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Hello friends!  Before I tell you about my latest AWESOME discovery, P3 Portable Protein Packs, I have a little confession to make.  I know you think I am totally organized and have my life together 100% of the time {insert sarcasm}.  But the truth is, I am sometimes frequently unprepared for lunches during my busy work week.  Let me elaborate.  The reality of my life is that I work full-time, my husband works full-time, we are raising 3-year old twin girls {who are home most of the time; they go to preschool only 3 mornings a week} and we are doing it all with NO family in town.  What does that mean?  We are busy.  As in, sometimes-I-forget-to-eat kind of busy.

Now, I am super organized and on top if it when it comes to packing my girls’ lunches on the days they attend preschool.  I always make their lunches the night before.  NOT ONCE have I packed my own lunch the night before I go to work.  I PLAN to pull it together in the morning.  But, all of you with kids know how unpredictable mornings can be, am I right?  The end result is that at least three times a week, I leave the house realizing I have forgotten to bring something to the office to eat.  This is especially a problem when I am traveling within the state for work, which happens fairly frequently.  On those days, I either skip lunch {I know…BAD, BAD, BAD} or I wind up giving in to the evils of fast food {gross}.  Who out there can relate to what I am talking about?

Now, to complicate things further, I generally avoid fast food and gluten.  Avoiding gluten and eating nutritious meals for breakfast and dinner is easy for me.  I succeed 95% of the time.  Lunch is my “challenging” meal because of the aforementioned problem with forgetting to pack my lunch.  When I forget to pack my lunch, I either: 1) skip it all together, 2) make an unhealthy meal choice at lunch time, or 3) spend a FORTUNE on a salad that isn’t even that great.  Plus, I have to spend time walking to a restaurant to eat during my busy work day.  Not ideal when every minute of my day matters.  The bottom line is I need balanced and nutritious food that I can grab and go!

Y'all, I have discovered these GENIUS pre-packaged protein packs that have totally changed my life {okay, that's a little dramatic, but you get the point}!  Drum roll please…. P3 Portable Protein Packs by Oscar Mayer!  These things are amazing and it's like they were made for me.  Each P3 #PortableProtein Pack contains a lean protein, a cheese and a nut. Three food groups #MeatCheeseNuts in one convenient package…WIN!  And each pack offers between 13 and 14 grams of filling protein.

There are four varieties and I easily found them in the packaged deli aisle while shopping at my Walmart.

The four available varieties are:

• Applewood Smoked Turkey, Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese, and Dry Roasted Almonds
• Applewood Smoked Ham, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, and Dry Roasted Almonds
• Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken, Cheddar Cheese, and Dry Roasted Peanuts
• Slow Roasted Turkey Breast, Cheddar Cheese, and Dry Roasted Peanuts

Prepare yourself for one of the best parts…They are a fantastic value at $1.00 each!  That's a better deal than any protein bar I have purchased!

Now, these are perfect for a snack in between meals to keep you fueled up or to tide you over until you can prepare a nutritious meal.  That's exactly what I needed Monday when a conference call took a bit longer than I expected.  I grabbed a P3 Portable Protein Pack out of the refrigerator at work and ate it right at my computer.  It was the perfect snack to tide me over until I could find time to eat my lunch.  I didn't even have to worry about spilling anything on my computer!  Hooray!

BUT, I have also happily discovered that by throwing in a piece of fruit and some baby carrots, and it is a perfect lunch for me.   In fact, that is EXACTLY what I had for lunch on Tuesday!

The simplicity of pulling one of these out the fridge in the morning and throwing it in my purse is exactly what I need in my life!  I plan to stock up on these every week, which is totally doable since they are only $1.00 each!  I also expect that my husband will be cracking these open frequently.  He is the kind of guy who ALWAYS needs a snack in between meals {or he gets cranky, but don't tell him I said that}, so when we are out running errands with the girls on the weekends, we can take one of these along for him to snack on.  We will all be better off for it.

The bottom line is that having a wholesome snack that is PRE-PACKAGED on hand will help me avoid skipping meals and/or making unwise food choices.  YAY!  My favorite variety is the smoked turkey/colby jack/almond one, but I do like them all.

Do you forget to plan for lunch?  Do you often need something to tide you over until you can sit down for a meal?  Have you tried P3 Portable Protein Packs?  What is your favorite variety?