Here are some cold lunch ideas:

- Leftover dinner meat (especially meatloaf, with a bit of SF ketchup or a smear of cream cheese w/ horseradish mixed in)

- Cold fried chicken (low carb, of course)

- deli roll-ups: sliced meat (roast beef, ham, salami, turkey, chicken), cheese (swiss, muenster, provolone, American) rolled up for easy finger food. Add a small container of 'sauce' --- either mayo with dijon or mayo with horseradish. Roll up the meat & cheese in a lettuce leaf. Wrap the meat & cheese around an asparagus spear or length-wise slice of dill pickle or scallion. Smear cream cheese on the meat before rolling (chive cream cheese is especially good with roast beef.)

- protein salads: tuna, shrimp, ham, chicken, egg. Use mayo, dill relish (you can always sweeten the dill relish first; I do a whole jar at a time). chopped celery, chopped onion, sliced scallions, chopped or sliced olives, mustard (egg salad, ham salad), grated cheese. Wrap these in lettuce leaves or a slice of cheese or eat with a spoon from the container.

- veggie salads: greens with add-ins such as radishes, celery, peppers, olives, broccoli florets, etc; coleslaw; fauxtato salad, broccoli/bacon salad, etc.

- celery: either plain or stuffed with cream cheese (can add in stuff like chopped pimento, olives, tuna, chives), PB; or bring a low carb dip for these; other raw veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower florets, radishes --- with a low carb dip.

- cold soups (Ysabel's cucumber soup would be lovely on a hot day, with a roll up or two.)

- Chicken caesar salad

- Salad nicoise (without the potato ;-))

- Cold quiche

- Canned fish/meat: tuna, chicken, ham, mackerel, shrimp, salmon, herring, smoked oysters, vienna sausages, deviled ham, deviled chicken. Spice them up with a dash of tabasco sauce.

- Olives in cans or jars.

- Pork rinds <sounds of gagging here>

- hard boiled eggs

- pre-cooked bacon

- processed meats: pepperoni chips, summer sausage

- cheese: cubes, slices, sticks, crisps

- cooked shrimp with LC cocktail sauce or horseradish sauce.

- low carb crackers (in moderation, of course ;-)): WASA, branacrisp, Lo Carb Chef crackers, Raquet chips, Keto Chips, Keeters (first can be found in supermarket, LCC crackers can be ordered at http://www.lowcarbdieters.com/, other products available at www.low-carb.com)

- muffins, of all kinds, both savory and sweet.


If doing fast food:

- Burgers, with or without cheese are a staple. Chuck the bun or ask for it bunless; also, no catsup or 'special sauce' (both are loaded with sugar). Mayo, mustard, pickle, lettuce, tomato are fine =-)

- broiled or baked chicken. Avoid any with breading. Also note that many fast food places use injected chickens, both to plump them up and enhance flavor. Most of the injected broths have sugar in them.

- Salads are safe. Either use your own dressing or just avoid the 'lite' ones, which have extra sugar. Caesar salad is a great option and available as take-out in many places.

- Subway, D'angelo's have good options. Again, just ditch the bread. Also, avoid the seafood salads unless they assure you that it is the real thing and not imitation. the imitation has a lot of carbs. You can essentially tell if it's real based on the price: real seafood is quite expensive! But don't hesitate to ask to see the nutrition label info; they are required by law to disclose that info if you ask for it.

- Protein and salad are available at a lot of places. And many restaurants, diners, even taverns, are catering to take-out now. You needn't do the 'traditional' fast food places to get take out anymore.

If you have access to a microwave or conventional oven, your food options expand appreciably =-)
Just eat whatever you would for dinner at home. There are many wonderful low carb recipes, like this one, for example:

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Terrific Tuna Melt
by Rebecca

1 can tuna = 0 carbs
2 oz. mild flavored white cheese...carb count varies depending on what type you use... Monterey is the lowest at .2 carbs/oz = .4 carbs
1/8 cup chopped tomatoes = 1.0 carb
1/8 cup chopped mushrooms = .4 carb
1/8 cup chopped onions = 1.4 carb
1 TBSP mayonnaise = 3.5 carbs (I can't get sugar-free mayo where I live, so if you use that, the carb counts may be lower...check labels.)
1/4 cup heavy cream = 1.7 carbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except the cheese. Using an individual portion sized lasagna pan or a mini pyrex baking dish, place 2 spoonfuls of the tuna mix and spread on the bottom of the pan/dish. Layer 1 oz (usually 1 slice) of the cheese on top of the tuna mixture, then spoon rest of the tuna mix on top of the cheese and top with the other 1 oz of cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and a little bubbly, but not brown. This recipe is 8.4 carbs and is very satisfying as a complete meal. Enjoy!

This is nice and creamy and a little bit of heaven in every bite! You can substitute your favorite tuna salad recipe if you would prefer different veggies, but make sure you adjust the carb count accordingly. Also, the carb count of cheese varies a bit, depending on the type used.
Monterey = .2/oz
Colby = .7/oz
Swiss = 1.0/oz
Provolone = .6/oz
Whole Milk Mozzarella = .6/oz

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Or try this idea from Dorothy:
BTW, here's another "mass-produced" thing you can use for when you do have a little time at home: Aluminum foil packets (I've always done this with chicken, but I guess you could do it with other meats). Take a rectangle of aluminum foil. Spray the center lightly with cooking oil spray. Put in a heaping helping of raw or just barely blanched (even frozen) veggies: green beans, mushrooms, onions, sliced zucchini, whatever (I think broccoli and cauliflower might get too mushy for this). Add a little garlic, or other seasoning. Put a piece of chicken (breast or leg, with skin) on top of the veggies. Spray the chicken with another spritz of the cooking oil spray, or smear with a pat of butter. Sprinkle herbs to taste over the chicken. Bring up the ends of the aluminum foil and seal to make a little package. Freeze. Now when you want something for dinner, take out a packet, pierce in one or two places to let steam escape, and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes (fiddle with the time to reach your desired doneness). Open, and voila! You will have chicken and veggies all cooked together and blending their flavors, and you can scoop the food out and thicken the juices that are left with sour cream to make a delicious gravy! (I once made 50 or so of these at one time for a potluck picnic, and I mixed and matched herbs I picked from my own garden, and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them was different!)