Help with "normal" lunches needed.

[kib]

My DH and I have very different eating styles and I've pretty well balanced how I do dinners so we each get what we like and want, now I'm tackling lunch.

DH's lunch of choice is typically: a sandwich on white bread with either lunchmeat or summer sausage and american cheese, or PBJ, a couple of rice cakes, a diet coke, an apple, and a couple of cookies for dessert.

in other words, refined carb, plastic filling with a smidge of protein, refined carb, refined carb, poison, natural carb, refined carb.

Being somewhat of a nutritional nutcase, I look at this and think: in a pinch, I'd eat the apple. :laff:

I guess what I'm looking for are some substitution ideas that go more toward protein and natural carbs. DH is not an adventurous eater, he very much likes what I think of as "kid food". Sending him off with tofu casserole or even lentil soup won't fly. I may also start baking again - not a huge improvement in refined carbs but at least some of the crap will be removed.

[iris lily]

Well, if you want to cut down on the bread carbs, substitute tortillas, the low call ones. There is a product called Flat Out which probably has scads of preservatives but is low calorie. I use it.

Roll up meat-cut-from-the-bone (not preserved crap) and throw in some green leafy stuff and something to season it.

Hearty soups with meat and fresh veg would be good. My DH isn't fond of bean soups BUT he loves split pea soup, chicken noodle soup, chili. He will eat other kinds of bean soup if there is meat in it. You can pack a lot of protein in those.

Throw in some cut up veg like carrot stick. He might eat them if they are already cut up. Actually, that's what I find with party food--people will eat little cut-up things that they would otherwise avoid.

Will your DH eat the more whole grain rice types? There are all kinds of stuff you can put on top of rice.

My DH eats a meat sandwich (his bread is homemade, by him and the meat is from the family farm) and a fruit diessert (which he counts as "fruit) and a dessert. He's taking in a lot of carbs but he works them off and never gains weight (Well, he's got a "winter weight" and a "summer weight" and he goes back and forth each year.)

[herbgeek]

Could you start where he is and make incremental changes? I'm thinking of swapping out the peanut butter for almond butter (usually has no added sugar), and some low sugar jam on whole grain or maybe a nut quick bread. Or a cream cheese spread with some veggies you know he will eat as a sandwich filling. This is good on a tortilla, as already mentioned.

Have you seen the Laptop lunch site? They have lots of ideas for lunches on there. I have a spreadsheet I'd be willing to share that I created with the laptop lunchbox in mind. I created it to get out of the rut of having a sandwich and chips every day. Private message me if you're interested with your email.

[pinkytoe]

Over the years, I have "trained" dh to eat a healtheir diet. He won't touch white bread anymore unless it is European style, freshly made. Every change takes him a little while to accept but over the long haul the shift has been monumental. But he does still like sandwiches with processed lunchmeat, cheese, lettuce and tomato. I have convinced him slowly to change his preferences by emphasizing the health benefits of eating a certain way. Watching a few of his overwieght work buddies from work keeel over from heart attacks has helped too. Lately, he likes things like cold grain salads. Brown rice in a light vinaigrette style dressing tossed with carrots, green onions, sliced almonds, diced red bell peppers, etc as an example.

[AmeliaJane]

You know, I just came across a great book series called "Eat This, Not That" which is aimed at people with a very typical American diet to help make better choices. It's very informal--lots of photos and bright graphics but if you can get past that, the information is actually quite good (I looked through the cookbook version and learned several things I didn't know, and I'm fairly conscious about healthy eating.) Might be helpful to flip through for ideas, or show your husband and see if he likes the looks of anything. It's written by the editors of Men's Health so very guy friendly. (Just be aware, some of the books really focus on restaurant/fast food eating...but there are also a couple for grocery shopping and cooking at home.)