Oy. I have tons.

Every monday on my way in from work I stop at the grocery store down the street and pick up some fresh fruit: always 4 bananas, usually some apples...and whatever else is in season and looks good.

When I get to work in the morning, I bust out the instant oatmeal (steel cut, of course!) and throw some banana, apples, or other fruit in there and eat it while 'waking up.' Without this, I would probably be useless in the office, and it is really great having fruit laying around - especially when chocolate, candy and sweets are abundant. I get hungry and grab my fruit instead of all the sinful treats nearby.

http://www.abbeycatchat.com

Oops, sorry, I just realized I'm not supposed to put my link at the bottom. :/

have to get outta that habit...

All knives and sharp utensils are banned at school for obvious reasons. Lunches are tailored around foods that use hands or spoons.

I keep a baggie of condiments for those days when I realize I have no ketchup or mayo.

On a rare occasion I might even use the duck sauce packets that seem to be reproducing in the condiment baggie.

In my fridge at work I always have a container of salad dressing and a jar of peanut butter which is great for apples, or to add to my breakfast bread of choice.

I keep those instant soup cups in my office for those "oh crap, I forgot lunch/snack/everything" kind of days. I also keep bags of Dove Promises around for single-serving fixes for bad days. There's tea and crackers in my drawer, too, but I don't drink tea and I keep forgetting about the crackers. Oops.

I used to keep cereal and raisins in my drawer but that was before I figured out that too little protein in the morning makes me surly.

Outside of food: a can opener!

One of those Tide pens for removing stains.

I would advise against a paring knife really. It sounds foolish but you don't know what type of workplaces people have and having a sharp knife in the desk may not be a good thing.

Oatmeal. All-bran (I sprinkle it on my oatmeal and also on yogurt for an afternoon snack. Honey (for oatmeal and yogurt as well). Salt/pepper shaker. Himalayan salt (a personal quirk). Salad dressing (TJ's lite balsamic vinaigrette, which does not have to be refrigerated so I can keep it in my office and people won't steal it!). Definitely utensils. Two bowls (large and small). And much of my bag is loaded with food every day -- gotta eat!

I've made a habit of getting a can or two of kippers or sardines to eat at work (Yes I know you're screaming SARDINES!? at me right now) but if you mix them with some guacamole on toast its the best ever! Just make sure you rinse out the sink when you're done draining them and eat them away from everyone else (I.E. not in your cube) and you should be fine.

Oh I also have some mixed nuts for energy late in the day...

Our work bans knives over 1/2 an inch long but I do have a good bowl, fork and spoon along with some good salad dressing in the fridge for a once or twice a week salad.

Lately I have been bringing a loaf of bread so I can make a quick sandwich to go with my soup cup on busy days. I also have lemonade packs for the days I cannot stand another machine soda.

It is so pathetic that we have to even think twice about bringing a basic tool like a paring knife to work.

It disgusts me that we cater to the lowest common denominator so often in society. I am not going to kill someone with my pocket knife, I am going to open packages, slice bagels and handle other basic tasks an average human encounters a dozen times a day.

Keep your irrational fears and ineffective "safety theater" away from me.

Iona -- have you been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (on Friday nights on ABC, but you can watch it online, too)? A couple of episodes ago he dealt with the spoons/hands only issue in cafeterias...

Crackers, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, granola bars, instant coffee, tea, cloth napkin, hot water kettle. These keep me going in a pinch.

I second the can opener and jar of peanut butter. I usually hope to avoid lunches requiring a can opener, but when I do show up at work with a can, it's kind of a desert island moment when I realize I don't have an opener. And peanut butter works on bread, crackers, fruit, and a spoon.

I work at multiple, often new locations. Many the suggestions above are excellent. The first two things that I stock up are a roll of top quality paper towels and Windex [really helpful to keen up keyboard grunge and even a quick hand wash.]

Next is peanut butter [need to get the regular stuff not the oil-on-top, organics - the Jiff and-Skippy types are more shelf stable] and Tabasco.

With respect to knives in the workplace: A pocket knives are either OK or not depending on the setting, rules,.... A basic Swiss Army knife is really handy when it is OK in the particular workplace setting.

Gee whiz ScottyT, calm down!

I try to keep cheese and crackers around for a snack, and my boss always has a large container of plain TJ's yogurt on hand. I do that sometimes too, it's good with a little raspberry jam mixed in or olive oil and pita bread.

I have no space at work to keep... anything. So in my bag everyday I keep a small coin purse with tea bags, salt, pepper, splenda, and ketchup packets and then I keep a dual ended spork just incase.

Cinnamon. Works for oatmeal, fruit, toast, you name it.

I always keep a travel mug at my desk for those occasional Starbucks runs. Also, a bottle opener for Beer Fridays! That might just be my office, though... And definitely salad dressing and peanut butter. I also have some cinnamon/nutmeg mixed for when I have oatmeal or cream of wheat sometimes, or can be added to coffee. Luckily my office is awesome and has plates, bowls, metal utensils, sharp knives, real glasses, mugs, and most other things you might need provided, but I might bring my own napkin now that I'm thinking about it.

I need to buy one of those cheap salt grinders for the office. Otherwise, apples, trail mix & tide pens are what get me through the day.

last xmas, i bought myself a plate, bowl, and two cloth napkins to have in the office to add to my collection of two mugs (which go rather unused), a 1L cup for water, and a selection of inexpensive silverware.

then i got the bright idea to buy my department-mates each a nice cloth napkin (and each one different from the next) and a fork, spoon, and knife for their desk drawers. it was a hit!

Tea bags
a LOT of tea bags..

In my last office I kept a bowl, a mug, tea, almonds or walnuts, honey (for the walnuts), raisin bran, a full set of utensils plus an additional general use knife. I bought milk for my cereal in the cafeteria. My lunch and other snacks I tended to bring in daily instead of stocking up.

I can't imagine working somewhere that didn't allow knives, unless I worked in a mental health facility, which I don't.

Some great ideas here! I teach university classes and a typical day for me includes rotating to three different locations on campus, so when I get a chance to sit in my office for a brief moment, I need quick meals. Often I only have time for several snacks throughout the day. To make that all feel more normal, I keep certain "stocks" on hand: mixed nuts and dried fruits, cheese and sparkling water in my fridge, chocolate, tea, a set of dishes and silverware, and a bright green coffee mug to use on those few occasions that I have 15 minutes to sit down to a hot beverage.

Here are some things I wish I could figure out how to store neatly in my desk (we have problems with things being stolen from the fridges here--yes, it's pathetic):

a lemon
honey
balsamic vinegar

If I was supremely organized, I'd bring in a tupperware full of home-baked, healthy, need-no-refrigeration snacks every Monday morning. I'm not that supremely organized. Yet.

I always have a stash of soy sauce, condiments, tabasco, a bowl, an extra mug, paring knife, veggie peeler, straw, silverware plus ramen, one can of campbell's soup, saltine crackers, and one pudding cup

Usually I have a mixed pack of tea, sugar cubes, honey, peanuts, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, sunflower seeds, and ibuprofen in my desk drawer. I also keep a frozen dinner or two and a tub of yogurt in our fridge. I work 12 hour shifts when it snows, so its really nice having something to fall back on if I don't bring enough food with me.

In the break room I keep 2 mugs, a bowl, a plate and a silverware set. Thankfully we keep knives, salt and pepper and dishes/utensils for serving purposes in there too.

I have a drawer that I keep: salt/pepper shakers, tabasco, dishes/silverware, cookies, uncooked pasta- typically orzo or elbow macaroni, and minute rice (both of the latter cook in the microwave).

I recently bought a "hot pot" for my rice, pasta, and ramen days. Its brilliant and I don't hog the microwave!

-VM

Reading this makes me fully realize how unique my office's situation is -- everything in that list is provided in my office kitchen (aside from the condiments). Using anything disposable is discouraged since we have so many cups, plates, and even travel mugs for everyone to use. Every week a different group of people is in charge of making sure the dishwashers get loaded, run, and unloaded each day. I can't imagine how much waste we would generate if this were not the case.

And because we occasionally have to do product testing for various kitchen tools we design, we've always had a kitchen. After a recent expansion, it's now a full kitchen with an oven.

The idea of not being able to have a knife at work makes perfect sense, but totally boggles my mind -- more than one of our clients manufactures knives, so we have them all over the place!

Microwave popcorn is something that I do not care for. Properly prepared it smells bad. Every week or so, some Dilbert will incinerate the stuff and that odor is truly awful. Once in a great while it will set off the smoke alarms and cause an evacuation.

Sardine smell - OK by me. Burnt popcorn - No way!

I don't think I can bring a cloth napkin without the urge to wash it everytime...can't wash it every once in a while. haha.

I have the first 5 mentioned items at the office.
Couldn't live without the paring knife...use it every morning to cut fruit for my yogurt.
Tea and nuts are also items I keep at my desk.

Here is my short list:
- packets of instant oatmeal
- mixed nuts
- vitamins
- gallon of water
- coffee mug
- tea bags (green tea & earl grey)

Sandra

I work in a school and I'm basically the department Mom (thought I'm one of the youngest;-/) so I always have a stash of goodies in my classroom. My department members refer to my magic box--a tupperware container that always has fruit snacks, nutrigrain bars, granola bars, etc--and they stop in for goodies when they need them. I also have a cabinet with the stuff I don't share: instant oatmeal, microwaveable soup, a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers. Even on days when I forget to bring a lunch, there's always something there to keep me away from the vending machine. Or the cafeteria (cringe). It's also helpful when a kid has a stomach ache or low blood sugar. The nurse can only give them crackers anyway, so why not take care of it myself and keep them in class?

A paring knife, REAL utensils, lots of tea bags, salt and pepper, and my favorite two things: a window box of lettuce and a small pot of mixed herbs.

Are people peeling fruit & opening sardines at their desks or in an office kitchen or lunchroom? For me it makes a difference. Nothing like sticky grapefruit juice or smelly day old sardine oil traveling around the cubicles.

I once had two really delightful guys who worked for me. They loved these sweet blended coffee drinks but they spent too much money on them. They decided to save themselves some money.

I walked into our office one day and they had set up a blender on our work bench (we assembled computers there) and were busily adding ice cubes, ice cream hot coffee etc to their blender and making a huge mess in the process. They thought this was just wonderful.

It's the only time I ever really lost it at my employees. I told them to cease & desist and take it all out no questions no explanations. It's hilarious in retrospect but geeze...

Just hope people can exercise some judgment about what they do at work involving food.

I have a ridiculous amount of tea, crackers, oatmeal, ramen noodles (for emergencies), a basic set of utensils/bowl/plate, can opener, and a drawer full of random condiment packets.

I have two "make it better" bins at work. One full of fruit leather, individual tubes of nuts or gorp, granola bars (with chocolate!) and crackers or rice krispy treats. Just enough to get me through a hungry patch without biting off someone's head! The other has advil, band-aids, decongestent, tampons, extras of my prescription meds, a hairbrush and hair ties, stain removal, deodorant, a lint roller and a spare uniform shirt. I add anything I catch myself wishing I had some day. And I can't tell you how popular I got when the rest of the office discovered my stash!

But seriously, these things really do "make it better" when it's one of _those_ days we all have.

One I agree with everything you said minus the cloth napkins that's to much work. With that what I do is just save all of my fast food napkins and use those. I have really bad allergies so these also double as tissues.

Also I keep one of those huge containers of Sweet 'n' Low (yes I know how "bad" it is for me and blah blah blah formaldehyde) because there is never any when I need it.

I had alot more of this stuff when I used to have a cubicle.

Also, I'm in I.T. and someone tried to say something about my 4 inch folding knife and I told them that it is a necessary tool and they shut up. And I work in a courthouse, police station, sheriff office, parole office, and municipal buildings with that tool on me at all times.

I have "emergency" fruit cups in my desk, in case I'm ever *really* hungry for some reason. And they are awesome for offering to coworkers when they forget a lunch. :)

I love to have a nice bottle of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar (along with S&P and a vegetable peeler), especially since there's a regular farmer's market downtown. There's nothing better for fresh veggies and some nice bread.

I'd love to have a paring knife, but with 300 kids, some of whom have stolen things off my desk when I'm helping another kid, a knife has no place in my desk.

Jamina1, I have six cans of sardines in my desk right now. I like them in mustard sauce. I'll be having some for lunch today, as my lunchbag is sitting on the kitchen counter at home! =^..^=

Wish I could get pilchards here.

pack of wasa crackers, ricotta in the fridge, sea salt and honey.
best afternoon snack.

coffee plunger, coffee, teas, honey, mints, trail mix, fruit, crackers, yoghurt, oats, juice, sparkling mineral water, snow peas, haighs peppermint chocolate frogs - i need my stuff.

my work provides all cutlery, s & p, dishes, black tea, milk etc. including sharp knives. there's also an oven we can use.

i can't fathom working in an office that didn't trust its employees with kitchen knives...sounds like being in prison.

more good info on survival kit for office
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/office-survival-kit-not-a-bad-idea-3158799.html

more good info... survival kit for office

My situation is similar to akay. We have a little kitchen stocked with real plates, glasses, mugs, and cutlery. I usually only use MY glass and MY mug. But we share the rest. To avoid the "tragedy of the commons" we contracted our cleaning crew to also take care of the dishes. Only thing is, the dishwasher is in the downstairs kitchen for the whole building so in our upstairs unit they just "wash" the stuff by hand. Everyone seems happy with the illusion that our shared cutlery is clean. Kind of gross right?

The other key item in our kitchen? A pie/cake server. We may be a small office but we love our desserts!

1 - Top quality paper towels - [eco-friendly vs. my convenience and my cleanness... No contest, I Win!]
2 Spray cleaner - for those plastic things that you bring but also nasty keyboards and such.
3 El Cheapo plastic bags, not the zip lock but the old fashioned twist tie type - number of uses most of which, putting things into for disposal that stink up your trash can - unless you like smelling banana peels for 10 hours.

I currently have at my desk: green tea, lemon juice (for the tea), honey, peanut butter, cereal bars, raisins, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce. I eat 2 of my 3 meals a day at work sadly so I keep a stocked arsenal!

In my desk are the following: bowl, plate, cup, utensils, honey, Luna bars, cans of almonds, 2 cans of soup, peanut butter crackers, and a jar of peanut butter. I keep sliced almonds and string cheese in the fridge.

We have mice in the building, and have been asked not to keep foods at our desk overnight.

Other than most of what's listed by other folk, I have a tea tin of condiment packets, a mug filled with plastic cutlery (gathered from around the office) for others to use, a cutting board, drink mix, salad dressing (red wine vinaigrette with oregano), soy sauce, mustard, tea-towels, and 2 pot holders.

Haha I thought this list sounded really familiar, and then reading through the comments I found one that sounded really familiar

Because it was mine from a year ago.

I keep a set of silverware-- fork, butter knife, and spoon-- at my desk. I picked up strays or individuals at a discount store so as not to break up my nice at-home set. I did this for my husband too, as I could imagine our nice at home set dwindling, lost to the far reaches of his office, car, trash...

I have a container of paper plates because my office is NO WHERE near a sink or water source (I work in a courthouse), and we do not have a break room of any kind. It's easier to throw them away. Sorry, Al Gore.

I have a jar of skippy smooth PB. Usually eaten on a spoon when the forgot-my-lunch or can't-have-another-coffee-but-need-a-boost doldrums hit.

I have a tall plastic cup, reusable and rewashable (not like a Solo cup, more like the melamine picnic ware at Target)(which I highly recc. for work plates!)

I have a little fridge, but all that's in there is an expired yogurt and unappetizing frozen corn side dish. No, thanks.

At the beginning of the week, I try to bring some tangerines or apples or something.

Plus, can't forget my stash of the mini PB cups from TJ's. You can eat 27 as a serving for 210 calories... but I don't usually eat that many. Just a nice sweet boost!

Our office provides all of those, including breakfast (croissants, cold meats, cheese, tomato, avo, cereals, bread, milk, yogurt), fruit, condiments, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. Also a pool table, free car washes, a flat screen tv, couches..Yep! True story...

Sriracha.

In my overhead cabinet I have a plate, mug, cutlery, paring knife, small jars of honey and peanut butter, hot sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper grinders, small containers of fruit, instant oatmeal, granola bars, crackers, low sodium V8, seltzer and tea. In the office freezer (hidden all the way behind the frozen dinner dated 2008) are 2 ziploc bags with single serving bean soup, 2 small containers of homemade hummus and two whole grain english muffins.

I opened the cabinet the other day to grab something and my coworker was amazed at what I had in there. With the price of take out in my office's neighborhood running about $10 a meal I just can't see wasting money when I've forgot my lunch bag!

Wow. I'm also surprised that most offices don't supply these. I guess we're spoilt to have a full kitchen, with cutlery, crockery, fruit, milk, bread, chocolate, a wide range of condiments, teas and coffees. I'm also scheduled to travel to our new office in New Zealand next month to set them up with these 'luxuries' as well.

Ok for those people with stocked pantries (to include food) at work, WHERE do you work?!?!?! We don't even get free coffee and paper napkins here in DC, geez! Oh well. Like many others, I brown bag it every day and I work a long day so I usually bring lunch and dinner. In one of my desk drawers I keep snack boxes of raisins, a package each of craisins and dried apricots, a container of kashi (to top my greek yogurt, yum!), a jar of local honey (also for my greek yogurt), and usually a container of almonds or cashews - these are my mid-day snacks. Then I just bring to work lunch, dinner, and fresh fruit/veggies.

shaker full of cinnamon to put on cottage cheese & fruit

Cinnamon, definitely; a little bottle each of oil and balsamic, bowl, plate, all utensils are provided. tea and a teaball, a thing of honey in case I want to sweeten my tea, and a travel mug I keep here, since we have to worry about toxic dusts settling on/in anything we eat/drink from. I used to keep a bulk bag of instant oats, but I read that they are too processed even for oats. I won't go any more processed than old-fashioned anymore, so I make it at home and eat it at work.