Delicious cold lunch ideas?

[PumaLover]

Hi FJers! Does anyone have any fun ideas for packing lunches for work? I have committed to making my headship lunch to take to work so we can a) save money and b) he stops eating fast food all the damn time. I've been making him sandwiches and he has a microwave so he can take leftovers too. But I'm sure you guys have some good ideas you'd be willing to share!

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

It isn't fancy, but if he likes hummus, it makes a simple main part of a lunch. You can make your own or buy it. I like hummus on pita bread or flatbread. It's also good with veggies. I think if I were taking it someplace, I'd keep the hummus in a container, then spread it on the bread right before I ate it. A small portion could also be a good snack if he gets a short break. 

Another very simple idea is a microwave quesadilla. He could take shredded cheese and 2 tortillas. (I prefer corn for mine.) Put one tortilla on a paper towel, add the shredded cheese, put the other tortilla on top, and cover with another paper towel. Most microwaves take about 1 minute to melt the cheese, in my experience. He can have salsa, or chiles, etc. with it.

You can also make a sandwich more interesting by adding things like bell peppers, olives, or whatever toppings he likes at places like Subway. I used to make my own sub sandwiches for work sometimes, and they could be very filling by the time I finished adding veggies on top!

[Bethella]

One of my favorites is a modified ploughman's lunch. Traditionally it included bread, cheese, onions and pickles. I tend to substitute some kind of fruit or vegetable instead of the onions as I don't like them. I've also included things like hard boiled eggs, cured meats like salami or jerky, leftover ham... It all really depends on what we have on hand and what's in season. 

[Terrie]

Pasta salads work fairly well. One I like to make involved grilled chicken, grilled veggies, pasta (I use something like a rotini or a bowtie), tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Another one is tri-color rotini, cubed mozzerella and pepperoni, black olives, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, diced red onion, and just bottled Italian dressing. I've done soba noodles with carrots, cilantro, a combo of chili pepper, peanuts, garlic and ginger that's been put through the food processor, and a dressing of lime juice and soy sauce. The soba noodles are more absorbant than wheat pasta, so the dressing needs to be in its own container to be added at meal time.

[Kailash]

@Terrie The soba noodles sound delicious! I’m going to try some at home. 

[PumaLover]

Oh my gosh, where I have I been!? These are fabulous ideas and I'm so sorry I didn't respond sooner. His boss treated him to Mexican today but I need to get on the ball and start making him lunches. So many times I'll get into his car and it's littered with days' worth of soda cups and fast food wrappers, sigh. 

I've been making a lot of positive changes this year and the weight is coming off. He is over 300 lbs and he needs to really start making some better life choices too.

[Bethella]

On 4/8/2019 at 2:45 PM, Terrie said:

Pasta salads work fairly well. One I like to make involved grilled chicken, grilled veggies, pasta (I use something like a rotini or a bowtie), tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Another one is tri-color rotini, cubed mozzerella and pepperoni, black olives, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, diced red onion, and just bottled Italian dressing. I've done soba noodles with carrots, cilantro, a combo of chili pepper, peanuts, garlic and ginger that's been put through the food processor, and a dressing of lime juice and soy sauce. The soba noodles are more absorbant than wheat pasta, so the dressing needs to be in its own container to be added at meal time.

I did one like this recently with leftover chicken satay. I diced up the chicken and tossed it with (leftover) spaghetti noodles, diced cucumber, shredded carrot and peanut sauce. It was a nice meal on a hot day when I didn't want to cook. 

[Maggie Mae]

https://www.reddit.com/r/MealPrepSunday/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/mealprep/ have tons of ideas and tips and tricks. 

If he likes mexican, he can bring homemade tacos. Pack the meats separately (whatever you like. We sometimes will do a flank steak, roast it in the oven after marinading it, then slice it thin). He'll heat the meat in the microwave and assemble everything at work, if there's space. If there isn't, he can reheat an entire burrito bowl without having to do any work besides popping it in the microwave and maybe adding lettuce or sour cream (whatever he likes). 

Pretty much anything you'd make for lunch or dinner could be made in advance and reheated. It's not "leftovers" if it's made special for work! Good luck! 

[Syriana]

@PumaLover, a really good thermos is well worth the investment if your other half likes soups/stews/etc.  Take some fresh bread to have with it and it's warming, tasty and filling (all good things if you're somewhere that has cold weather).  My thermos paid for itself in one week of frigid weather, the lure of the canteen couldn't beat what I had taken with me.  I've taken curry, ragu, almost every type of soup imaginable (but avoid anything with too much cream in, they don't seem to travel well), stews...you name it, it's probably gone to work with me.

 

The thermos means you either heat things up at home or take them cold to work...either way the thermos beats the potential disaster of lids removing themselves in transit because the lids are far more secure than the alternatives.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Syriana

[Smash!]

@Syriana Can you recommend a brand for thermos? I've heard amazing things about Zojirushi but unfortunately I don't get it here [emoji53]

[Syriana]

On 11/16/2019 at 3:02 PM, Smash! said:

@Syriana Can you recommend a brand for thermos? I've heard amazing things about Zojirushi but unfortunately I don't get it here

I have a Thermos one, they come in a couple of sizes but the make hasn't let me down yet.  The link below is to amazon, if it works for you it's to the type of flask I have.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-Stainless-King-Food-Flask/dp/B075LG2VH2?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_3313584031_0&pf_rd_p=40f566bc-215e-5bc8-ba7c-07887e81e44e&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=3313584031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=Z77N9F9DPTSF1CS6BF35&pf_rd_r=Z77N9F9DPTSF1CS6BF35&pf_rd_p=40f566bc-215e-5bc8-ba7c-07887e81e44e

 

[Smash!]

Thank you@Syriana ! I was looking for something exactly like that [emoji3]