Packing Lunches for Work

Sushi, fresh veges and something with some crunch!

There are soooooooooooo many great ideas posted here! I am definately going to use many of them. Thank for the ideas....oh, i am so hungry now lol

So many great ideas!!! YES! I haven't tried hummus but it sounds like I should give that one a try with some veggies.

When you guys do yogurt that isn't the little individual kind, what kind do you use? I was thinking of mixing in my own granola or fruits or something... I'm just not sure it is worth it. May just as well use the premixed individual cups?? What do you think?

I only eat plain, nonfat Greek yogurt and what I usually do is place some berries in a bowl and top with yogurt, sometimes I add honey. It will separate a bit by the time I eat it, so I just mix it all back together, kind of mashing up the fruit, and it tastes yummy. Sometimes I also pack a baggie with a bit of sliced almonds to sprinkle on top.

As far as other lunch ideas go, I am pretty boring. I eat lots of sandwiches and cut veggies, salads with chicken, and leftovers (homemade soups, stir fries with rice, noodle bowls). I also re-purpose leftovers into wraps or tacos...just pack a few tortillas and things like cooked meat, beans, veggies and a bit of cheese and heat it all up and assemble. Lots of whole fruit too (I work long days and commute 1.5 hours each way, so I almost always need to pack morning and afternoon snacks, in addition to lunch).

I'm really a fan of leftovers. If I make baked chicken, then I save some for lunch the next day. You can redo it anyway you want-in a sandwich or wrap, salad, whatever.

Then couple it with a few veggies, fruits, and throw some healthy dips or greek yogurt in the little containers.

I always grill on the weekends and make enough to bring for lunches during the week. I just cut the meat up and freeze in indiviual portion sizes. Cut up veggies (mostly carrots, celery, peppers, jicama, and green onions) fresh berries and melon. Sometimes the small cans of tuna. Rice crackers and light laughing cow cheese wedges.
This week I have a black bean and quinoa salad that I will probably be eating all week (it made a lot).
Raw walnuts, filberts and almonds.
Pistachios.
Popcorn made in a hot air popper.
We have salads M-T for supper, so I never eat lettuce salads for lunch, but that might work for you.
I make sun tea (chia and green citrus) and usually bring some in a thermos. I use fresh mint in it.

My friend taught me this delicious lunch i make on the regular. First you cut up 3 pieces of bacon and start browning them, then throw in 3 cloves of garlic and some veggies like carrots and cucumbers. Let those heat up and then put a splash of white wine which gets the bacon flavor off the pan. Finally, put in a whole bunch of mustard greens, mix it up and then put a lid on it for a minute so it starts to wilt.

I usually have that on quinoa or boiled sweet potato. around 360 calories depending what you put it on and it's a ton of food.

Also, you could also substitute fresh baby spinach for the mustard greens. Just let it barely wilt--don't overlook. If you don't want to use bacon, you could put small cubes of silken tofu in with the veggies. The tofu will pick up the flavor of the garlic and white wine--I might put a splash of soy sauce in there too.

So many great ideas!!! YES! I haven't tried hummus but it sounds like I should give that one a try with some veggies.

When you guys do yogurt that isn't the little individual kind, what kind do you use? I was thinking of mixing in my own granola or fruits or something... I'm just not sure it is worth it. May just as well use the premixed individual cups?? What do you think?

I'd suggest going with a flavored hummus to start - roasted red pepper is a good one - plain hummus could turn you off the first time (but that's more of a texture thing than anything else)
As far as the yogurt goes, It's more economical to buy the large container & portion it out yourself - the large container of plain or vanilla yogurt makes it possible for you to add in your own stuff like fruit or the granola you mentioned (I like to sprinkle grape nuts or honey bunches of oats on mine)

bump to read ideas later!

leftovers from whatever you had the night before. I'm not really much help because whenever I bring my lunch, it's pretty much always a sandwich.... usually a turkey sandwich. Occasionally a pb&j lol. I would also make a chicken (or tuna) salad mixture and put that in one of those little cubbies and then bring a tortilla or piece of bread and put it on there and eat it that way. Other than that I don't have any ideas. For sides and snacks I would bring celery, carrots, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, an apple or banana... maybe some cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, beef jerky............ that's all I got right now.

I used to pack my lunch bento-style...I'm not very good at it, but it was fun and gave me an outlet for creativity.

For the small compartments...

green or black olives
baby carrots
radishes (add a sprinkle of salt= yum!)
almonds/walnuts/peanuts
raisins/dried cherries/prunes
pickles
hard boiled egg
deviled eggs made by mixing ff italian dressing with the yolk
hard boiled egg whites filled with hummus
mini spinach quiches (make in muffin pan)
crackers spread with peanut butter
string cheese chopped into pieces
grape tomatoes
celery with peanut butter


For the big compartment...

fruit salad
tuna salad over lettuce/spinach
chicken salad over lettuce/spinach
cottage cheese with canned pineapple/peaches/pears
whole wheat pasta w/marinara sauce
burrito with ff refried beans, light cheese, and onions
leftovers as others have said
pita sandwich-stuffed with vegetables/lunch meat/hummus/tzatziki/falafel
smoked fish (wrap in plastic wrap to avoid your container permanently smelling like fish)
roasted squash (butternut is good for this)

Greek yogurt with drIzzle of honey
cheese string
grapes strawberries or any other berry and melon
salsa with veggies for dipping
rice cakes

xxxx

I love love love low fat vanilla yogurt. You can put all sorts of things in it. Hummus is awesome too. It may take some getting used to,but there are lots of different flavors. I like the roasted red pepper and garlic.

So many great ideas!!! YES! I haven't tried hummus but it sounds like I should give that one a try with some veggies.

When you guys do yogurt that isn't the little individual kind, what kind do you use? I was thinking of mixing in my own granola or fruits or something... I'm just not sure it is worth it. May just as well use the premixed individual cups?? What do you think?

Where did you get that awesome lunch box? I, too, am a teacher and always struggled with different things to take besides the usual. I am also trying to avoid eating the extra lunches the kids get completely this year, so that lunch box would help to vary my ideas. I don't want to do Lean Cuisines or other frozen meals either anymore.

Believe it or not, I got it at Office Depot while I was shopping for post-its and things for my desk! It just looked interesting and I bought a special insulating sleeve that fits over it to keep things cooler longer. Very cool!

I too as a teacher struggle with this and thank you for bringing the topic up .... what is the lunch box called or the brand ... I looked on the office depot website and CANNOT find it .... :-(