I have been at my new job for nearly two months now. I’m still not sure I’m not going to quit—but I AM glad I didn’t ALREADY quit, which is good progress.
For nearly two months I have been enjoying the novelty of sandwiches: peanut butter and jelly, tuna, egg salad, lunch meat. I started working with side dishes a little: blueberries, a small simple salad, various granola bars (have you tried the one made with quinoa? I think it’s pretty yummy), a banana.
But although I do still enjoy sandwiches, I have one weekly shift where I have to bring lunch AND dinner, and I admit on that day I get a little tired of sandwiches. So I am looking for ideas for portable meals. My job is probably similar to an office job, in that I am able to heat things up, but (1) it should not take a long time, and (2) it should not stink up the place. Eating the food should also not take a long time.
Leftovers are good, of course, but we don’t usually have leftovers. I will probably gradually tweak my cooking style to CREATE more leftovers.
I thought about some sort of cup-of-soup product, but there seem to be two kinds: (1) extremely cheap cup-of-soup, like 3/$1, which smells strongly and is messy to eat and I don’t particularly like it, or (2) surprisingly expensive cup-of-soup, where it costs more for a small microwavable bowl of soup than for a whole can. My older children mocked me: “Oh, TWO WHOLE DOLLARS for soup! Why, in MY day, you could get a cup of soup for TWO BEES!” But I could make a batch of soup and put it into little containers in the freezer.
Salads, but those are a little fussy. I made a small side salad (just spinach, carrot shreds, sunflower seeds, and dressing), and that was a little fussy to make and took a little too long to eat.
What else? What do you bring for your work lunches?
A cold pasta salad is nice – takes practically no time to make, you can make a big batch with one box of pasta and it will keep for several days. Toss some grilled chicken in and it’s filling plus you don’t have to heat it up.
Agree with cold pasta salad.
Frittata is nice cold, and you can make it with all sorts of veggies. Cold boiled (small) new potatoes would go well with it. You can just rinse them and boil them in their skins. They’re especially nice if you toss them in a bit of soy sauce and butter while they’re hot so it soaks in while they cool.
I second frittata. Its almost easier than a sandwich to eat on the go, but feels fancier.
This is what I spend most of my free time thinking about. I’m in adult ed and teach many classes both days and evenings so I often eat THREE meals a day at work. I usually cook a whole bunch on the weekends and then tupperware it, but I don’t have a large brood to also cook for, so…
For meals that you DON’T want to cook a lot for my go-tos are:
Fage 2% or whole fat greek yogurt + sides like nuts and berries
humous and veggies – and if I already cooked it, a chicken breast
bagels + cream cheese + lox (I realize this is just another version of a sandwich, but i think it’s a refreshing change)
hardboiled eggs
anything from Trader Joe’s – ha. (They have microwaveable red rice and I love their Indian meals that are also microwaveable. )
falafel (that you made or bought), humous, and tomatoes
And finally, when I’m feeling pretty low, I splurge and make a sort of hors d’oevres lunch: brie, olives, and some salami.
I’m a substitute teacher, and I like to eat in the classroom when the kids are at lunch-so every day I have a yogurt and almonds. Very simple, quick, and because of all the different yogurt flavors, I don’t get bored with it!
When I get tired of my usual Lean Cuisine and a piece of fruit, I bring a bagged salad–one that has the dressing and all the toppings. I can stretch one bag into two servings; I divide it at home into two plastic containers, combine everything except the dressing which I put into two smaller containers, and then all I have to do is add the dressing and chow down. I know Dole makes quite a few, and my grocery store also carries ones made with cole slaw which are really good.
Yes, I eat those for lunch too. If I get the one with blue cheese dressing I also buy a small container or blue cheese crumbles to add to it.
I’ve just started doing this, too! I was surprised by how much I enjoy this. A couple years ago, I was FORCING myself to eat salads for lunch and I hated it and decided it wasn’t worth it, so I swore off salads for a while. These bagged salads finally got me back on it. I don’t know what grocery stores you have by you, but Harris Teeter has some really good ones: BBQ ranch, Asian, Tex Mex, kale.
Make your own Lunchables. Chop and season (if you like) up some leftover chicken or something else that’s good cold, some cheese cubes, good (healthy?) crackers you like, throw it in little containers or a divided container, and go.
I am not creative at all with my work lunches and aside from the occasional slice of leftover pizza, I almost never heat anything up. Although I almost always bring the same things, I add variety by changing up the flavor/type of each element. So here are my go-tos:
Some form of lunch meat, preferably something kickier than the plain stuff, like buffalo chicken breast, jerk turkey, pepper turkey, prosciutto, or rosemary jam.
+ Sliced or cubed cheese, again something more interesting/flavorful than American, etc., but not stinky: manchego, gran padano, pecorino, sharp cheddar
+ Crackers or popcorn cakes: Carr’s rosemary or wheat crackers (the latter are almost like cookies), olive oil and pepper Triscuits, stoned wheat thins, Quaker popcorn cakes (plain/salted)
+ sliced cucumbers, pickles, or cherry tomatoes
Sometimes I eat these things separately, but if time allows, I quickly assemble little stacks of cracker + cuke + cheese + meat. It makes it seem fun and hors d’ouvre-ish.
Along with those things, I usually eat a granola bar and a small piece of chocolate. And finally, a piece of fruit.
I am quite fond of the Carr’s wheat crackers with a little cream cheese and jalapeno jelly.
Re peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I may be the last person to realize this, but peanut butter and fresh fruit sandwiches are yummy. My favorite is pb & fresh blueberries. Today I used seedless grapes. I find bananas too filling on a sandwich, but others have raved about that. Apples, if you slice them really really thin. Etc.
Also I love cold chicken, so that’s a good leftover-y lunch.
I just discovered PB and fresh blueberries, too!! You’re not last!
What?!? You can do this? I am going to try it!
I highly recommend peanut butter and sliced strawberries. If you want to add a bit, you can also add a little honey and some sliced bananas. One of my absolute favorites.
Can you not either (a) use and wash real bowls at your client’s home (i.e. buy the can of soup rather than the bowl) or (b) have your own work-travel bowl to use? I’m puzzled that it’s necessary to buy the soup-already-in-a-bowl option, given that you work in people’s homes.
Hmmm. I find rotisserie chickens, which I buy, you know, cooked at the store, slice up nicely to provide both (a) supper and (b) lunch (or supper!) from leftovers the day (or so) after. I guess given the difference in our family sizes, you might need 2 such chickens to my one, but I think (?) the approach could still work. Fried chicken also works fine for this. I then have “ready veggies” (think — those little carrots, bag of snap peas, little tomatoes) or fruit (apple, berries) as a side.
Any number of different kinds of beans/peas work well for me as sort of a “main course” — black beans, black-eyed peas being among my favorites. One can sprinkle with cheese and season to taste. I usually cook a batch up in a slow cooker, but of course cans are also readily available and affordable.
I like smoked fish — Trader Joe’s has a nice trout, and salmon is pretty widely available. This option may not pass the scent test, however.
Baking and sweet potatoes can be cooked (or warmed up) easily in a microwave, and with a few toppings, make a meal.
Hummus smeared inside a pita makes a decent (packable) sandwich. I also like prepared stuffed grape leaves, which I can get at a food co-op near where I live (delicious, short-lived) or packaged from Costco (not delicious, but tolerable and sturdy).
In that vein (the “make a meal” bit), I do not presume to speak for you but I will comment that at some point in the past couple of years I realized that I can afford, health-wise, to miss the occasional meal and/or to have a banana or packet of peanut butter crackers or couple of handsful of trail mix be my entire meal, and be none the worse for wear (and maybe a little better). I personally am not eating too little food (or even too little nutritious food), but if anything (ahem) the contrary. Of course, this true fact ignores the at-times-important counter-fact that if I am tired or stressed, I may need a meal for reasons that have nothing to do with my overall caloric intake or nutritional needs, and I certainly do not intend to imply that you are similarly situated (in terms of the caloric intake issue) but I mention this because it has, for me, proved an at-times freeing revelation. I had gotten so used to feeling I needed to plan/pack real, complete meals for my family that it took me awhile to notice that when it’s just me, this may not be important (depending).
I like the italian wedding (turkey ball) soup in the pop top can for lunches if I have microwave access. I just watch for the fancy canned soups to go on a good sale and stock up.
Yes, I could buy a can of soup, dilute it if necessary, and divide it into two microwave containers. I just meant that I first investigated the cup-of-soup option—because it was something I’d heard of as something people did for portable lunches, and because it works well in the microwave. It’s not specifically not-allowed to use the client’s dishes/pans, but it’s something we avoid.
I take your point about meal-skipping; but in this case, I can’t skip the meal, because part of the job is to eat with the clients.
Urk! My humble (?) opinion is that if you’re expected to eat with clients, the assumption would/should be that the clients provide the food (given that this is in their homes)! I mean, you’re still doing the food prep work/cleanup, obviously, but all the same. I guess this could be awkward if you don’t eat what client eats (but that could go either way, speaking as someone who’s had some interactions with elderly people who have e.g. both dementia and diabetes, which in my experience can make bringing your own food awkward as well). Goes to show you what I know, I guess.
You don’t get a real (left-alone-for-awhile) break during your shift, then, I assume, since even your lunch “break” is more time with the client? That would be so hard for me–no downtime or time to myself to recharge and GET AWAY FROM PEOPLE. I’m assuming too–maybe incorrectly–that some of your clients likely need help with their eating, so even your own lunch is still spent working, right? My hat’s off to you. The constant being-around-people would wear me down.
I hope you’re finding post-work rituals and/or treats that help combat all the on-the-job stress, Swistle.
Although you have to eat them with your hands, nachos are fun and quick (and kind of decadent). Tortilla chips, black beans or taco meat, shredded cheese, and any number of veggies heat up quickly in the microwave. I also throw on hot sauce and bring a little tupperware container of sour cream for dipping.
I usually make a big batch of something on Sunday, and take it for lunch all week. My favorite is a burrito bowl – instant rice with cilantro and lime juice, canned black beans, canned corn, canned black olives, pre-made Pico de Gallo,and a little side of sour cream. Or a pasta salad with cucumbers, black olives, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and Italian dressing. If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll make a lasagna or chicken pot pie or shepards pie or batch of mushroom soup.
All of these keep all week in the fridge. Sometimes I portion them out into Tupperware on Sunday, sometimes not until the morning. For snacks I usually take a yogurt, granola bar, pack of crackers, fruit, or chocolate.
I presume you have a freezer to use? I like to eat Amy’s kitchen frozen meals for lunch. They are healthy and tasty (and not associated with weight loss programs).
I make this recipe of crock pot chicken and instead of making it into a salad, I usually just portion out the chicken breast and some of the beans and add some cherry tomatoes, cheese, and avocado on the side.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/04/easy-crock-pot-chicken-and-black-bean.html
Frozen cheese tortellini. We buy it in bags, and I bring a serving-sized amount in a Tupperware to work. I dump it in a bowl, cover with water, microwave for 2 minutes, and drain. I usually just put parmesan cheese on it but you could bring a little tub of pasta sauce or veggies or something to liven it up a bit.
Stir fry noodles and veggies are a common dinner so I bring that as leftovers a lot. Turkey roll-ups – a tortilla with a weensy bit of yellow mustard, some deli turkey, a slice of provolone, and some lettuce all rolled up. Canned ABC soup that I eat cold straight out of the can because I am gross. Burrito bowls – spiced beans/corn with some meat (we do fake meat bc my husband is vegetarian), sour cream (in a separate tub to be added after heating), cheese, and crumbled tortilla chips.
When I do taco night I use the leftover meat to make burritos that I freeze individually. Grab and go.
Pre-portioned, grab-able servings are key since morning is not a good brain time for me. I usually make all my lunches for the week at one time over the weekend, and then they are lined up in my fridge like soldiers.
I am a big soup fan, regardless of the weather. Right now, I use my produce share veggies to make some kind of pureed veg soup with whatever is on hand, and more often than not, I end up with some hot pink beet concoction, but WHATEVS! I store them in wide-mouth pint jars, which I reheat in the office microwave and then eat with a spoon if I have time, or just drink out of the jar if I don’t.
My most favorite soup for work is this tomato soup (http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/02/15-minute-creamy-tomato-soup-vegan.html). It is delicious and ridiculously easy, and since I’m not vegan, I let that trait of this soup make me feel smug and healthy. When I make this full recipe, I get 4 good-sized servings.
That said, one can’t lunch on soup alone. So I supplement with fruit (an apple cut this way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5NMe1K3qk), vegetables and hummus, and whole grain crackers. I also keep nuts at my desk in case of low blood sugar strikes.
I also enjoy a cold noodle salad like this: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/07/asian-noodle-salad-with-ginger-peanut-dressin.html. I use soba noodles, red peppers, edamame/tofu, maybe broccoli in mine, and then I add dressing and shake it up before eating.
I really like the mason jar salads. You can make five salads on Sunday afternoon in about an hour, and I swear the Friday salad is just as crisp and good as the Monday salad. In case you haven’t seen these (they are ALL OVER my Pinterest page) you take a quart mason jar and put a tablespoon or two of your favorite dressing in the bottom. Top that with your favorite veggies–cherry tomatoes, shredded carrot, sliced cucumber–whatever. If you like the sweeter salads, this is where you would put your blueberries or pear slices or whatever. On top of the veggies, put your protein. I found that hardboiled eggs really only tasted good for the first two days, so I recommend only making one or two salads with egg and eating them first. I ended up liking chicken breast for the protein, because it seemed to hold up really, really well. I haven’t tried tofu yet, but my guess is that tofu would only really hold up a day or two, so again, eat the tofu versions first. (Although, Tofu might be really good if you put it on top of the dressing, and let it soak up the dressing flavor…hmmm) On top of the protein, put whatever crunchy things you like: chow mein noodles, nuts, croutons. This should take to right around the halfway point of the jar. Now stuff your greens into the jar to fill it and put the lid on it. I like to take a dry-erase marker and write what type of salad it is, so I’m not pulling two similar jars out and wondering “Wait, is this the chicken with bleu cheese or the chicken with ranch?”
So a sample salad:
Italian dressing
Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced cucumbers
kalamata olives
Chicken breast
feta cheese
spinach
The idea is to make a barrier between your dressing and your greens–keeping the greens dry is what keeps things crisp and fresh.
When you’re ready to eat, just upend the jar over a bowl (I found it helpful to pack a rubber spatula in my lunch bag so I could get every drop of dressing, but if you’re less greedy than I, you don’t need to worry about this) give it a toss, and eat.
Google “Mason Jar Salads” and you will find scores of recipes and ideas.
My spouse typically takes leftovers, from previous dinners, often re-worked a little bit and seems to really like that. (I am quite impressed by your cooking with no leftovers, I almost always end up with leftovers, but not enough for another whole family meal. But I’m off topic.)
Husband also likes to take BBQ in a tupperware with a bun separate and a pickle and side of salad or chips or pasta salad. Feels more dinner-like than a sandwich, yet easy to heat up, cook in bulk to prepare, and still eats easily.
It’s not so much skill as it is “two teenaged boys.”
Hee!
:)
I am too lazy to even make a sandwich most days, but I want to do ALL of these things.
Pyrex makes store and heat bowls, which I take to work all the time. That or something similar would be a good solution to the using client’s dishes conundrum.
I’m not much help for ideas, however as I usually take 1) leftovers or 2) salad. I find packing a lunch in advance helps me make much healthier choices than when I’m at home, subsisting on uneaten waffles and whatever I can grab with one hand and no prep.
Sometimes I need two meals too, but my second I tend to think more snack-like. Plain yogurt with fruit and granola: Summer is great with berries, but I love apples and dried apricot in winter. Cheese, crackers and fruit. Veggies and hummus.
*adding Pyrex to list* I’ve seen those! They seem perfect for this!
I haven’t read all the comments yet, but if I could have one thing to eat forever and ever every day for lunch it would be:
chicken salad (like the mayo kind…all white and creamy and yummy with old bay and pepper on it)
on a bed of lettuce
with sliced cukes and tomatoes.
Side of potato chips. HEAVEN.
Another different idea is to get romaine lettuce leaves (or butter lettuce or similar) and fill with rotisserie chicken. I like to roll the chicken in buffalo chicken sauce first. Lettuce wraps! You could do any flavor combo and add veggies to it, etc.
Good luck! Want to read all the comments now for more ideas!
Things I have tried:
– Making food at home, dividing it into portions, and bringing it in microwave bowls: This is fine, I guess. But it has always felt like a lot of EFFORT for not very much return. I never appreciate a nice meal I’ve made the night before when I eat it at work. And I always found myself wanting more food even if I gave myself a reasonable portion.
– Bringing an assortment of snack food items (cheese, berries, sliced ham or turkey, crackers) and grazing throughout the day: I tried this for awhile but found that I still wanted a MEAL during the day even if I was grazing every 2 hours.
– Bringing ingredients to assemble into a lunch at work: I tried bringing a loaf of french bread and sandwich fixins, but this just ended up being a pain and also unsatisfying.
I guess one of the problems is that I don’t APPRECIATE how much effort it takes to make food for myself. I’m ungrateful.
What I’ve been doing for the past couple of months that has been pretty successful is getting prepackaged salads and soups from the supermarket. The salads are $2.99 single-serving and the soups are cheaper ($3.99) if you buy the larger size, but they come in a plastic tupperware container and are easily stored for later. I usually find one of the soups makes 2-3 lunches. I also buy a bag of goldfish crackers and eat them in the soup. Or sometimes I even add them to my salad if I don’t feel like there is enough crunchy yummy things on it (I only buy salads with a variety of yummy/crunchy things like cheese, Asian noodles, hard boiled egg, a different kind of cheese, etc). I also store a bottle of my favorite salad dressing in the fridge at work, because I don’t always like the dressing that comes with a particular salad.
I also keep a stash of Easy Mac single serving cups in my desk drawer for if I get hungry in the evening at work.
I like to remind myself that it is totally fine to buy prepackaged lunch stuff, because being at work is HARD and I don’t need to add any steps or effort to feeding myself, especially since I work in a field where I’m taking care of other people all day (and so do you!).
If I don’t have leftovers at work, I bring a salad. On Sunday, I chop up a bunch of lettuce and put it in the fridge. I also mix together the other toppings and put them in a container in the fridge. Recently I’ve been adding black beans, chick peas, and tomato. Then on the morning of work, I combine my lettuce with my toppings, add some cheese on top, and I keep a bottle of dressing at work that I add right beforehand. It is very quick and not at all fussy, I don’t think. You could just bring your dressing with you that day.
Do you like quinoa? Or rice? I make a big batch (JUST FOR ME not for the ingrates who live with me) and then add in things like shredded chicken from the rotisserie chicken that the ingrates are allowed to also eat, and chopped veggies, some spinach and then I throw a little balsamic or some other dressing on there and call it done. No heating required.
You can even do beans and rice with a little salsa and cheddar and some chips on the side, or beans rice and ground meat of your choice, throw some salsa on there, bring a tortilla and it’s like a deconstructed burrito.
I also think things like pasta salads and chicken salads are good take to work lunches, no heating required.
This is what I do too – basically pasta salad but with rice in place of pasta.
For some reason, no matter what shape I choose, the cold pasta always seems very slippery and I’m unable to eat it in a dignified, non-mess-producing manner. Not a problem at home, but not a visual I’d want give coworkers or clients.
I usually do leftovers. As a single person, it’s been pretty easy to develop the habit of making some big, freezable thing on the weekend and then freezing it in single portions to have over the next few months. So I usually have a nice selection of soups, casseroles, quiches, pasta dishes, etc., to choose from.
But I’ve also found a few things on Budget Bytes that are good just to make and eat all week. These are a few favorites. I made them on a weekend and they stayed yummy all week:
Tuna Guacamole Bowl: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/07/spicy-tuna-guacamole-bowls/
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Bowl: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/05/sweet-n-spicy-chicken-bowls/
Crunchy Chinese Chicken: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/07/crunchy-chinese-chicken-salad/
Chicken Kale Caesar Wraps: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/07/chicken-kale-caesar-wraps/
It never occurred to me until I tried that last recipe that I could make my own wraps. That might be a nice variation on sandwiches for you. If you prepped enough filling to last several days ahead of time, you could just do the wrapping when you’re ready to eat.
Elbow macaroni salad made with tuna and chopped onion, plus a side of cantaloupe chunks. Roasted sweet potato with some crumbled browned chorizo and pepperjack cheese. Spaghetti and (frozen) meatballs that you make just for yourself if you don’t have leftover. Thermos of chili or stew.
Don’t know if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby but they have a ton of salads, wraps etc. that are delicious and ready to go. Reasonably priced for those times when you’d like to break up the monotony.
I make a lot of cold quinoa salads that are similar to pasta salad. I find the quinoa doesn’t make me as sleepy or weigh me down as much as pasta. I’ve been eating this one a lot lately. I double the recipe so it lasts a few days between me and my husband. I don’t eat meat but you could easily add cooked chicken to it. http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2012/10/mexican-quinoa-salad.html It is so good!
Lasagne can be made ahead, apportioned out into tupperware, and nuked as needed.
My finance director brings a pasta salad with kale or spinach, feta cheese, and I don’t know what else, but it looks yummy.
I’ve often heated up frozen shumai in the morning and put them in a thermos. They keep hot all day.
Or how about eggs on an english muffin with chive cheese? If you have a muffin top baking pan, crack an egg into one of the muffin top areas. Bake it in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. Bring it with a toasted muffin and a container of chive cheese. When it’s dinner time, nuke the egg on the muffin for like, 20 seconds, schmear the top half of the muffin with the cream cheese and YUM.
when i was teaching preschool–this is before they fired me for checking myself into a pysch hospital–here were some of my go tos (i worked 9ish hour days so i brought snacks and lunch)
black beans and roasted boil in bag bbq corn w/ salt and pepper
on bad days, which given my horrible co-teacher were many, nutella and pb sandwiches or sometimes nutella with fresh berries
avocado with sea salt on good bread
soup–i never managed to make hommeade but if you CAN thats probably better ;) with crackers or bread
bagel and cream cheese
greek pasta salad–rotini with sliced black olives, grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta. SO GOOD. and eaten cold.
salad–spinach with sliced strawberries, crumbled goat cheese, candied walnuts, a little raspberry vinegrette
cous cous with spinach, feta, tomatoes–takes one saucepan and is delicious and quick if you use quick cook cous cous
2nd trader joes boxed indian meals
granny smith apples w sharp cheddar
Quiche. Can’t believe no one has mentioned quiche. Make on Sunday, eat all week. Tons of combos depending on what you like.
Once again, Swistle, your comments section proves itself to be one of the most educational places on the internet. I have learned much from this place.
I’ve been in a job where I can go home for a lunch hour, and now I’m changing to a substitute teaching by day/grad school in the evening schedule, so this is highly valuable information to me.
One thing I love to do is to make a giant pot of my favorite soup (in my case, Pioneer Woman Italian Chicken), and pour it into muffin tins and freeze it. Then you take it out and put it in a gallon ziploc, pop three into a tupperware, and viola. Add croutons because soup is not worth eating without croutons. That’s just some life advice.
I’m hoping to get this done before I start the new schedule, maybe another flavor as well.
Only thing I have to contribute here: I’ve found that quesadillas reheat better than many other dishes do, under a damp paper towel maybe, and you can be really creative. You can also not be creative at all, and just melt cheese between two tortillas (or one big folded tortilla) and then bring a little cup of salsa or guacamole or sour cream to make it feel fancier. Some combos are the usual chicken and cheese or beef and cheese, but also spinach, or corn, or roasted vegetables, or whatever you like (mushrooms, maybe? I hear some people can stomach those).
I concur with everyone saying OMG this comments section is magical. I’m learning so much, and I feel like everyone has this same problem.
Definitely start cooking to make leftovers, it’s the easiest thing to throw in tupperware, then throw in microwave, then eat. My Super Hard Cooking Trick is to basically take whatever leftovers I have, then throw lettuce on it. Sometimes wrapped in a tortilla. If you re-imagine it, EVERYTHING can either be a salad or a taco.
Someone who commented above said it was freeing to think of lunch differently and I agree. While of course it’s great to have typical lunch food, it really helped when I realized I can do Snack Food Lunches or Halvsie lunches. So for instance, when I’m staring at my pantry like–what can I bring for lunch, I only have one tortilla. That’s not enough food for lunch. I can now rethink it–AH HA! One tortilla plus cheese or whatever meat/lettuce combo I have in my fridge makes a taco. And sure, not enough to be filled up, but it’s okay to eat one taco then a side of something completely different. So sometimes I’ll eat a small taco then a big apple, or then some soup, or then some leftover veggies/potato/yogurt whatever. And Snack Food Lunches–it’s good enough for kids, why not for us? Eat a yogurt, then some crackers or granola, or a handful of lettuce, or some fruit, or that last piece of turkey in the fridge or a couple big spoonfuls of peanut butter, or a big handful of almonds. It doesn’t have to add up to an award-winning meal, so long as you get full and it’s relatively healthy, real food it doesn’t really matter.
I also haven’t personally tried it, but since you’re a smoothie pro, mix up something that is still good after a few hours, throw it in the fridge wherever you are, then eat that for lunch with some kind of easy side so you’re not still hungry.
I used to enjoy bag salads with croutons, shredded chicken and a bag of chips. You can generally get two or three servings of salad as meal with the premade kind and you can add the extras like cucumbers and stuff. I’m a big proponent of creamy ceasar or blue cheese type dressings to bulk the meal up a little. I used to get flack about that, as a fat woman, because I was apparently completely negating the diet I was apparently on. I just love it when people make assumptions about me based on weight. If you really want a treat chicken ceasar blt salad.
romaine lettuce
diced tomatoes
crumbled up bacon or turkey bacon
chicken
whatever other vegetables you like
croutons
creamy ceasar dressing
parmesan cheese
You can either use left over chicken from a roast or bake chicken pieces special. I recommend going for bone-in skin on cuts for that purpose because they’re more flavorful and don’t dry out in the oven. Plus you can get a family pack of thighs and season each one differently and bake them all off at the same time and have chicken salad sandwiches or chicken shreds for salad or even eat them as is with whatever sides you like.
What works for me when I want leftovers, is to cook–maybe a little more than I think we can eat–and then BEFORE everyone serves themselves–I take out the “leftover” portion and box it up and stick it in the fridge/freezer. I used to make this stuff I called california roll salad. It was a plastic container in which I layered–“sushi rice” (slow cooked rice–not minute rice–and rice vinegar/sugar mixed in) a sheet of nori and toppings (which could be anything but I preferred the traditional crab, cucumber, avocado, more nori, more rice–squish it down. Then I just cut it as I ate it.
TV dinners are great in a pinch–especially if you have a big freezer and can get them on sale.
THIS. Portion and pack up a lunch first, and stick it in the fridge or freezer right away. I like to cook a big meal and divvy it up into 3 or 4 tupperwares to freeze at the same time as I load my plate, but that’s just cooking for one person. But it’s the same idea- just serve 8 people instead of seven right from the beginning.
Yes! When I do this, I also label it (masking tape and a sharpie) that it’s for my lunch.
Glasslock/Snapware dishes are my go-to, because they really truly don’t leak, and you can microwave them (without lid).
For cold stuff, I like slightly-fancy sandwiches: roast beef with horseradish and arugula and cheese or a tart raspberry jam; smoked salmon and dill havarti and roasted broccoli from last night’s dinner (because 1/4c = usable leftovers!) with 2 drops of lemon sprinkled on top; turkey and brie and pear, soppressata salami with manchego.
I also love stuffed grape leaves, which you can buy in a can.
For hot stuff, our Kroger has these superb salmon burgers, 4 for $5/6 depending on whether or not they’re on sale. They’re unbelievably tasty. Like, if I could have them every other day I would, and I hate repeating meals frequently, but they’re just so very delicious and moist and flavorful and filling. Fry them in a skillet, and then eat them hot or cold. My fiancé and I put them on waffles with spicy brown mustard and a touch of nice lettuce or arugula.
When I get bored of sandwiches I eat quesadillas. :D This is my current favorite recipe and I could eat them multiple times a week, they also freeze well, which is a plus. http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/ This is a vegetarian meal, but you most certainly don’t miss the meat.
I really like the Amy’s basil pesto bowls from the frozen section at Target. They’re a little bigger than I’d like, but they’re really good and only take 5 minutes to warm up in the microwave.
Your kids sound hilarious. “Two bees”! lol
Black beans straight from the can warmed in the microwave topped with cheddar or similar cheese. Then from a second container I dump salsa, sour cream, chives, jalapeños, anything Mexicany. Yum.
How about savoury muffins of some sort? Bake ahead and freeze. Maybe a muffin and a smoothie? Or is that too much like breakfast? I make a smoothie at home in the morning to take to work in a thermos and it’s still good three hours later. Except that one time I put an apple in the smoothie and it thickened up too much to drink.
I pack lunch for my kid every day, because if I don’t, no lunch for her. I’ve tried to use the same philosophy to also pack lunches for myself, even though I have other options. For her, I pack a savory (sandwich or pasta or quesadilla or yogurt + muffin or egg) + a piece of fruit and a vegetable. It took me a while to figure out her lunch, and I’m trying to adapt it to my lunch. If I take dinner leftovers or a salad, it’s more satisfying if I also bring a piece of fruit, or a handful of chips.
I have no additional useful lunch suggestions, just wanted to say I was chortling in a very unladylike manner about the TWO BEES comment. (HA. HAA! TWO BEES! SNORT.)