No specific recommendations, but you do raise an interesting possibility for discussion.
Napkin Sandwiches!
I was thinking of something like this, which is a Stanley Lunchbox Cooler. Many construction workers carry their lunches in something like it, and they may not even be able to leave it someplace shaded all morning.
If I go to a fast food place (as an example) and they dump a handful of condiments into the bag without my asking I figure it’s OK - they’re giving that stuff to me to either eat immediately or do with what I will. If I’m ordering I might say “Hey, can I have an extra dipping sauce?” and if they give me one, cool, or if not, no problem. If I’m in a “greasy spoon” diner and they give me two horseradish sauce to go with the corned beef and cabbage I just ordered I might eat one there and take the other with me. If I’m going to a truck stop and grab a few extra condiment packs I’ll usually say “do you mind if I take these to go?” Almost always it’s no problem, although sometimes places might charge you a nickel or a quarter and if so I’ll pay it.
In other words, I’m not going into a back room and plundering supplies. I’m not sneaking anything out the door. I ask if I can take a few extra and if it’s not OK I don’t argue and I don’t steal.
No, I’m not making napkin sandwiches on the sly.
MOST places don’t mind you doing this. Seriously, they don’t, as long as you aren’t grabbing handfuls. I’m way honest, that’s why I ask, but plenty of folks just grab a few extra. I’m sure this isn’t a revelation, as the stuff is usually out in the open and as long as you’re buying something else and not going condiments crazy they seem to regard it as a service to customers. Like I said, I’m perfectly willing to make token payments.
No, as previously stated I keep a spare roll in the car or truck in a ziplock baggie. Just in case some prior dishonest bastard DID steal the TP in the bathroom before I got there.
I am assuming she wants to keep things cheap, since this is a two week gig.
You put horseradish on corned beef?
Why would anyone need stolen condiments to get you “thru” the next two weeks? They do sell ketchup, mustard, mayo, salt, pepper, etc at the store. Go buy some.
My husband does.
Once in awhile I do, too, now.
Why does the SDMB promote a culture of theft?
I thought I made it clear I wasn’t stealing anything - unless using the packets the fast food drone dumps into your to-go bag that you have paid for now somehow constitutes stealing. :rolleyes:
People are very afraid of mayo sitting out of the refrigerator for any length of time, but bought mayonnaise is actually quite stable and unlikely to go bad. (The homemade stuff is supposed to be vastly tastier, but isn’t made from pasteurized eggs and such.) Don’t worry about using a bit of mayo in your cheese sandwich, or whatever else you’d normally do with it.
In what sort of environment will you be working? Is it an air-conditioned building that just lacks kitchen facilities? At that point, just brown-bag it, and don’t worry about any special cooling mechanisms. If you’ll be outside, or leaving your lunch in a hot vehicle, then get the cooler.
Store-bought mayonnaise doesn’t even have to be stored in the refrigerator after opening (read the jar). It’s not going to go bad in your sandwich.
That’s not what yer pal Lindsay said. She was looking for ways to steal.
Enough already. Nobody suggested stealing anything and you’re hijacking the thread. If you want to debate the ethics of taking condiments, go to IMHO, and if you want to criticize the posters who suggested keeping leftover condiments, go to the Pit.
Right, I meant like a fridge with an automatic ice maker - that I lack. But I do have ice packs, because I have a regular freezer :p.
Good advice. Tomorrow I only have one meeting in the morning and a possible one in the afternoon, so I’ll scout out Target for a tiny styrofoam cooler. If not, I have a big Rubbermaid I can put in the trunk and just leave there, but I’d rather trash the styrofoam after the two weeks. And don’t worry, I’ll have a toilet wherever I am. Even if I don’t, it’s a dense city, so anywhere I’d be relieving myself would be within view of people! 
Well thanks! 
It’s very rare to see someone saved from the rudeness of another poster, so I appreciate it. Plus I really don’t like many condiments per se, but realizing that my normal lunches are out the window (because they often need to be reheated) I’ll probably be making plenty of sandwiches with condiments.
Right, like Manda Jo said, it’s just for two weeks, then I’m back to the soft, cushy world with a kitchenette at my disposal But that’s a really sweet lunchbox, I may recommend it to my brother who camps a lot.
It’s gonna be both - sometimes I’ll be in an a/c’d office all day, but other times I’ll be running from location to location and will probably leave my lunch in the car. So it’s for both, really.
needscoffee, you’re right about some stuff not needing to be refrigerated, but man, I will not eat a soggy sandwich, not even remotely soggy, so I won’t be slathering on mayo before I leave the house. I’m so anal that if I have a leftover sandwich I’ll peel the lettuce off and broil it for a few minutes.
So far I’ve got 1) condiment packets, especially mustard and mayo 2) styrofoam and cheap insulated lunch bag of some sort 3) keep everything separate so it won’t get mushy 4) ice packs are my friend and 5) no overly ripe fruit.
Any main course ideas aside from sandwiches? I’ll probably do a few batches of spicy peanut udon noodles with a bunch of veggies, since that’s better cold than anything.
I am a vendor at farmers markets, festivals, and artists shows, which means I schlep all my stuff in with me, including my meal for the day. I’m a solo act, so I can’t very well run around trying to find food (which would be expensive and probably not all that healthy). Most of the time I’m outdoors, during warm months (sometimes in the 90s), and that means I’m a super-duper pro at lunch-packing!
I use an Igloo cooler (the Legend24, if you care, which is sized to hold 24 soda/beer cans). It was what I already owned when I started this gig, but it works out well because I usually take a 1.5 liter bottle of water with me, and it fits. This thing is the real deal; it is VERY well insulated. A large cooler probably isn’t necessary, but if you really want to keep your stuff cold, you need more than just an insulated lunch bag thingo. Go to a thrift store for a cheap cooler! You’ll be able to use it for years if you take care of it.
As for ice, ixnay on those blue ice packs that are like a plastic bag filled with goo, and don’t waste money or time on ice cubes. They just don’t stay cold as long as a solid block of ice. Take an empty water bottle, fill it with tap water (leave a bit of room for expansion), and chuck it in the freezer. The longer it’s been frozen, the longer it will last in the cooler. In a pinch, you can drink the melted water. I use a square 1L Rubbermaid drink bottle for my ice block; it doesn’t take up as much room as a round one. I just keep refreezing the same water.
I use cloth napkins at home exclusively, so I just toss a couple of my older ones into the cooler, plus a spoon or fork if I need them that day. I do leave a tiny salt/pepper shaker in the cooler, as well as some packets of Emergen-C for, y’know, emergencies. 
And I use Tupperware-type containers because I really hate wasting plastic bags, and they’re just not as utilitarian as rigid plastic containers.
I like a sandwich and something crunchy with it, like Sun Chips or Goldfish crackers or pretzels, for my lunch. I also usually have an apple or pear and one or two sticks of string cheese. I core and slice the apple and put it in a small Tupperware container. Sandwiches and chips go in square containers, so they don’t get squished. I also usually have raw baby carrots or broccoli florets, yogurt, juice or some other drink as well as water. Sometimes I’ll have a salad, which I’ll prep at home in a Tupperware box, dressing in a separate wee container. I tend to go for things that are easy to pick up and eat a few bites, then put it down to deal with customers, although that’s likely not going to be an issue for you. And I try to bring a variety of things, because I just don’t always know what I’ll want to eat when I’m hungry. If I don’t eat it that day, I take it home and eat it later.
Other things you can do with a little forethought:
- pasta salad with lots of veggies and Italian dressing plus maybe some grilled chicken
- a couple slices of cold pizza
- cold fried chicken and potato salad
- pita pocket sandwich
- crackers, cheese, summer sausage
- margarita in a sippy cup
My favorite sandwich is pepper-crusted deli turkey and Havarti cheese on whole grain bread, with leaf lettuce, plus roasted red pepper hummus spread on the bread with sunflower seeds smushed into the hummus (so they don’t fall out!). Soooo yummy! Excellent protein-rich sammich.
Since you don’t plan on condiments until later you can freeze a sandwich without condiments and that will help keep it cool a little longer. The sandwich should be thawed by lunchtime. Wrapping it well and/or putting inside a little plastic box also helps keep it cold longer.
More thoughts…
Lots of cold things packed closely together in one container keeps everything colder longer. That means that even though an apple doesn’t really need refrigeration, packing a cold apple in your lunch will help keep other things cold for a longer period. Also, putting your cold lunch bag inside of another larger tote or backpack will help keep the lunch cooler. If you don’t have a real insulated cooler right away just think in layers, also keeping the bag out of the sun as much as possible.
Consider nut butters in place of meat. If you’re near Whole Foods you easily can find sesame, cashew, or almond butters.
You can get things like tuna in single-serving cans or tear-open aluminum pouches. Things like fruit cocktail and applesauce can also be purchased in small single-serve containers. (Don’t forget plastic utensils.)
Consider things like nuts, and also dried fruits like raisins, craisins, dates, figs, prunes, apples, pineapple, yogurt-covered raisins, hard cheeses, boiled eggs, etc.
Consider including things like bran muffins, oatmeal and banana nut breads. Those are usually healthier, less sugar, and can help satisfy the craving for something sweet.
Use good quality whole grain or multi-grain breads, rolls and crackers. A multi-grain bagel is one of my favorite things to toss into a bag, because it’s almost indestructible, it’s very filling, and it tastes even better when it’s been sitting in a hot car.
Besides fresh, dried or canned fruit, dessert can be a healthier version of cookies, like oatmeal cookies made with raisins, nuts, coconut.
Partly fill a water bottle and freeze it, leaving room for expansion during freezing. Pack it with your lunch to help keep the other contents cool, and you can drink the water when it’s thawed.
There are tons of insulated lunchboxes, lunch bags, and coolers of every size and shape, both hard and soft, simple and complex. If you haven’t shopped for one in a long while you’ll be surprised at all your options. I have a rigid plastic one with a hinged lid that’s so small it’s only big enough for one sandwich. I have another that came with a removable freezable compartment in the lid. The extra compartment is designed to be filled with water and then frozen. The frozen container gets reattached to the inside of the lid when I leave the house. I also have an insulated soft one that is like a fashionable shoulder bag, and another soft one that’s a backpack. One always goes with me when I hike in the woods. I even put CDs/DVDs in a cooler when carrying them back and forth to the library during the hot summer.
Okay, I just saw MsChilePepper’s mention of cold fried chicken. I don’t fry chicken anymore, but that reminds me that cold roasted chicken is one of my favorite things, and much better than any processed cold cuts. Also cold leftover roast beef is good.
We have a few of these Fit and Fresh containers that have the ice pack that fits in the lid. One of them is a salad keeper that also has a dressing container in the lid that holds about 2 T of dressing. I would just fit the ice pack in the lid in the morning and it kept my salad and dressing cool without refrigeration until lunchtime.
I agree that most things do not need refrigeration beyond a 24 hour period. Lettuce is fine if not over moisturized - dry it and keep it in a container with paper towels. But what’s the problem with mayo? Does it not contain enough vinegar to keep it safe practically forever? Perhaps you are thinking of various salads that contain mayo? I find that tuna salad does not last very long. Chicken salad does though. And pasta salad lasts particularly long. I think it’s the things you add to the mayo and not the mayo…
I work in an environment that alternates between dry and insanely humid with daily temperatures averaging between 80-105 in the shade. We don’t use coolers when we pack our lunch and we’ve found that most foods simply don’t need as much refrigeration as most Americans/Europeans give them. I try to eat eggs, dairy (unless it’s cooked into a dish), and uncooked dishes with mayo by 10 am at the latest (after having been out in the field since 4 am). Chicken (the only type of meat I eat) is eaten by 12 (8 hours without refrigeration and it’s fine). I’ve had coworkers who ate boiled eggs at 3 pm (after sitting in a hot car since 4 am) and they’ve been perfectly fine, but I’m more cautious with my food. Since you’ll be in a more reasonable climate, you should be even safer.
If it’s REALLY hot (105 in the shade, 110 walking around), I’ve had veggies go bad if I don’t get to them until after 5, but that’s only happened rarely. Lettuce never lasts in the field and I don’t bring it. If I have something like jello, I try to eat it straight away, as it can melt after just a few hours in the heat. Peanut butter sandwiches last forever (put them in a tupperwear container rather than a plastic bag if you plan to be moving them around) and you can add all sorts of yummy things to them like jelly, honey, bananas, chocolate, etc. We can’t bring much fruit in the field because of our job, but I do like to have apple slices with peanut butter on occasion and I just add a bit of lime juice to the apple slices to prevent them from browning.
Put your lunch in the fridge the night before, and it should last even longer than usual.
For condiments I have a variety of little condiment containers that I fill with what I need and wash out when I get home at night. Tiny squeeze bottles with caps for soy sauce, and little sealed cups, sometimes with little scoops, for thicker sauce-type condiments (most everything else). That way I don’t have to be reliant on what packets are around, and can instead carry in something like that yummy bottled peanut sauce I got at the store, or even something I made myself.
You can find some of these at places like the Container Store. Their Nalgene bottle collection in the travel section is good for this, with tiny capped bottles and little lidded sealed boxes.
If you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere that has a Japanese market, you may be able to find bento box (Japanese lunches in small boxed form, typically designed for non-refrigeration conditions) supplies. They have lots of little bottles and condiment containers. Alternately you can order sauce bottles and cups online from various stores.