# Brown Baggers: What's for lunch? I need ideas. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836 "2005-10-25T17:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/21 "2005-10-29T13:26:10Z")
I tend to keep crackers, raisins, sesame sticks, and nuts at my desk, so I have access to munchies. I bring a yogurt, a V8, and a Fruit[sub]2[/sub]0 to work every day. That, plus my second banana and my munchies are enough to fill me up. I may on occasion bring leftovers, or snag a leftover bagel from someone’s meeting (leftover meeting food is put out for sharing) but that’s generally about it. Who says lunch has to be a sandwich? ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/22 "2005-10-29T22:56:35Z")
Make a baked potato in the office microwave. Bring sour cream, cheese shreds, a little leftover spaghetti sauce, salsa, whatever. If you like lots of different toppings, baked potato 2-3 times a week won’t be boring. A cup of cottage cheese with a small can of fruit is also a good change from sandwiches all the time. If you’re dieting and you like fruit-flavored yogurt, an 8-ounce serving of unflavored yogurt and a small can of fruit is more filling than 6 oz. of heavily-sugared ready-made fruit yogurt and at slightly fewer overall calories. IMHO, this is better than “diet” readymade fruit yogurt because it hasn’t got the aftertaste and its more filling; meaning that you can better resist that coffee-break cookie or donut later in the day. Cereal and lowfatmilk and Carnation Instant breakfast in lowfat milk are other good sandwich alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/23 "2005-10-29T23:40:33Z")
> [@zenith](#): > > Make a baked potato in the office microwave. Bring sour cream, cheese shreds, a little leftover spaghetti sauce, salsa, whatever. If you like lots of different toppings, baked potato 2-3 times a week won’t be boring. > > A cup of cottage cheese with a small can of fruit is also a good change from sandwiches all the time. > > If you’re dieting and you like fruit-flavored yogurt, an 8-ounce serving of unflavored yogurt and a small can of fruit is more filling than 6 oz. of heavily-sugared ready-made fruit yogurt and at slightly fewer overall calories. IMHO, this is better than “diet” readymade fruit yogurt because it hasn’t got the aftertaste and its more filling; meaning that you can better resist that coffee-break cookie or donut later in the day. > > Cereal and lowfatmilk and Carnation Instant breakfast in lowfat milk are other good sandwich alternatives. a spoonful of the “no-sugar added” fruit preserves in plain yogurt is pretty tasty as well. I liked it better than the single serve fruit in a cup or in a can. More flavor variety and you can control the mix as well. Another way to take fruit for lunch is get the frozen fruit medley and put it in a container, by lunch time it is thawed, helps keep the rest of your lunch chilled and the fruit is really tasty. I don’t much like the canned stuff in heavy syrup, light syrup or packed in juice because it sooo sweet. another healthy choice lunch if you have acess to a microwave, is the “Lean Cuisine” skillet dinners. Pasta, meat(chicken) and sauce mixed in a bag, I put some extra frozen veggies on the bottom of the container put a half a bag of this on top. Heat and stir in the microwave for about 5 minutes, sprinkle on some hot sauce and folks from all over the place will ask what you are eating and is about 300 to 400 calories and very filling. I add the extra vegtables because I don’t think regular diet food portions give you enough to eat. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/24 "2005-10-30T02:47:40Z")
I buy ‘Michelinas’ frozen entrees from a bulk grocer. They cost less than $2, you can get all kinds of pasta meals, and they have about 350 calories. I hate making lunches. ---
**Author:** ![Forlorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bb73d2/32.png) [@Forlorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forlorn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/25 "2005-10-30T03:18:42Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I buy ‘Michelinas’ frozen entrees from a bulk grocer. They cost less than $2, you can get all kinds of pasta meals, and they have about 350 calories. I hate making lunches. Same here, I’m too busy in the morning trying to get to work to think about lunch, so those little frozen dinners are easy to grab and heat up. The Lean Cuisine ones are pretty good, they’ve got a seemingly endless variety of chicken-and-pasta dishes, and the best non-pasta one is the sweet-and-sour chicken. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/26 "2005-10-30T03:27:57Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > 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? If should last at least several days since it doesn’t have anything terribly fragile in it. The taste of garlic and spices may intensify some but that’s about it. I like to make a lower fat version of hummus, substituting plain yogurt for most of the olive oil. Just whoosh a clove or two of garlic in a blender or food processor, toss in a can of rinsed chick peas (garbanzos), then add spices–kosher salt, cumin and titch of cayenne pepper are my choices–along with the juice of a lemon and about 3-4 Tbsp. of plain yogurt. Whoosh everything until it’s creamy. This really _does_ have to be refrigerated because of the yogurt but it takes about a crashing five minutes to make. Great stuff for fresh veggies or pita (or bagel) crackers. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/27 "2005-10-30T17:51:27Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > 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. [hijack] When would salt not be kosher? It’s never occurred to me that you could get kosher and nonkosher salt before. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/28 "2005-10-30T18:03:35Z")
[Kosher salt is used to create Kosher meat](http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/saltguide.htm): it draws the blood out of the meat. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/29 "2005-10-30T22:28:09Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > [Kosher salt is used to create Kosher meat](http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/saltguide.htm): it draws the blood out of the meat. > > Daniel Interesting link, thankyou. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836/30 "2005-10-31T01:16:30Z")
Here’s my high protein, nutritious, low fat, low cost sandwich that has made me famous at work: 3 egg whites (w/ground black pepper), fried on toasted whole wheat bread fresh leaf spinach (instead of lettuce) a squirt of ketchup, or hot sauce. It take five minutes in the morning to make, each sandwich is super healthy and frickin’ cheap! Darn tasty, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-baggers-whats-for-lunch-i-need-ideas/327836.md?page=1)