I need to start making lunch at the office more often because of time, expense, and nutritional reasons. I tend to get too lazy and have a sandwich delivered too often, and if I venture out, there’s really only a Wendy’s nearby and that’s getting real old.
I’ve brought in frozen stuff, but that never seems to do the job. Cold sandwiches have been ok, but also get old fast. I’ve been doing grilled cheese (Swiss on rye mainly) and I fear that too will get old soon.
At home, I am still indecisive about what to make, but I also have the stove, oven and crockpot to use. At the office we have a microwave, a toaster that can toast bagels, a pannini/griddle/George Forman thing, a sink with hot and cold water (but no disposal, WTF?) a fridge stocked with basic condiments and whatever I bring in, and cabinetry.
Even writing this and mentioning my crockpot makes me wonder about meals that can be cooked in less than 8 hours, and I may look into that.
If you had the tools I have, what would you make in order to mix things up? Both healthy and non-healthy things are encouraged as I like to mix those up as well.
Can you make batches of things that you like, then take them as refrigerated or frozen to work? There are some things that make excellent leftovers, like meatloaf (that’s always the example that pops into my mind). I’m not sure if you do much cooking at home.
If you can take things to make into sandwiches, heat the filling then assemble the sandwich so that the bread doesn’t get mushy.
Some things that make good leftovers:
Slow cooked pork or chicken, with or without bbq sauce is great for sandwiches or on a baked potato or the like
The aforementioned meatloaf, which can also be made in a slow cooker, then made into sandwiches after reheating or eaten by itself.
Curries
Pot roast/stew/any meat + root vegetable combo
Quiche
Casseroles
Basically, just stuff that can be reheated and is good to go.
Grilled ham and cheese (particularly on rye) on the grill, and bagels, cream cheese, and ham.
If you bring in a piece of fruit, or some cold raw veggies, it feels like more of a meal. Carrot and celery sticks are good, for instance, and even better with some ranch dressing or dip. Even if you go the easy route and take in fruit cups, that’s better than nothing. It’s probably better to avoid anything that requires a sharp knife and elaborate prep, like pomegranates. Save them for eating at home.
Rice cookers can be used to cook all sorts of things besides just rice. Rice, beans, oatmeal, grits, soups, stews, steamed veggies, steamed meats. And it’s truly set-it and forget-it style cooking because it will never burn and switches to warm once the water’s gone. For soups, you simply switch it to warm earlier.
Hard-cook some eggs, and eat them as is (with salt and pepper), or make a sandwich: mash one up with some mayo and whatever seasonings you like. Add chopped onion, celery, olives, pickles (sweet or sour), chopped deli meat of some sort, herbs, cheese, a dash of hot sauce, or whatever you like. It works best if you assemble it at the last minute. You could use crackers, English muffins, or biscuits if you’re bored with bread. Toast is good.
Cook a big piece of meat in the crock pot (pork shoulder, chuck roast).
Shred the meat and freeze it into lunch portions.
These portions of meat can become hot sandwiches, taco salad, burritos, etc. Just pull out a portion and thaw overnight, then heat the rest of the way at lunchtime.
You could make quesadillas on the panini grill - cheese, peppers, beans, leftover chicken.
Leftovers with any kind of sauce make a good topping for a microwaved potato – chili, BBQ, stew, creamed chicken, taco meat, sloppy Joe, curried vegetables.
Perhaps you can use some of these techniques: Hotel Survival.
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“George Egg demonstrates how to cook tortellini and how to bake muffins, all in a hotel room using just what he find there. Ray Mears meets Bear Grylls meets The Naked Chef.”*
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[li]Individual cups of mac’n’cheese topped with tuna and lemon pepper.[/li][li]Canned chili (also available in single-serving microwave bowls).[/li][li]Canned chicken, simmered in curry sauce.[/li][li]Corned beef hash.[/li][/ul]
Quinoa and couscous both cook easily in the microwave. Leftovers are good cold with some finely chopped veggies.
Also, look for guacamole packets; Holy Guacamole makes 100-calorie packets that are just the perfect amount to squeeze over a sandwich or eat with some chips, and they freeze and thaw very easily.
There’s pretty much no chance of that happening with me. I love crab shrimp and lobster, but tend to eat each very infrequently. As for regular fish, I just don’t really like it that much.
