Thanks everyone! Annie, I looked at Stanley's site and found many different sizes to choose from. Not sure about shipping outside the US though. Amazon.com won't do it and Amazon.ca only carries things that I don't care for. None of the retail/hardware stores listed on Stanley's homepage are available in Canada, but Wal-Mart. Of course, the Wal-Mart stores here in Canada are very different than the ones in the US. AM, I completely agree with you about the fact that Wal-Mart stores don't carry high quality stuff especially the ones in Canada. Anyway, after searching for an hour I finally found one local store: Home Hardware, that carries Stanley Thermal bottles. They are small, 1-L and 24 Oz are all they have. Maybe the 1-liter will work. Compare to what he eats right now (basically nothing), 1-liter of hot food will seem like a huge meal to him. Mara, I don't believe we have Chick-Fil-A in Canada, at least not in our city. Even if we did DH probably wouldn't bother to go look for Chick-Fil-A for a meal. A chocolate bar from the vending machine and a cup of coffee at the office lobby would be much easier to him. Jessica, I could never get angry with people who try to help me. I will consider the Bento box idea once the weather is less brutal. Definitely would try sushi because DH loves sushi. A salad is good too as long as the box has lot of compartment so the greens, protein, and dressing won't mix until he's ready to eat. Will off to Home Hardware next week to see if I can find the Stanley bottle. They have it listed on a national site doesn't always mean they have it in a certain store. Thanks again, everyone! I will continue to try. Al

maybe I do need to explain my idea of dry brining a little bit. I did a google search and it seems I differ from some of the info. Almost all of it is about meat and I must tell you that dry brining is just as good for vegetables. It takes that little hard edge (maybe bitter for some people) off the vegetable making it more palatable. What I do is pretty informal. I prepare vegetables for cooking such as washing and snipping off the end of green beans, or slicing mushrooms or peeling some of the coarse stem off broccoli and chop, etc. I then put the vegetables in a collander. I use about 1 tsp kosher salt per 8 oz of fresh mushrooms. Or two teaspoons for 1 1/2 pounds of green beans. For carrots, I use two teaspoons for 10 mediums carrots thickly sliced (on the diagonal). But don't leave out the seasoning step. Stir the salt into the vegetables in the collander. Then I mince a large jalapeno with seeds in my food processor. Then stir the jalapeno bits into the vegetable mixture in the collander. I think this is the point you could substitute other seasonings such as thyme or dill or garlic or oregano. Stir everthing well trying to make sure your veggies are coated with the herbs (or jalapeno bits). Then put the collander over an empty bowl and cover the collander with a dishcloth. Here is where I get really loose with the directions depending on how much time I've got. But I rarely leave the veggies sitting on the counter in the collander (covered) for more than 3 hours. But I think you could if you accidentally went that long but I have no idea what the maximum time would be. May depend on the veggie. Once your ready to cook, then nothing else special to do but cook. A lot of veggies are good roasted. You can put the results from your collander on a roasting pan and spray lightly with one of those spray cans of olive oil. And then roast for normal amount of time. There will be liquid probably in the bowl beneath the collander. I just discard this though it might be good for making a stock but could be rather salty. Sorry I'm winging most of this but the main point of this is that the salt besides taking the edge off the veggies seems to somehow cause the seasonings to really be drawn into the veggies and penetrates them better than without the brining, IMO. When I cook catfish fillets, I let them sit in the collander with the jalapeno bits and salt covered for a few hours. But inevitably, when I roast them, I need to roast for about 10 minutes, drain and roast some more. Not sure if I get the liquid because my catfish is cheap or what but the final version of the catfish with the jalapeno spicy flavor is nothing short of fabulous. I don't eat catfish any other way now. Yum, yum, yum. Sorry to make this so long but when I went looking on google, turns out there isn't much on this. I posted a pickled carrots recipe in other thread that I love for low fat, diet snacking and healthy too that involves dry brining first with minced jalapenos, then briefly boiling in vinegar and water and chilling in jars in the fridge. If you like spicy food, the salt will really enhance the jalapeno flavor, IMO. Search for "pickled carrots" and I bet it will pop up.

Don't forget salty snacks like popcorn, nachos, pickles... As for sweets, I'm just as "bad" as anyone else who doesn't have diabetes. In fact, having diabetes seems to make me crave sweets more than I ever did before (I was diagnosed with type 1 at age 23, not overweight)! Soon after I was diagnosed with diabetes, I remember reading that once-in-a-blue-moon, for a very special occasion, I could have a SMALL slice of birthday/wedding cake IF I was careful to scrape all the icing off!!! Forget that! Instead of following a "diabetic" diet, I just try to eat healthy. I prefer a good cheesecake-bite or brownie to any special diabetic snack. The trick is just not to eat too much. But I feel better, more satisfied, with a truly sinful delicious cookie than with a funny-tasting larger snack. Besides, I simply rearrange my carb-intake for the day (all carbs turn to sugar eventually) or even adjust my insulin-dose, or take a longer walk to make up for the extra carb. But, as for your quest, Jell-o is good, sometimes. Yogurt with all-fruit jam (or granola) stirred in, cheese & crackers, veges w/ranch dressing, PB on graham cracker, beef jerkey... Protein helps stabilize blood sugars. Remember that Fruit, though healthier than processed sugar, is still Sugar! Good luck in compiling more ideas - I'd like to hear them as well. : ) Holly

Here's the link for roasted chickpeas. Click the link for other info. Only thing I found out, is that don't say crisp more than a day, but they don't last that long. This isn't my recipe: I c&p it, but all are basically the same. -------------------------------------- Variations �I sometimes use these to top my yogurt parfait. They add a nice crunch and some extra protein. �Toss some on you oatbowl instead of nuts�.or with them. �They are great in kids lunch boxes. A peanut-free way to enjoy a healthy snack, safe for "nut-free" zones. What�s your favorite way to use chickpeas? How will you season yours? Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas Assume about 1/2 cup per person. This recipe will yield about 6 servings. NOTES: �You can use regular olive oil or flavored. Roasted garlic to various herb blends would be great. �If you are going sweet you might want to add a bit of maple syrup, honey or agave before roasting. �You can also toss them with some hot sauce if you want them spicy. �Some seasonings to consider: Black Pepper, Rosemary, Smoked Paprika, Oregano, Curry Powder, Chili Powder, Chinese 5 Spice, Herbs de Provence, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Ground Ginger, Ground Mustard, Allspice, Cayenne, etc�. the only rule, don�t over think it and just have fun with unique flavor combinations. INGREDIENTS �3 cups cooked Chickpeas (also called Garbanzo Beans) �some Canola or Olive Oil to lightly coat �Seasonings: I like sea salt and smoked paprika METHOD Preheat oven to 400ÃÂF. Toss chickpeas with spice, salt and a small amount of oil. Put them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. Toss them every 10 minutes. Let them cool completely before serving. They get much more crunchy after they cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Here is a link that might be useful: roasted chickpeas