We know many of you are trying to bring your own lunch to work with you these days, and we're here to help! This weekend, let's get our acts together and make sure we have a plan for the week.
There are really two key factors when it comes to deciding to bring your lunch and really sticking to it:
1. Make it as easy as possible - No one wants to spend hours the night before or (heaven forbid) in the morning preparing their lunch. You need to be able to grab it and go.
2. Make it tasty - If you're bored with what's in your lunch bag, that's all the more temptation to leave it in the fridge and eat out.
For that first factor, let's have a plan and then try to make as much ahead of time as possible. That way, we don't have to think about it during the week - all we have to do is some minor assembly before transferring a portion into a travel container.
Veggies for salads can be cut up ahead of time. Chicken can be cooked and shredded for chicken salad. Soup can be made and pre-portioned. Keep all your lunch fixings together in one spot the fridge so you don't have to go searching for them in the morning.
As for keeping lunch tasty and interesting, that's where you get to be creative! We find that we can eat the same lunch for about week before we need to change it up and look for something new. We also have to be honest with ourselves sometimes: "Sure, ham sandwiches are easy, but am I really going to want to eat that come lunchtime?!"
Later today, we'll share two of our favorite make-ahead lunch templates. For now, here are a few of the tricks and techniques we use to spice things up:
• Breakfast-For-Lunch
• Perk Up Sandwiches with Seasoned Salt
• Eight Ways to Build Flavor
• Changing How the Food Is Served
• Good Ideas for School Lunches
And as a final suggestion, consider giving yourself some incentive now and again. If you bring your lunch with you, maybe let yourself buy a nice roll to eat with your salad or a brownie for dessert.
What other strategies do you have for bringing your lunch to work?
Related: Do's and Don'ts: Eating on Public Transit
(Image: Flickr member taiyofj licensed under Creative Commons)
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I love to make a pot of beans over the weekend and do a container of beans/rice/cheese for two of my weekday lunches.
Cooking up some vegetables and portioning out in containers also is a way to use veggies before they wilt!
I love salads for lunch, so I usually shred/chop vegetables on Sunday for at least a couple of our lunches for the week. I'll bake some tofu or chicken, maybe cook some soba noodles if that's what we feel like, and make a big batch of vinaigrette/dressing. These all go in separate containers in the fridge. The night before, I make our individual portions for lunch the next day, so we can just grab them in the morning.
Today is a snow day so I am gonna be ambitious and take frozen turkey leftovers from T-giving to make meatballs for lunch next week and today. I'll do a pot of black beans on Sunday night for lunches as well.
Forget the lunch - where can I buy that container?
We have a fridge at work and I find keeping a small bag/box/basket with some basics that I eat all the time makes lunches easier. I usually keep a bag of chopped lettuce, some cheese, cut up veggies, a few apples and oranges and any other general lunch food that I am into at the moment in there. That way, if I don't have much going on with leftovers at home, there is usually something that I can bring to add to a salad.
I find grain salads keep well the whole week. Frittatas come together easily, and wedges alongside lighter salads or soups round things out nicely. During the cooler months, braises and heartier soups are great and only get better over a few days.
I like that container too. Any idea where one can purchase it?
yes, where can I buy that container? I've been looking for a nice compartmentalized lunch box for a while.
Planned overs, when you BBQ this weekend, do some extra. Wash the lettuce, purchase the fruit, mix the dressing and you are ready to go on Monday. Thai sliced beef salad or chicken caesar salad are basics. I would drive people nuts at work with the grilled salmon salad! Yougurt and fruit for dessert, or blondies instead of brownies.
Make a pass by the store and purchase 2 take to work containers and keep rotating them, washing in warm soapy water.
I like the container too.
What's the deal with all the keyboards?
I like the container too, and so I clicked on the image link.
In response to the same question, the owner answered:
"This lunch box is what lunch service company at Hefei China brings. I don't have idea if you can get it at your country.
When you go to China, you'll find it at super market. "
(posted 25 months ago)
We live near a huge Asian market, so I'll keep my eyes open for it. Perhaps Biggie at Lunchinabox.net knows?
Not quite bento, but I throw small portions of rice in ziploc-type bags and freeze them for future lunches. The office microwave does a nice job reheating them right in the bag (don't forget to open a corner before nuking). Pretty quick to reach in freezer for baggie of rice and toss into lunch bag.
In similar spirit, I am now collecting very small containers and snack baggies to make lunch more fun/easy. The baby-food size Rubbermaid is excellent for carrying semi-liquid toppings like hummus, sour cream, etc. without mishaps.
Dessert is critical for me to take focus off penny-pinching and onto treating myself. It can be as simple as two cookies in a snack baggie, or fancier like a mango-lime fool, but knowing I have a sweet packed in helps my motivation
I've been getting my lunches for the week ready on Sunday night for awhile now, and it really works well. Just grab and go. I've been eating better and saving an astonishing amount of money.
I usually plan the ahead and make more dinner then we are going to eat and then place the unopened portions in a container to take to work, thus I dont have to waste time cooking something extra for lunch
For those who like the container, search on google for bento boxes and see if stores in your area carry them. VERY handy for taking lunch to work. :)
For those of you looking for lunch containers, my husband and I use bento boxes from http://www.laptoplunches.com/. They're very modular, and really help portion control. Plus, they're colorful and fun. :)
I have a similar container that I got at Target last year. This one looks to be a bit bigger than the one I have at home.
Key to packing lunches for work is to have the right containers and a lunch bag/lunch box to carry your food to work in. The other key is to have food at home to bring for lunch. Make the serves 4 instead of serves 2 menu and pack the extras for lunch. Doggy bag the extra food if you go out. Spend some time over the weekend and pre-prep things like salad items, use those little rubbermaid containers for sauces,etc as some one said above. If you are not used to packing lunches, it will take some time to get into the habit of it. I pack my lunch almost every day, it takes practice, but I'm wasting less food that would be left to rot at home, spending less money, and eating better.
I have a fridge and a mini kitchen at my work, so I keep things like salad dressing, salt, pepper, and some assorted condiments at work.
I'd love some pointers on how to pack lunches. Greycottage has got me thinking... It just seems like a lot of effort, but I'd love to save some money.
Try a tiffin:
http://www.happytiffin.com/
http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/FramesCat.asp?iGroup=333
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/2006/06/just-eatin-in-rain.html
http://www.dwr.com/product/promotions/markdowns_feb09/tiffin-lunch-box-set.do
http://www.worldmarket.com/kitchen-tabletop/Home-KeepingStorage/kitchen-storage-containers/Stainless-Steel-Tiffin-Tin/lev/4/productId/8304/Ne/1100001/sectionId/2866/N/1100177/categoryId/1100177/pCategoryId/1100176/gpCategoryId/1100131/Ns/NEW_ARRIVAL_FLAG|1||CATEGORY_SEQ_3020|0/index.pro?CMP=EMC-email_test