Portable healthy lunch ideas that don't require refrigeration or a microwave

Cafe Society
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Mods, if this is more appropriate to MPSIS, by all means move it, but I thought it might go in Cafe because it’s about food.

The next two weeks at work I’ll be doing a lot of driving and holding meetings out of the office for almost the whole day, every day. I’ve never worked a job or internship where I didn’t have access to a fridge, freezer, and microwave. Most of my lunches are stored in Pyrex in the fridge, and I usually bring leftovers from the night before, so they get heated up in the microwave. Off the top of my head, the only lunch I could think that wouldn’t need to be refrigerated would be a nut butter (I like almond) sandwich. But don’t cut up fruits and vegetables need refrigeration? Any sort of cheese or meat would, right? Or am I going to be eating essentially vegan meals for the next two weeks to be on the safe side?

Could an insulated lunch bag solve my problem? I guess I’d be going with all the contents being cold. Does anyone have an insulated lunch bag recommendations? I don’t think I’ve carried a lunch bag since the fourth grade.

Help!

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No, most things actually do not need refrigeration for the 3-4 hours before lunch. As long as you never use Mayo, and avoid “wet” dairy products like sour cream, you’ll be fine.

There’s fridge drama at my work, so I never use it. A typical lunch for me is: some meat like cubed roast beef or grilled chicken, raw veggies, a bit of tabouleh salad or humus, some fruit, and a chunk of cheese. All perfectly fine when previously refrigerated.

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I eat baked chicken pieces, carrots, and strawberries (all separate). The strawberries are frozen, so they work as an “ice pack”: the chicken stays cool, if not cold, and it hasn’t killed me yet. I now have an insulated lunch box, which helps (bought at Target), but honestly, I’ve done this for years and I just don’t worry to much about cold food in a closed container moving towards room temperature for a morning.

If your lunch will be sitting in a hot parked car all day (instead of an air-conditioned building), you might want to throw in an ice pack or two. If you get a cheap styrofoam cooler and dump ice in it, stuff will stay COLD all day.

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Most cooked meats and stuff like cheese and salad greens will stay edible for hours outside of the fridge. I know because I took sandwiches with me to school for over a decade.

Also: fruit, nuts and everything else you don’t need to store in the fridge in the first place are obvious choices.

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Why would freshl fruits and vegetables need refrigeration? Perhaps you’ve noticed at the store they are displayed without refrigeration?

I’ve worked a couple jobs were there is no access to fridge, microwave, etc. where I basically work out of my car, or at least have it nearby. Here is what I do:

  1. Large Styrofoam cooler. This can be a cheap one if it lives in the trunk of a car. You want to pay for insulation, not a fancy exterior of no practical value.

  2. Blue freeze packs - you know what I mean. I use a large one, and have two, so I use one on one day while the spare is in the freezer, then switch them the next day.

  3. Sandwiches are your friend. Meat and cheese are OK as long as they’re in the cooler. If you really want to be safe stay away from mayonnaise and similar condiments, unless you get sealed one-serving packs. Personally, unless it’s really, really hot I’ll slather on mayo and the like and I haven’t had a problem, but some people are more concerned about that than others.

  4. Salads can work - but may wilt or brown slightly over time, but I find they usually last until lunch with no problem. Bring the dressing in a separate container and apply just before eating.

  5. Bring your fruits and vegees. Yum!

  6. Bring DRINKS. Bring at least one serving of plain old water, along with other beverage(s) of your choice.

  7. Add a couple extra snacky type things - a small thing of pretzels, for example, or some crackers, just in case you get extra hungry or have a delay or something.

(Now you know why I suggested a full size cooler)

If you don’t have room for a cooler, or don’t want to use one, keeping perishables in an insulated bag can work IF it’s a type that has a compartment or room for a small freezer pack. As noted, fruits and vegees don’t need refrigerator unless you put something perishable on top of them.

In addition - bring NAPKINS, or a roll of paper towels. Bring hand sanitizer. Bring cutlery - plastic or real, whichever. A small paring knife for cutting up fruits and vegetables if you like them that way, slicing open stubborn condiment packages, and so forth. Oh yes, - condiments. Save those single-serve packets from restaurants: ketchup, mustard, mayo, salt, pepper, sugar, soy sauce, sweet and sour, BBQ, horseradish, etc.

With that, you should be fully equipped to eat anywhere you can park your car. If you wind up with better accommodations where you’re going that’s great, but if you’re on the road a lot best to be prepared. This may be overkill for some people, so scale back according to your needs.

(I also carry a roll of toilet paper in a zip lock baggie - I sometimes work places where I"m not even guaranteed a toilet, much less paper! Hope you aren’t encountering those extremes.)

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When I was in high school, my dad went through some fridge drama at his work. He got a tiny cooler - one that’s just big enough for his lunch. He packed his lunch the night before, then stuck the whole thing in the fridge, which kept it nice and cool until lunch time.

All through school (k-12), I packed my lunch with a frozen Capri Sun or Hi-C and a frozen sandwich (I was a consistant kind of gal). Even in a toasty locker, it stayed… well, not cool, but it was better than most people’s lunches.

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I know it sounds gross, but yogurt will be okay. My FIL likes things room temp and let’s his lunch (yogurt and a sandwich I think) sit on his desk all day. Never had a problem.

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You can also freeze yoghurt overnight and take it in the morning. By noon, iy will be dethawed and fine to eat.

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Woah, so many great responses!

Could you give a cite, so I could see what kind of cooler you mean (I’ve only seen really huge ones before)? Unfortunately I don’t have an ice maker, so ice would be a problem, but I do have lots of cold packs.

Broomstick, you have a lot of great ideas - especially the condiments ideas. I’ll just give up salads for the two weeks. I guess I could go to McDonald’s and buy a $1 menu item and get a bunch of condiments there, or maybe Boston Market because they’d be higher quality/larger. Do you have any specific recommendations for where to get a range of condiments?

I’m not sure whether to go with the cooler or a lunch bag still. If anyone has used both and has a strong preference either way, that would help.

I think some days my lunch would sit in the somewhat hot parked car (my car is black on black, and the high is between 60-65, with Friday being 75) and other days would be on my desk of the day in the A/C.

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Isn’t that akin to stealing?

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Nope. Why would you think that?

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Let’s see. Buying a $1.00 value sandwich, the most one could reasonably expect to use is 1-2 condiment packets. How is taking more than that NOT stealing? Especially with the specific intent to use them for future, non restaurant purchased meals? Are you kidding?

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Like this:

The little ones are like $10, I think? Look in the “seasonal” aisle of your grocery store, Walmart, or Target. They should have the “summer” displays out, and they always include these.

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Since you don’t have an ice maker, you’ll probably want to buy an ice cube tray just for general use. For ice packs, get the blue things in plastic bags. Sandwiches with mustard will survive in a hot car. They aren’t as healthy as I’d like, but if you choose a reasonable cold cut or cheese, it’s not too bad. Lettuce will get gross if the car is in the sun, but tomato will just sort of cook. Baby cut carrots are indestructible, as are many whole fruit–not ripish peaches or bananas, though. Hot yoghurt is not to my taste, but it’s spoilage resistant. I’d probably go for cheese, bread to cut on the spot, carrots, and fruit.

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Whatever you usually like to have, basically. I wouldn’t grab handfuls, but 1 or 2 more than you usually use won’t be a problem. Ketchup is easy - if you got to a place like McDonad’s or Burger King say “can I have some ketchup?” and they’ll usually dump in a handful. Arby’s has “horsey sauce”, which is horseradish (sort of), and any Chinese take out has sweet and sour as well as soy. McDonald’s also has sweet and sour, and a variety of other “dipping” sauces to go with their chicken nuggets.

Like I said, I don’t advocate running off with great handfuls, but taking a few isn’t a problem. I pick them up when I am out eating fast food or whatever. As long as they’re sealed it shouldn’t be a problem, although I wouldn’t trust something like mayo if at high heat for a prolong period. Just a few hours, though, are OK.

I actually don’t eat ketchup at all, but if I’m somewhere that has mayo or mustard packs I’ll grab a few. Truck stops and “stop-n-rob” stores with the hot dogs/brats turning in the back usually have all sorts of condiment packs.

I like the cooler (in fact, I own four - when I’m working outside in heat I’ll have one with food and one with just drinks) but really, it’s what works for YOU.

For the car I’d recommend a cooler, but for sitting on your desk the lunch bag would certainly blend in better (When I went for my Census training I got teased a bit for my “construction worker lunch box” which, um, yes, it was that, as I do do that sort of work these days).

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How do you get to decide this? If you’re taking more than you need for your sandwich, with the specific intent of using it later, it’s stealing. Do you take extra TP from the restroom, too?

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I may be misinterpreting you, but an ice maker is something that makes only ice. Ice packs can just be thrown into the freezer, assuming you have one.

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A bag of ice is also $1. You can stick it in the freezer and top off the cooler every day.

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Lighten up, Frances.:rolleyes:
Tell ya what, OP - in the past 56 years, anytime I have ever gotten a sandwich at a fast food or stop&rob, I’ve never taken any condiments that didn’t come on the food. I usually ask them to leave them off in the first place. I’m just not a condiment kinda gal. So go ahead and gasp grab a couple extra packets to get you thru the next two weeks, and Karmically we’ll all come out even without bruising the tender Ethicometers of bunched-panty bunch.

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Just pick up hitchhikers. You’ll probably want to stash a shovel in your trunk to get rid of leftovers.

Oh, wait … you said you can’t cook on the road.