I’ve been brown-bagging it lately, and I will be for the forseeable future, so I need ideas for simple meals I can prepare quickly and without too much fuss. My current strategy doesn’t afford me much variety - I end up eating hot dogs for lunch every day, or turkey sandwiches. It just seems like variey=expense. Can anyone offer suggestions?
variety = a little extra trouble, that’s all.
I’ve had pb&j, and roast beef sandwiches this week. I made some tuna salad and egg salad on Sunday for this week, and Friday I’ll finish off the beef. You might could think about bringing in a piece of fruit and/or raw veggies, too. Bringing in different types of those will add some variety.
Do you have access to a microwave oven? Why not just bring leftovers from the night before in a Tupperware? You can bring a piece of chicken with rice or mashed potatoes and vegetable, pasta and sauce, chili, meatloaf, or whatever you usually make for dinner. Just make a little bit more of it next time!
This Year’s Model, yeah, that’s about what I do. I’ve had hot dogs today and yesterday - tomorrow’s Chili day at the Cafe downstairs, so I’ll spend the $2.25 and get a bowl for lunch (W00t!) Maby finish up the week with tuna salad. I have a (very under-ripe) pear with lunch today, so I’m definitely down with the fresh fruit, though it (inexplicably) didn’t occur to me to bring in fresh veggies.
Brilliant! I guess that’s why you’re a mod and I’m just a lowly poster.
Big Bad Voodoo Lou, got a recipe for meatloaf?
I sure do, on my website:
http://www.geocities.com/bigbadvoodoolou/food.html
That’s the advantage of being single - every recipe has leftovers! And if you don’t like the concept of eating the same food the next day, tah-dah - homemade frozen dinners! Get some reusable containers, portion out the food, label with the name of the food and the date you made it (to avoid lurking mystery meat), and pop into the freezer.
Susan
HEY!! How 'come there’s no picture of the Focaccia bread?!? 
Seriously, Lou: thanks. I’m going to try the meatloaf this weekend (and probably the bread, too, if SmithWife has her way).
Heh. I’m on the other end of the spectrum - there’s four of us to feed, and my wife doesn’t really cook much. I try to cook a big batch of something most weekends, but it ain’t easy. Once a month or so I make a big batch of meatballs and red sauce. We’ll get 5 to 8 meals or so out of it.
Triscuit crackers with hummus or baba ganouj makes for a nice lunch. You can either make hummus at home, or buy some premade at a well-stocked grocery or at a Mediterranean deli.
Hummus is so easy to make in a blender or food processor, and ends up being a lot cheaper than any of the store-bought stuff. Just drain a can or two of chick peas and add olive oil, lemon juice, water, and any other seasonings you might want. I like red pepper flakes, diced roasted garlic, and a little cumin and kosher salt in mine. Just blend until it’s smooth and creamy. It goes great with toasted pita wedges or thin-sliced toasted bagel chips as well.
You can also do fish-less sushi – put avocado in there, or sauteed mushrooms, or even thin lunchmeat! It doesn’t have to be authentic. You can even prep the stuff the night before, and assemble at your desk, if you have a knife to cut it.
Soup is good this time of year, if you have a fridge and a microwave at the office. And look at Trader Joe’s, if you have one nearby – they have yummy options that aren’t terribly expensive.
Look at www.foodnetwork.com at the 30-minute meals site – whether you can stand the host or not, there are some good, quick recipes there. You might be able to make a couple of them on the weekend and then refrigerate or freeze them for your lunches, and then you’ll be set for a couple of weeks!
I recommend pastas: a whole wheat rotini pasta with some combination of: sundried tomatoes, pesto, olive oil, garlic, spinach (wilted on the hot pasta), asiago cheese, grilled chicken breast, artichoke hearts, toasted pine nuts, and/or toasted hazel nuts.
Tastes great warmed up or cold. I eat that with an apple or carrot sticks for most lunches. The tomatoes and artichoke hearts can get a bit expensive, but it’s not nearly as bad as bringing something I hate, then buying lunch instead.
Soups and salads are my usuals. If you can make a big pot of soup on the weekend, it’ll last all week and warms up nicely at work (assuming you have access to a microwave). And salads are easy and healthy and infinite in variety if you’re creative.
First, let me start by apologizing for all you’re going to learn about my lunch habits. I’m sure I’m the only person who is remotely interested, but hey - Winston asked.
I do lots of different things. Some times it’s lunchmeat, a spread and a pickle that I assemble at my desk - (salami with cream cheese wrapped around a dill pickle), sometimes I do cheese ball (a dip I make) and crackers - sometimes a salad. One lunch I really love is BLT’s - I prepare everything in advance and assemble at my desk (so it’s not soggy). Nachos (I bring chips, a jar of salsa, and some shredded cheese, dump all on a plate and nuke it) are really good and easy, too. I can get two lunches out of a can of spaghetti o’s - split the can in between two tupperware containers and bring one with for lunch. I also always have something crunchy like potato chips or pretzels, and a dessert (cookies, something like that). I once brought a big can of pineapple and pigged out on that at lunch - but that was a mistake. I didn’t feel real good the rest of the afternoon.
Today, I had left over au gratin potatoes from the weekend, shrimp (I buy it precooked and frozen - it thaws by lunchtime) with butter to dip it in, some pickles, Goldfish crackers, and Whoppers for dessert. It was yummy!
As a last resort (and when I’m fresh out of ideas) you can usually find those Banquet Frozen Dinners at the store for like $10 for 10 of them - I have a few of those left in my freezer.
Mmmm. All this talk about food is makin’ me hungry.
I buy chicken lettuce wraps at Trader Joe’s. You have to by the lettuce seprately, but they are incredible. Also, along that same line, I will make tuna lettuce wraps as well. I buy individual cottage cheeses or string cheese to snack on. Also, I will marintate chicken breasts during the weekend and throw a few on the George Formun the Sunday night before - then I make a different salad everyday. I throw the chix in the micro right before lunch, throw that in the salad and throw some dressing on.
Okay enough, I’m getting hungry.
I eat lunch at home everyday, but I’m always looking for quick, easy lunchtime ideas too. Here are some that I’ve come up with.
I’m a fan of salads too, though sometimes I get tired of them. When I do, I spice it up a little and make wraps. I just buy a big bag of tortillas (burrito size work best), and add whatever toppings I’m hungry for … lettuce, your favorite dressing (it’s fun to experiment), turkey (or ham or roast beef or chicken or bacon), cucumber slices, pickles, olives … the possibilities are endless. That small bit of leftover meat from last night’s dinner that’s not worth saving otherwise works well for this.
In the winter, I often make cream of wheat. They make single-serving packets now, so you don’t even have to measure (except the water). I’m not an oatmeal eater, but many of my cow-orkers buy the oatmeal packets.
I like seasoned rice and noodle packets (Lipton makes them, and the grocery store I shop at also sells a store brand). They’re under $2 a packet, and last me two meals. You can prepare one in about 10 minutes and split it into two containers for an easy warm-up at work.
Hummus is really good on fresh veggies like snow peas or baby carrots. I don’t eat this much because of the cost of the hummus, I will have to try making my own. Any idea how long it will keep in the fridge?
I second the pasta. Also, if you’re feeling ambitious, make yourself some soup (I’ve been eating chowder for lunch all week, but you probably won’t have a line on scallops like I do). If thye let you have a good knife at work, bring an apple, some cheese and crackers. Also, make sure you have an apple every day. It’s like garlic to doctors.
This was a specialty at a famous Nashville cafe:
Sandwich: cream cheese with chopped olives and pecan pieces
I can’t remember if the olives were black or green. But my goodness, those sandwiches were good! I used to make them for my husband for picnics.