Lunches/Dinners for School/Work

JoshuaC30
JoshuaC30 Posts: 82 Member
edited February 11 in Food and Nutrition
So I've been keeping a fairly accurate diary (often overestimating) for the past week. The biggest challenge for me has been packing for school. I leave for school most days at 8am an often arrive home at 10pm depending on the day. That being said I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how I can improve my eating habits while at school? As a note my program requires me to often leave campus meaning microwaves or anything needed to be heated is often unavailable. I cannot afford to eat out as I'm trying to pay off my outstanding student loan and so it is much cheaper to eat a packed lunch.

Replies

  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
    Pasta (including couscous), lentils, tinned potatoes, rice, quinoa, etc.
    Sausages, chicken, beef, ham, fish, hard boiled eggs, etc.
    "Salad" type stuff, i.e. tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, leafy greens (like spinach), etc.

    Mix up a vinaigrette, or take a little sachet of light mayo, hot sauce, ketchup or whatever.

    Dump it into an airtight box, put it into a cool bag with a few ice packs, and you're done.

    My favourite is slices of beef leftover from a roast, thin, mixed up with puy lentils, kale/spinach and drizzled with a honey-mustard dressing. It's very good cold.
  • Annie120484
    Annie120484 Posts: 44 Member
    I am a college student on a VERY fixed income and YES it is possible- with creativity and planning! My tips:

    1. Buy a slow cooker! Major hassle-saver... I make tons of easy meals with my slow cooker and totally inexpensive to boot. You can throw in chicken and salsa and frozen veggies and eat for a week. Lots and lots of easy recipes online.

    2. I usually buy chicken thighs because they are cheapest- then I remove the skin at home. I also keep a box of veggie burgers in the freezer for protein emergencies- You can pop em in the toaster!

    3. Pasta salads are great meals on the cheap. I like using whole wheat or brown rice pasta. Throw a couple sliced yellow peppers in the oven for ten minutes or so, toss with cooked pasta, some cherry tomatoes, and crumbled feta cheese. This tastes good hot OR cold; I take it to school with me ALL the time. You can totally vary this recipe- roast a head of broccoli and toss with pasta and parmesan (sometimes I add chopped ham for protein).

    4. I hard-boil a dozen eggs every Sunday. Inexpensive and easy to eat on the go! I bring one to school all the time.

    5. Making casseroles is also easy and will feed you for days. I literally dump the most random stuff into a casserole sometimes! You really just need the basics: some kind of vegetable, some kind of cheese, a grain, maybe a protein, and a couple eggs to bring it all together. Seriously, it's error-proof.

    6. I buy LOTS of things in bulk, even spices. You can buy a bunch of grains, chickpeas, beans, pasta, almonds (which I use to make my own almond milk- so easy). It's far cheaper and once you get the hang of the prep, you'll never look back!

    7. But, if you DO like buying things pre-made, I recommend getting a bag/box of frozen pre-cooked brown rice- I sometimes use this for a quick meal when I'm in a rush! Saute a cup of rice with a little oil or chicken broth, throw in an egg and scramble it, top with some cheese and sliced avocado and PRESTO delicious, takes five minutes and costs pennies.

    Hope this helps!
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    Well its definitely more of a challenge when you can't heat stuff up. Salads, of course, with chicken, tuna, egg, beef or any kind of cold cuts. Mix it up and make several different kinds so you don't get bored. You can make several of these, package them in cheap plastic containers, and let them sit in the fridge for several days, so you can grab and go. Dressing can go in its own little container, and get some disposable forks if you want.

    I know sandwiches are an obvious choice, but they don't have to be the same all the time. You can have a chicken caesar salad wrap one day on a flatbread and turkey BLT the next (lots of turkey, not lots of bacon :) ). I keep a small supply of lower-calorie bread choices like sandwich thins and flatbreads, so I don't end up having a huge carb intake with these things, and I freeze them so they keep fresh for weeks if I don't use the whole pack up at once. You can make them the night before, and just put the dressing on in the morning, since it sounds like you have a pretty hectic day.

    Probably the most useful thing is that you can plan it and log in in advance, so you know what you are having, and you don't get home, log it, and get a nasty shock.
  • howardge
    howardge Posts: 27 Member
    Use your freezer and up your cooking skills. I like to do some super healthy muffins (low sugar, high fiber and protein) and freeze them ahead of time. I can make a big batch and have snacks and on the go breakfasts for like, a month.

    Hummus and nut butters are other great choices-- i can bring a bag of celery sticks or some baby carrots and dip away.

    Also, quiche freezes beautifully! Make a couple of quiches on a weekend and have them ahead of time! They'll thaw out by lunch time.

    I've also been making this whole wheat pastry dough that I use to make these lentil, sweet potato, and kale pockets.
    http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-spiced-lentil-sweet-potato-and-kale-whole-wheat-pockets-181100

    I've also been a big fan of making beef jerkey for school (you can do Turkey too. it is not hard but it can take kind of a while (luckily it isn't active time!). When you make it yourself you can avoid the nasty preservatives and you have all the control over the flavorings! Great little protein snacks!

    I also eat a lot of fruit at school, and yogurts, too! If I eat them for lunch its okay that they havn't been in the fridge.
  • gloriaeffe
    gloriaeffe Posts: 75 Member

    4. I hard-boil a dozen eggs every Sunday. Inexpensive and easy to eat on the go! I bring one to school all the time.


    How do you bring them with you? Do you leave them in the shell and then peel when ready to eat? How long do you keep them outside of the fridge before eating?
    I'd love to bring one at work for an afternoon snack (with some carrots and cherry tomatoes on the side) but I am worried it will stay at room temperature for too long...
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  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I've got a problem with room temperature too, my program is a lot of hands on and it takes up most of my day, I spend 3 hours a day just commuting. There's no fridges to keep my food cold and I know my options are limited. I've tried salads (before the diary) those are all right. I'm not a huge fan of raw vegetables, I like my vegetables steamed. I can eat steamed vegetables for days. But the advice was all helpful so thanks guys.

    Buy a lunch box. People have been using them for years to keep their food cold. Thrown in a couple of ice packs and you're set.
  • gloriaeffe
    gloriaeffe Posts: 75 Member
    yeah, that's what I did over the weekend. I bought a little lunch box that I fill in the morning with 2 ice gel packs and the food for the day. It remains pretty cold until lunch time and then quite fresh until 5pm or so (since 7am).
    It's definitely enough for eggs and such, maybe not for yoghurt and cottage cheese if eaten in the afternoon.
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