Lunch ideas for a picky husband

[gerberadaisy]

I need some lunch ideas to take along that will work for all of us. Hubs is by far the pickiest. We have no allergies or intolerance & I need variety. As its spring cold items will work for now. Hubs does not like mayonnaise, mustard, or vinegar. He would prefer his pasta hot but any ideas for a Cole pasta salad that does not include vinegar would be great. He is probably not going to like quinoak, barley or other grain salads but i'll take suggestions anyway. Thanks

[gerberadaisy]

Anybody?

[Maleldil's daughter]

Pita bread with various fillings can be a nice change - chicken salad, bits of grilled beef and veggies with sauce, anything with yogurt sauce. My mom also filled pitas with pizza sauce and toppings.

Would your family enjoy hard-boiled eggs with salt or a sauce for dipping?

Hummus with crackers or pita chips and an array of veggies.

Roll-ups made with whole wheat tortillas - deli meats, cream cheese, mashed avocado, veggies, even fruits (think smoked turkey, cream cheese, and thin apple slices for example)

Asian-seasoned beef or chicken, lettuce and sprouts, etc, packed separately to make lettuce wraps.

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by Maleldil's daughter

Pita bread with various fillings can be a nice change - chicken salad, bits of grilled beef and veggies with sauce, anything with yogurt sauce. My mom also filled pitas with pizza sauce and toppings.

Would your family enjoy hard-boiled eggs with salt or a sauce for dipping?

Hummus with crackers or pita chips and an array of veggies.

Roll-ups made with whole wheat tortillas - deli meats, cream cheese, mashed avocado, veggies, even fruits (think smoked turkey, cream cheese, and thin apple slices for example)

Asian-seasoned beef or chicken, lettuce and sprouts, etc, packed separately to make lettuce wraps.

Those are all great ideas. My son & i would love most of them.

[expatmom]

What does he say he likes? I think people have more buy in with brown bag lunch if they have participated in the planning and making of it. I'd encourage him to plan with you and help make it.

[esperanza]

Will he take leftovers from the previous night's dinner?

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by expatmom

What does he say he likes? I think people have more buy in with brown bag lunch if they have participated in the planning and making of it. I'd encourage him to plan with you and help make it.

Honestly its worse than pulling teeth. He asks me what his options are & then usually turns everything down just. I get frustrated but honestly don't think he is trying to be obstinate.

Just for clarification: this is for when we are gone for the day so we are not always eating at restaurants. He is retired as of this week & we plan on more day trips & outings with our little guy but want to cut costs. We will carry an cooler & drink cooler or thermos' for drinks. We won't generally have access to microwave & i don't want to have to cook/heat in the AM. He will grumble if he has to do it. He is not a bad guy...just works of service are difinitely his love language & just a wee bit about his mom doing all of that for him/his dad while growing up..

---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

If he thinks they are supposed to be hot, he wants them hot. So that eliminates many leftovers. It took forever to convince him he wouldn't die if he eats a piece of leftover chicken as a sandwich.

He will eat various veggies but if his experience is with only cooked he is not going to try them raw (is broccoli).

[charla]

We like homemade lunchables - lunch meat slices, cheese slices and crackers and add fruit like grapes and maybe some cookies.

[esperanza]

Ahhh, gotcha. I like the lunchable idea. We make sandwiches and then other random things. Fruit, veggies and dip, cheese. Muffins? Quesadillas?
Do you ever read the 100 days of real food blog? She blogs about what she puts in her kids' lunches. I bet you'd get some good ideas there. We also have her cookbook, and she has a whole section of lunch ideas. A lot of them would be easy to take on the road. She makes soups and takes them in a thermos too.

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by esperanza

Ahhh, gotcha. I like the lunchable idea. We make sandwiches and then other random things. Fruit, veggies and dip, cheese. Muffins? Quesadillas?
Do you ever read the 100 days of real food blog? She blogs about what she puts in her kids' lunches. I bet you'd get some good ideas there. We also have her cookbook, and she has a whole section of lunch ideas. A lot of them would be easy to take on the road. She makes soups and takes them in a thermos too.

I follow her on FB. Love her lunches for her kids. In the fall we do thermos & heated foods for cooler days but have only done a few. We like homemade hot pockets. I need to.make some of those. Thanks for the reminder for that.

[esperanza]

Good call! Or calzones (probably similar to what you make). She has a lot of good ideas. You can just make more of it all to feed an adult man.

[Aerynne]

Lemon rice is good and I don't think it seems like it needs to be hot. I like it with garbanzo beans but I don't know if he would like that or not.

Pizza rolls are good, too. Make them like cinnamon rolls but use pizza sauce, toppings, cheese, etc.

would he like tuna salad or chicken salad sandwiches made with yogurt instead of mayo?

We like a salad that has spaghetti soaked in teriyaki sauce, romaine lettuce and/or spinach, mandarin oranges, cucumber slices, and chow mein noodles.

A mix of tomatoes, corn, black beans, and avocadoes with some cilantro is good to eat with corn chips as a dip. You can put a little lime juice on it, too, and that keeps the avocadoes from turning brown.

Savory muffins and savory cookies are yummy.

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by Aerynne

Lemon rice is good and I don't think it seems like it needs to be hot. I like it with garbanzo beans but I don't know if he would like that or not.

Pizza rolls are good, too. Make them like cinnamon rolls but use pizza sauce, toppings, cheese, etc.

would he like tuna salad or chicken salad sandwiches made with yogurt instead of mayo?

We like a salad that has spaghetti soaked in teriyaki sauce, romaine lettuce and/or spinach, mandarin oranges, cucumber slices, and chow mein noodles.

A mix of tomatoes, corn, black beans, and avocadoes with some cilantro is good to eat with corn chips as a dip. You can put a little lime juice on it, too, and that keeps the avocadoes from turning brown.

Savory muffins and savory cookies are yummy.

good ideas. The pizza rolls would probably be a good option. I alreadymake a fiesta salad that sounds like your bean dish. Using yogurt probably wouldnt go over with him but its a good alternative for me & little one.

[3PeasInAPod]

What about some anti- pasta ?

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by 3PeasInAPod

What about some anti- pasta ?

I could probably make that work. Little man is obsesed with samples & that would fit in perfect with his idea & making choices hubs likes shouldn't be too difficult.