Food Friday - Adult Lunchables

Oliver sleeping in his high chair. Hair is in a
ponytail... don't worry, they haven't cut it. 

Congratulations on making it to the end of your short work week! This week has been tiring for me - I've had to wake up to an alarm twice - Wednesday for a doctor's appointment and Friday to get back home from Marvin's in time for Austin to get to work. I had an amazing nap yesterday afternoon but today it's just not happening. My back is not good at the moment. I can't seem to get on top of the pain and I'm sure that's what's keeping me from sleeping. Maybe "sure" is an exaggeration because I don't know how I can sleep like it's my job one day and the next day... nothin'.  Anyways....

I hope you are enjoying my return to blogging. I am truly finding passion in it that I thought I had lost forever. My blog has always sort of been the "person" who listened when I didn't have anyone else to talk to. Part of it was being able to share information so that people I care about will know what's going on in my life without having to have the same conversation with a hundred different people. It's an efficient method of communication that is well suited to articulate introverts. And I type fast so it's easy.

Cosy enjoying the lo mein at Sunflower

I'm finding that I do a lot better with writing my blog posts if I have a topic already - otherwise I'm just rambling on like the paragraphs above. I'm going to try giving each day a theme so I at least have a starting point. That also lets me write some posts in advance, which is helpful for days that I don't feel well enough to blog.  As you may have notice there are already two days that I've been using a theme: Resaons To Love Monday and Throwback Thurday.

by the way... if you aren't reading my Throwback Thursday posts you're missing out! I link you to every blog  for that day in previous years. Starting with yesterday's edition I included paragraphs that were of particular meaning to me or were particularly ironic or interesting. I'm hoping this will make it interesting for those who don't want to click a bunch of links.

And today's topic, if you didn't notice on  your way in... is FOOD! On Fridays I will share different food related things like my personal restaurant reviews, compare the same food from different brands... I may even talk about what I've eaten that past week or share recipes... anything and everything food related. Today I want to discuss my search for the perfect "adult lunchable".

If you're not familiar, Lunchables are these little snack kits, initially geared toward children, that contain lunch meat and cheese and crackers... or little pita rounds with sauce and toppings for little pizzas. They started out pretty basic but now they make them with nachos and cheese, little hot dogs, kabobs.. everything you can imagine. To me, it's basically a plastic bento box with too few cubbies.

The thing that makes them my current favorite meal is that there's no prep involved, it usually contains protein (I don't get enough) it works well with my stomach and it's just the right size for me. I eat small meals because if my belly is full it makes my back hurt. I always stop eating when I start feeling full. I like not being in pain better than I like the taste of... anything I can think of at the moment. Marvin has learned to order smaller meals for himself when we go out to eat because he's almost certain to be finishing my meal. I just can't eat much... and it's just not worth the time and trouble to cook, especially when it's hot outside.

SOOOO I have been in search of the Best Adult Lunchable. Here are a few that I have tried in the last week or three in no particular order:

 This little kit from Walmart had bread sticks to eat with prosciutto and mozzarella cheese. The prosciutto was good but a bit salty for this high blood pressure patient. This was a  higher price than most of the others at $2.68, maybe because prosciutto is more expensive? No idea but definitely would NOT buy again.

 This one from Hormel contained little bits of cubed chicken, cubed cheddar and chocolate covered almonds. They don't have the actual name of the product ON the product that I can see but on their website they call it the Hormel Natural Choice Snacks. They also have a Natural Choice Stacks which includes crackers. This one is just the meat, cheese and almonds. I would probably rank it among my favorite and would definitely buy it again. But probably it would smarter to just buy the meat and cheese and almonds myself and make a homemade lunchable. It would not be a horrible amount of prep. This was only $1.50, though, which is an entirely reasonable amount to spend on ... what ends up being a meal for me.

 This is another version of that last one. Again, $1.50, you basic meat and cheese cubed with the dark chocolate covered pretzels and... yum! Also... I'm cracking up at the backgrounds of these photos because... blankets... obviously I eat in bed.

This Hillshire Small Plate was very tasty but again, a bit too salty for me. I'm a salt-aholic so if I say it's salty, believe me, it's salty! However... the little bread rounds... croutons?... not sure what you'd call them... had a nice crunch and were tasty. I can't find the price for this at Walmart (where I bought it) but I'm finding it ranging in price from $1.25 to $2.99. If you find it at $2 or so, yes, that's a good buy. More than that, maybe not unless you're really in the mood for such.

 This wrapper is mangled because this son of a b&*#@ was too hard to open. I had to use so much force ripping it off that I ended up dropping all of the little pretzel chips on the floor then I had to scamper really quickly and pick them up to beat the thirty second rule... (that's a joke, I know the thirty second rule is not a real thing). Basically what you have here are the little thin pretzel chips with a lovely soft cheese for dipping. Since I lost a few pretzels in the wrestling match to open this, I also used the dip on my favorite Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins crackers and it was excellent on those as well. Probably the least nutritional value of all the lunchables in this post but it would serve me well as a little "need something in my stomach" snack. This one runs $1.98 so... eh... might buy again.

These two products have been purchased but I haven't eaten them yet so... I can't tell you if I like them or not. First is the Marketside Baby Carrot and Cheddar Cheese kit... includes a turkey jerky stick, broccoli, ranch dressing and the things mentioned in the name of the product. I bought it because it had veg and protein which is a win in my book. I can't remember what I paid for it and can't find it listed online anywhere to give you an idea of the cost but I think it may have been the most expensive of all the kits I bought.

On the right is an actual Oscar Meyer Lunchable but they don't call it that... it's a "meat and cheese plate"... fancy schmancy! It's got slow roasted turkey, white cheddar cheese and basically triscuits... although they call them "whole wheat crackers" so they aren't ACTUAL triscuits. This guy is high in sodium (boo) but it has 34% of your recommended protein and 25% of your recommended calcium so... maybe not an everyday product for me but closer to something nutritional than what I usually eat.

Audience participation time: what is your go to - I don't want to cook but I need something in my stomach meal? Do you buy these little snack kits for yourself? Do you have a favorite? Leave your answers in the comments below or at the Facebook link of this post. Happy Weekend, y'all!