teachers (or whoever has to bring lunch to work) what do you bring?

[Anonymous]

I am an administrator in a new school and it appears (I haven't specifically asked, but..) that no one leaves for lunch. At my old school(s), I almost always ran out to the local pizza place or bagel store or chipotle or whatever to grab lunch and bring it back.

Anyway - this is getting really old, really quick. I am not a sandwich or deli meat person, unless the sandwich has been freshly prepared by a "professional" haha. I will eat peanut butter sandwiches that I make myself but they just get old. I have been bringing either pb sandwiches or pb crackers with grapes or an apple and 100 calorie snack packs. I've also tried light and fit yogurt with a baggie of cereal with some of the other stuff. For whatever reason all of this is just totally unappealing to me and I end up being so hungry by the end of the day. I am also not a big salad person unless it's from a restaurant. I know, I'm so picky.

Ideas? I have access to a refrigerator and a microwave. I also don't cook a lot at night so I can't really bank on leftovers from dinner.

[Anonymous]

You sound exactly like me. I rarely eat my own sandwiches or salad and am not satified with snacky-type meals. However, I do cook a lot so I generally bring leftovers. I'll also make a box of pasta in the begnning of the week and put it in tupperwares to take, mixed with sauce and veggie/chicken. You could always go ith the frozen meals - Lean cuisine, etc.
Whatever you eat for dinner, just take extra for lunch. If you eat out at night, order your extra pizza then and heat it up the next day.

[Anonymous]

Maybe on Sunday cook a big meal specifically for a few lunches for week. I love having hot food for lunch--chili with some brown rice, pasta with vegetables, chicken noodle soup with a baguette.

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, OP. You say you don't cook much for dinner -- does that mean you are accustomed to doing takeut or restaurant meals for both lunch and dinner?

If so, that's a LOT of meals out, and probably not the healthiest way to live -- more junk food, more fat, more calroes, etc.

If you are like a lot of us out here, we can stand to brown bag more and cook more from scratch. It's cheaper and often will allow you to eat a lot more whole grains and vegetables.

You don't have to make a sandwich if you don't like them. But you could buy some nice rolls or Italian bread at the bakery, slice them in half, and keep in the freezer. Keep a bag or two of mixed salad greens in the fridge, maybe some chopped peppers or a few tomatoes, and some condiments and a few packs of cold cuts and cheese. You can make a very nice homemade "deli" sandwhich in a few minutes. I find having delicious bread to be the key to an enjoyable homemade sandwich.

I enjoy tortellini filled with some kind of vegetable filling for both lunch and dinner.

I usually pack some kind of cut up vegetable and some dip.

[Anonymous]

Same things my son eats:

1) spinach tortellini with pesto (sometimes I add toasted pine nuts). Put it in a food thermos or nuke it at work.

2) A copy of Starbucks little snack plate: a triangle of brie cheese, a slice of some other fancy cheese, some whole wheat crackers (I'm really digging Special K's new crackers), sliced apples, and some almonds.

3) turkey wraps with pesto or ranch dressing, with baby spinach in a whole wheat tortilla. A side of Whole Food's corn and tomato salad (also easy to replicate at home, but I just go buy it).

4) spaghetti and a side salad (baby spinach, blue cheese crumbles, mandarin oranges, walnuts, and a raspberry dressing (takes 1 minute to put together)).


I also pack two of those bags of sliced apples you can get in the produce section (I think they are Mott's brand but not sure), and two Mini Baby Bel Gouda cheeses (those little red round ones). I take these daily for my mid afternoon snack.

Focus on protein for lunch and a snack and you won't get as hungry.

[Anonymous]

To save money, I just started to plan meals that will make decent leftovers. I'm not sure what you mean when you say you don't cook, , but if you do take-out, maybe just plan to buy extra to take.

As fall approaches, soup is a good easy take to lunch thing. Either buy the ones made to heat up in the container or just take a can and a microwaveable container to work. When I make homemade soup or chili, I always make extra and freeze in individual containers -although chili can have some bad side effects for work : )

If you want minimal effort, you can buy frozen entrees from the grocery store. They can really be hit or miss, but try a few to see what you like. I love Trader Joes Chicken burritoes (I just bring my own container).

Hummus, crackers and veggies.

I find bringing lunch is like anything else. At first its an effort. But once you get used to it, it becomes second nature.

[Anonymous]

For sandwiches, I agree fresh made by the deli is so much better than packed. But I find it helps to:

Skip the cheese (it tends to get stuck to the bread)
Make a sandwich with just meat, bread and a little bit of condiment
Wrap lettuce and other veggies in a papertowel and put on sandwich right before you eat it.

So much better.

[Anonymous]

If you have a desk, you can also stash goodies for yourself--small bags of chips or crackers, granola bars, mini chocolates, etc. Also, you should stash a few dehydrated soups and noodles from Whole Foods--you just add water and microwave, or add hot water.

Leftovers from the previous night's dinner is what I usually take to work.

If you are having a hard time enjoying the food you bring from home, I would invest a little extra money into buying high quality foods--it'll still almost certainly be cheaper than buying out every day. Buy good cheeses and meats for your sandwiches, good mustard, and excellent bread/rolls. This really makes a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with assembling certain foods just before you eat them. Buying the right containers to pack lunch helps a lot with this. You can find anything you need at the Container Store, although many places have a large selection right now (including grocery stores and places like Target) because it's the beginning of the school year.

[Anonymous]

I'm a grad student and often need to bring both lunch and dinner a few days a week. If there's a microwave available it will provide a lot more options as well.

You can do burritos (make your own or buy them from the freezer section). You can then nuke them at work, or nuke them at home and then warm them up at work. Sometimes I'll bring rice and veggies if I'm doing it as my dinner.

Leftovers from previous dinners (this week I did leftover pizza one day and ate it cold).

I will do sandwiches sometimes (ham/cheese, etc). You can do crackers or wraps if you prefer. When I pack sandwiches with condiments I do bread, cheese, then condiments to keep the condiments from soaking into the bread. I've never had issues with cheese sticking to the bread. Just be sure to use ice packs to keep everything fresh.

I was out of the gluten free bread that I eat - so yesterday I just did chicken salad with GF pretzels and I brought yogurt and some other snacks.

Chips/guacamole (make your own guacamole, or Holy Guacamole has snack sized versions). Again if you have a microwave, you can also bring leftover meat/rice/corn and tomatoes and cheese and make a Chipotle-esque type meal at your desk.

Sometimes on weekends I will cook some chicken or a crockpot of meatballs or something so I have something to make meals out of during the week.

If you don't have a microwave at work, invest in a Thermos or two. If you preheat them using hot water, they will keep food hot for a while.

To supplement things like the above I'll bring yogurt (I actually like Chobani's kids Greek yogurt hah) or cheese as well as some crackers pretzels or chips, fresh fruit, etc. You can also do as someone else mentioned and keep some granola bars, Craisins, chocolate, and some other snacks in your desk if you have one.

[Anonymous]

I bring in for the day either a frozen meal (usually lean cuisene), a sandwich, or whatever. I keep a baggie of baby carrots and some yogurts in the fridge at work (none of my coworkers mind). For those days when I just don't feel like a lean cuisene or a sandwich, I keep a stash of a few cans of soup and crackers in my desk. I also have a bag of 100 calorie packs and other snacks in a drawer at work. It makes it really easy if you're running late in the morning because you don't have to pack something every day. Having a large variety of stuff really helps me get over the boredom of home brought lunches. (Most of my colleagues eat out and there are tons of options in my work neighborhood, but I am trying to eat healthier & save $).

[Anonymous]

One suggestion is to get high quality deli meats and cheese from the deli counter (instead of packaged stuff in a plastic container) and instead of regular bread, try different kinds of rolls, etc. Also you can make flavored mayo, etc. If you like lettuce and tomato, take it in a separate container to avoid sogginess.