Need help preparing meals for work

jfield6
jfield6 Posts: 56
edited December 18 in Food and Nutrition
I'm not good at preparing meals for work. I do have access to a fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, and toaster oven. I could use the stove and oven but the oven is really small.

I need some ideas! How do you prepare your meals? I see all these amazing meals in the picture thread, but I have no clue how people eat some of that stuff at work! Reheating?

Thanks so much!

Replies

  • treatingmybodyright
    treatingmybodyright Posts: 184 Member
    I try to cook as much as possible on weekends, and then I put things in small containers so I can grab them and go. I eat the same things most of the time, with a new recipe thrown in once or twice a week. Here are a few of my staples: a large spinach salad that I can eat from for a few days (I include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and cherry tomatoes), chicken breasts (sometimes cooked in a crock pot and shredded because I can wrap some up in a tortilla for any meal), turkey burgers (I eat these all of the time--put them in a baggy and go), small containers of Greek yogurt, raw almonds, sweet potatoes cut in half and bagged, and maybe some rice cakes and/or dry oatmeal if I get hungry or sluggish in the afternoons.

    Hope that helps.
  • ATLMel
    ATLMel Posts: 392 Member
    You got a lot of good ideas. here's a couple more:

    I make up a big thing of tuna and white bean salad (add radishes, arugula, celery, hardboiled egg, whatever you like and mix w a good spoon of greek yogurt) and have that ready to grab and go.

    I par cook sweet potatoes and then have shredded chicken and black beans over it.

    A pack of tuna and an avocado is my last resort meal.

    A little prep goes a long long way.
  • mummma
    mummma Posts: 402 Member
    its me and the kids at home, i eat different meals to the children, so i cook for 2 and then put the 2nd portion into those plastic takeaway dishes and freeze or refrigerate them to heat up in the microwave when i need them... x
  • TinaCleg_cancel
    TinaCleg_cancel Posts: 276
    I have started cooking all my lunches on Sunday and putting them in individual tupperware containers. In the mornings all I do is grab one, make sure I have my snacks and I am out the door. I measured everything so I knew what to log in MFP. I think this will be the key for me to losing.
  • tashaa1992
    tashaa1992 Posts: 658 Member
    My mum cooks it the night before for me then just puts it in tubberware, I just reheat it. I cook it sometimes but the majority of the time she'll do it for me. Good old mum:) lol.
  • Jesea
    Jesea Posts: 376 Member
    I'm a big fan of my crock pot. Most recipes make at least one more serving than my family needs, so I freeze it for a quick lunch whenever I need it. Otherwise, I just make an extra serving or two of whatever I'm making to freeze.
  • Seminolegirl97
    Seminolegirl97 Posts: 306 Member
    Bump for later. Great ideas
  • MrsLeibas
    MrsLeibas Posts: 43 Member
    I think the key is packing it either the night before or in the morning. I would highly recommend reheating. I'm not sure how much time you have for lunch at work but we only have 30 minutes and that's not enough time to cook something and eat it with out feeling like you are forcing the food down as fast as you can.

    I generally take leftovers from the night before for lunch because then I have it measured, I have an estimate of my calories since I will have logged dinner, and then we can cook 4 servings instead of just two, since my fiance does the same thing. It usually works out well until dinner doesn't turn out at planned which then causes lunch for the next day to not turn out as planned either.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    When I was working, I always took my lunch whether or not I was dieting. One thing you need if you don't have access to a fridge at work is a nice insulated tote or small cooler with a handle and some "blue ice" or similar ice paks.

    If you have a cooler, salads and sandwiches are very easy. Make it the night before, then throw it in the cooler with a couple of ice paks and your ready to roll. I also threw any snacks or extras in there. I was lucky and had access to many microwaves, fridges, etc. The company I worked for really catered to it's employees. I don't have an answer if you are looking for a way to take hot meals. When I wanted a hot meal, I took a frozen entree. It was usually thawed out by lunch time, so it heated quickly in the microwave.

    These days, microwaves are so cheap. Maybe you could get permission, and space, from your employer and go together with the other employees and buy one. You know, like 5 bucks apiece. Personally, I think it would be worth it.
  • jaxbeck
    jaxbeck Posts: 537 Member
    I'm not good at preparing meals for work. I do have access to a fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, and toaster oven. I could use the stove and oven but the oven is really small.

    I need some ideas! How do you prepare your meals? I see all these amazing meals in the picture thread, but I have no clue how people eat some of that stuff at work! Reheating?

    Thanks so much!

    Cooking ahead as suggested is a wonderful idea. I try to do that but also if I don't have the time I will saute up a piece or two of chicken breasts and build my meal around that. Sone days I will bring pita bread, hummus and veggies and make a pita. Some days I way just bring lettuce and a ton other veggies and have a large salad. Some days I may just eat the reheated chicken with some steam broccoli or whatever veggie I have on hand. MY trick is I try to always keep chicken breasts, tuna or other lean meats alongh with plenty of veggie around for my lunches. It all just falls together.....except for weeks like this week where I'm kinda broke & just eating what I can :laugh:

    another killer lunch recipe I have is my tuna wraps. Take 2 cans of tuna, mix with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, diced tomatoes, cucumbers & avocado. Mix well & spoon in large romaine lettuce leafs. Whola, tuna wraps...so yummy!
  • sharonus
    sharonus Posts: 102
    I like soup a lot and it tends to be low in calories, so I make my own soup at work with broth, veggies, greens, and some protein sourc. I always use about 1tsp reduced sodium vegetable "Better than Bullion", dissolved in about 2 cups hot water. Chop up a big leaf of swiss chard, add any left over vegetables I have from dinner the night before, and a protein source (like 1/3 of a block of tofu). Then heat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. I've also made soup with leftover taco fixings from the night before: a scoop of taco crumbles, mexican rice, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado.

    I'm not very good about planning ahead. So, keeping the veggie Better than Bullion and some greens in the fridge at work means I have most of what I need to throw together a quick lunch in a few minutes.
  • toomuchsweetness
    toomuchsweetness Posts: 168 Member
    i typically take a salad to work and keep the fat free dressing packets in my locker there. Usually romaine lettuce , chicken, cottage cheese, whatever left over veggie from the prior nite dinner...
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    My standard lunch:

    - Quart bag of veggies
    - Turkey or roast beef in a wheat wrap, with cheese
    - Apple
    - Banana
    - Orange
    - Very small container of nuts

    I graze all day, I'm rarely hungry, none of it needs cooking or refrigeration for the short time it'll be in my lunch bag, and it's VERY easy to prepare.

    The lunch meat is a tad high in sodium, but convenience comes at a cost. I just try and watch the rest of my sodium intake.
  • krejod
    krejod Posts: 3 Member
    Like many others that already posted, I, too, plan ahead and pack something the night before. I actually take it a step further, though. On Sunday, I plan out meals for the week. It's just me that I am feeding, with the occasional dinner with the boyfriend. I plan on dish for lunch and 2 dinners. I usually cook the lunch item Sunday night (pasta, soup, quinoa and black beans, etc) and put it in 3-4 small containers ready for that week's lunches. The other 1-2 days I plan on taking leftovers from the entrees I made for dinner that week. If I end up with more food than will be consumed, I take the individual portions and throw them in the freezer, ready for lunch in a couple of weeks.

    I supplement the main entree with a piece of fruit that is ready to grab and go (apples, prewashed grapes...) raw veggies that are ready to go (cut celery, carrots, peppers, etc) and maybe some rice cakes or wheat thins. I bag these that morning. The fruit and veggie prep is usually done Sunday night, too, when I am cooking up my lunches.

    The key is planning and prepping early. It is too hard to decide what to eat for lunch when you are already running late for work. 5 minutes or less in the morning to get my lunch together.
  • acg1305
    acg1305 Posts: 224 Member
    I marinate chicken or turkey and then use it for a few days, mix it up... put it in sandwiches, make salads, pastas, etc.
  • jfield6
    jfield6 Posts: 56
    How would you cook steamed broccoli or brown rice at work? Or would you reheat those?

    What about frozen turkey burgers? I bought a pack of Jennie-O.
  • jaxbeck
    jaxbeck Posts: 537 Member
    How would you cook steamed broccoli or brown rice at work? Or would you reheat those?

    What about frozen turkey burgers? I bought a pack of Jennie-O.

    Not sure about the rice but fresh broccoli can be steamed in a ziploc baggie...comes out pretty good. I've seen plenty of folks microwave turkey burgers
  • jfield6
    jfield6 Posts: 56
    Ziploc baggie?? Sounds awesome! What about a bowl or something?

    Does anyone know how I should make the turkey burgers at work?
  • Stardiva37
    Stardiva37 Posts: 169 Member
    I work second shift so i get up in enough time to cook and reheat at work and when I am off i cook different meals.
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