If they have a salad option that doesn't have cheese/dressing added, I grab salad and add my tuna and olives. If they don't, I dump the olives into the pouch of tuna and eat that. It still isn't a full meal, but it keeps me far more satisfied than a larabar/rx bar. You could also try Epic bars (although not all of them are compliant). The added protein makes a big difference.

I'll add that if you are making something like chili, you can use mushrooms and lots of vegetables and make a vegan chili (obviously without beans). Meat-eaters could add ground meat to theirs while yours would still feel "meaty" from the mushrooms and other finely diced vegetables. You could have eggs (maybe scrambled with some cajun seasoning and topped with avocado) on the side for your protein. You don't have to substitute the meat in a recipe with protein as long as you still add a protein source to your meal.