packing lunch

[rick_973]

Ok so here's my thing..

I work at a job from 6-2:30. My dilema is that im dont eating out. I tryed staying healthy and all that crap by eating at select places but ive decided that the best and cheapest route would be to start making my lunches.

I suck at cooking. So, i just want to see if you guys had any ideas on what would be cool to pack. I have a small lunch box, those ice blocks that keep your lunch box cool and i have a microwave at work.

So far ive though of tuna sandwhiches...?

I try to keep a high protien diet. For now thats all i need.

 

[Ziltoid]

Damn alot of these threads lately.

Here's what ive been doing. Packing beef patties and or chicken with Spinach and Romaine Lettuce in a container. I bring about 2-3 containers with me. 2 patties or chicken each. These 2 pieces of meat are easy to cook. Throw them on a Foreman grill or something similar. I bring some cashews to snack on and some fruits all in smaller containers. You can make sandwiches....tuna is fine also.

EDIT: I usually like to cook the beef and chicken at night for the next day or do it quickly in the morning b4 i head to work. Chop up come Spinach with Romaine...throw it all in tupperware. Reheat at work. Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. If anyone noticed...im actually following the John Berardi - No Nonsense Nutrition sample.

 

[888Shogun888]

I had the same issue about a year ago. It is not the easiest thing to deal with. My lunches usually consisted of something like this:

Deli Turkey (no pre packaged crap), Cheese, mustard and whole wheat bread. I would throw in some granola bars, apple or banana, some wheat thins, usually a muscle milk during a break other than lunch. If you have a fridge bring some peanut butter to have with crackers or something.

The main thing is getting up early enough to have a decent breakfast before you get to work. I would usually make a shake with oats, greens +, frozen fruit, water, EVOO, protein powder and sometimes some peanut butter.

 

[888Shogun888]

Damn alot of these threads lately.

Here's what ive been doing. Packing beef patties and or chicken with Spinach and Romaine Lettuce in a container. I bring about 2-3 containers with me. 2 patties or chicken each. These 2 pieces of meat are easy to cook. Throw them on a Foreman grill or something similar. I being some cashews to snack on and some fruits all in smaller containers. You can make sandwiches....tuna is fine also.

+1 for the nuts. Get some emerald nuts, cashews, almonds or something similar. They also have some good trail mix. Real easy to keep at work and a great snack with some protein.

 

[Zero_Sen]

Chop up around a cup or so of spinach and toss it in a tupperware container with a can of tuna and some balsamic vinegar. Take a whole wheat pita with you and combine when ready to eat.

Bean salads are also really easy to make and really good for you. You can also make them in huge batches, toss it in the fridge, and be set for few days.

For example, take a can of black beans, a can of lentils, a can of chick peas, and a can of red kidney beans. Add a can of corn and some sort of vinagrette-type salad dressing. If you're feeling culinary, make your own dressing with minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some herbs/spices of your choosing.

And, as others have mentioned, taking a few hours on the weekend to cook-up some chicken breasts or omellettes for the week is a solid plan too.

 

[Goth_Judoka]

I either make chicken breast sandwhiches or lean ground beef burgers, as one meal.

A bag of spinach, and almonds as a snack.

2 tuna/salmon cups and a bag of baby carrots as another meal.

 

[888Shogun888]

A lot of grocery stores sell individually packaged bacon wrapped tenderloins and frequently have sales like 3 for $9.00 or 2 for $7.00. I usually ditch the bacon after cooking. Those travel well.

Meat muffins also fit nicely in tupperware.

I really like turkey kielbasa's, they're also usually precooked. If you can hoard mustard packets from fast food places they go great with that.

what the christ is a meat muffin? Do I even want to know?

 

[beef curtains]

Yea I usually make like 5 chicken breasts or a couple pork tenderloins on Sunday, occasionally buy some deli turkey, and just eat sandwiches like nobody's business, sometimes several per day. Snacks are usually almonds, jerky, bananas, apples, dried fruit sometimes, cottage cheese if you have a fridge, and unfortunately a lot of bars like Clif Bars and shit just because I'm gone from like 7am until 9:30pm a couple days a week.

And it looks like someone already beat me to it, but I too was wondering what the balls a meat muffin was.

 

[beef curtains]

It's where you take a meatloaf recipe and instead of baking it in a pan you bake it in a muffin tin. You get meat muffins which are vastly superior to all other muffins.

This intrigues me. May have to try it.

 

[Freeman102010]

i'm a big fan of yogurt packs and cheese to snack on as well.

 

[Freeman102010]

A lot of grocery stores sell individually packaged bacon wrapped tenderloins and frequently have sales like 3 for $9.00 or 2 for $7.00. I usually ditch the bacon after cooking. Those travel well.

Meat muffins also fit nicely in tupperware.

I really like turkey kielbasa's, they're also usually precooked. If you can hoard mustard packets from fast food places they go great with that.

going to try too! your idea?

 

[theNuge]

Wow, I'm surprised at the small amount of food people bring to work. I work an eight-hour office job and I bring a small grocery bag of stuff with me to work. Here's the list of proteins/veggies/fats that I bring everyday:

Proteins (I usually bring two of the following):
- hardboiled eggs
- cottage cheese
- protein powder
- chicken breast
- browned and seasoned ground beef
- steak

Veggies (I always bring at least three of the following):
- two cups of spinach
- one cut up pepper
- tomato
- broccoli
- celery
- half of a cucumber

Fats (I usually bring one of the following):
- half of a cup of almonds
- four tablespoons of peanut butter
- two tablespoons of olive oil

 

[Freeman102010]

I'd love to claim it but my ex-gf of all people introduced me to them.

lol, my fiance is a big fan of Rachel Ray, I find her annoying as hell (like a pee wee herman mixed with oprah devil child) but she has made some really great meals from her show.

 

[Freeman102010]

I'd love to claim it but my ex-gf of all people introduced me to them.

do you have a specific recipe?

 

[anaconda]

It's where you take a meatloaf recipe and instead of baking it in a pan you bake it in a muffin tin. You get meat muffins which are vastly superior to all other muffins.

lol that just seems so wrong.

 

[evilf22]

i usually intentionally undercook some chicken breast or sirloin tips the night before. ill then fill a tupperware full of raw spinach, broccoli, carrots, green beans, etc.... and put the meat on top. when ready to eat, ill put maybe 1/4 cup of water in the tupperware. then put the lid on, but dont seal it. microwave for 2 minutes or so and it steams everything perfectly, including the meat since it was undercooked before being steamed with the veggies.

 

[Ganja]

thank you jestery for the meat muffin recipe lmao

no idea how glad I am to have opened this thread

 

[FuriousFist]

And, as others have mentioned, taking a few hours on the weekend to cook-up some chicken breasts or omellettes for the week is a solid plan too.

How long do omelettes keep in the fridge, and do they actually taste good after refrigeration and nuking?

 

[noobloser]

How long do omelettes keep in the fridge, and do they actually taste good after refrigeration and nuking?

I, too, would like to know this. I love omelettes but they just take too long to make every morning. If I could make 5 at once, that would be ideal.

 

[FuriousFist]

I, too, would like to know this. I love omelettes but they just take too long to make every morning. If I could make 5 at once, that would be ideal.

Whipped up a batch Sunday. Had some Monday, and also today. Verdict: delicious.