School lunches?

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andreamariexoxo
andreamariexoxo Posts: 28 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi I am a college student and to save money lately I've been packing my lunch and eating it in class. I'm getting bored with sandwiches and a piece of fruit so what are some suggestions? Today I'm making steak salad for dinner so I planned on bringing left overs of that for lunch tomorrow. I'm kind of picky. I don't like a lot of vegetables, hummus, eggs, things like that. And also amy suggestions on how to keep foods hot? I usually eat 45 minutes - 2 hours after packing.

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  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
    edited June 2018
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    andreamariexoxo wrote: »
    Hi I am a college student and to save money lately I've been packing my lunch and eating it in class. I'm getting bored with sandwiches and a piece of fruit so what are some suggestions? Today I'm making steak salad for dinner so I planned on bringing left overs of that for lunch tomorrow. I'm kind of picky. I don't like a lot of vegetables, hummus, eggs, things like that. And also any suggestions on how to keep foods hot? I usually eat 45 minutes - 2 hours after packing.

    I can only share from experience. As a child of the 80s, my late father would pack our lunches in stainless steel stackables, sometimes with deconstructed lunches Vs the wraps. Today's equivalent would be the insulated (thermal), stainless steel, bento lunchbox stackables. Recommend you consider getting a carry-friendly food warming bag.

    Since you're picky, your steak salad for now isn't at all bad, until you tire of it IMO.

    ETA: Correction
  • Speckle38
    Speckle38 Posts: 53 Member
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    Definitely get a thermal container. My children have Thermos brand food containers. When they take leftovers, I preheat the thermos with boiling water and microwave the food before putting it in. They eat it about 4 hours later and it’s still warm.
  • okiewoman510
    okiewoman510 Posts: 1,288 Member
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    Soup in a thermos. You can drink it right out of the thermos or use a spoon.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
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    I am also in college. I freeze leftovers and microwave them at school. Freezing ensures that they stay cold so I don't worry about refrigeration.

    A good Thermos is also a wise investment.
  • kbmnurse1
    kbmnurse1 Posts: 316 Member
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    I never understand what a "picky eater" means. Just try something different. Life is to short not to experiment with food and your taste buds. Give it a whirl.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
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    kbmnurse1 wrote: »
    I never understand what a "picky eater" means. Life is to short not to experiment with food and your taste buds. Give it a whirl.

    Just re: my own family, it usually means that there are a lot of foods that just taste bad enough, or have bad enough mouth feel, that they are not enjoyable at all.

    It's not a case of being too scared or nervous or stuck in your ways to try new foods. It's more a case of having higher than average numbers of flavors and textures that are seriously not appealing. To the point that you may literally not be able to eat them. Eggs are that for me - the smell alone is so disgusting to me, when I used to try to eat them, I would start dry heaving and couldn't manage to swallow more than a bite or two, and even then I might throw it back up.

    Most folks I know who don't like to try new things just say they know what they like and don't want to try new things, you know?

  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
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    andreamariexoxo wrote: »
    Hi I am a college student and to save money lately I've been packing my lunch and eating it in class. I'm getting bored with sandwiches and a piece of fruit so what are some suggestions? Today I'm making steak salad for dinner so I planned on bringing left overs of that for lunch tomorrow. I'm kind of picky. I don't like a lot of vegetables, hummus, eggs, things like that. And also amy suggestions on how to keep foods hot? I usually eat 45 minutes - 2 hours after packing.


    Bento boxes can be quite fun - lunch box and plate all in one. They typically involve leftovers, so that helps. There are tons, and tons of recipe ideas out there, and you can even go all out, if you feel like it, and make some super fancy bentos, if you like. Also, if you have the money to get one, some bentos come with an insulated bags to help keep food warm. Or there are thermos-like bentos so you can put food in them that keeps warm.
    bento recipes - http://justbento.com/recipes
    examples of thermally insulated boxes or boxes with bags that are - https://en.bentoandco.com/collections/thermal-boxes
    Insanely creative (and time consuming, so most of us don't do it) bento boxes. Seriously, it's worth seeing, because you get some neat ideas, at the very least - https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/creative-and-interesting-bento-boxes/



    For foods:
    - to keep warm, I sometimes would have warm pasta and put it in a widemouth insulated thermos to have.
    - I would sometimes add Meatballs, I would add finely grated zucchini to get a little more veg in, but it was undetectable taste-wise if I had sauce, and it just made the texture juicier.
    -Apple and walnut salads are fun, and get you a bit of protein.
    - Maybe a breakfast theme lunch - pancakes or waffles, and scrambled eggs or something, that could be fun.
    - Have a mexican themed lunch, like rice and beans, or a tamale (if you learn to make them, they are extremely cheap to make yourself), or a burrito with rice, beans, cheese, a little veg like avocado or guacamole.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    andreamariexoxo wrote: »
    Hi I am a college student and to save money lately I've been packing my lunch and eating it in class. I'm getting bored with sandwiches and a piece of fruit so what are some suggestions? Today I'm making steak salad for dinner so I planned on bringing left overs of that for lunch tomorrow. I'm kind of picky. I don't like a lot of vegetables, hummus, eggs, things like that. And also amy suggestions on how to keep foods hot? I usually eat 45 minutes - 2 hours after packing.

    I pack food for my dh and he gets stuff like sandwiches, dinner leftovers, fruit, yogurt, granola bar, muffin, cheese. He does not mind eating room temperature or cold food for lunch even though he has access to a microwave.
    Food in a insulated container could stay warm for quite awhile if you put it in hot.

    Cook extra for dinner and pack leftovers.



  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    Are your profs and other students cool with you eating in class? I just have not seen this done (as a student or as adjunct faculty a couple years ago)

    As for ideas...I have none. I'm super boring with any packed lunches and generally always do egg salad and carrots with raisins.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    How about improving your sandwiches/handhelds?

    Change the bread- you could use rye or pumpernickel or sourdough instead of standard wheat or white
    Change the style- make a wrap/burrito/tacos/hotdog instead
    Add new flavors- use things like caramelized onion, stone ground mustard, roasted jalapeño, Ortega chili, salsa etc to incorporate new flavor pairings.

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