Good reference for the mobile employee's lunches?

[heymrdj]

So I struggle to find a good non-boring diet of foods for my work life. I eat fairly healthy out (which was often) but because I do eat healthier I spend *alot* of cash, cash that could be better used finishing out my debt so that in another 1 yr 4mos I can comfortably buy myself a much needed new F-150 🙂. That being said, I'm not a picky eater really at all (I eat just about anything), but I get bored when I eat the same thing 5 days in a row, especially when it comes from a can. The problem with just doing leftovers and what not is I don't know where I'll be day to day. I could be at the office, where I have access to a refrigerator and microwave and toaster. I could also be called out to work at a customer's. There it is likely that I won't have access to anything (if it is cold, it has to stay cold in the car, in a lunch bag, windows rolled up in summer, and be edible cold). Preferably things that can be warmed but are ok cold. I've thought about sandwhiches, but I haven't found any containers that allow me to bring condements or anything, and dry bread and typically meh deli meats makes for sad panda. I'd like not to carry 15 containers for lunch as I have to carry medicine and things in that same lunchbag.

So AT, what do you guys do for reasonably healthy lunches?

 

[Zivic]

prep meals and bring them with you in a cooler.

Im fine with chicken breast, tomato sauce, rice and/or vege everyday. cold is fine, heated is fine. I also bring bananas and a quest bar.

you can always top by the gas station for almonds, hard boiled eggs, greek yogurt, etc

 

[Murloc]

Can't you just wrap sandwiches with food-grade plastic wrap?
You can also buy mayonese in small packets that stay out of the fridge if you really need it in your sandwiches.
Of course sandwiches every say is boring, but there is plenty of options that can stay out of the fridge the whole morning (with the caveat that you don't live in Abu Dhabi in the summer or something) and then be eaten cold or heated up in the microwave:

Protein: cooked chicken, roast beef, smoked fish (only in the winter...), cold cuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs, pre-cooked sausages.
Carbs: rice with no condiment, rice salad with pickles, cold pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella (heated up makes it yummy), left-over risotto in any fashion if you like it, any further variant (also involving the cold meats).
Vegs: grilled zucchini/pepper/eggplant, ratatouille (great both cold and heated up in a microwave), anything that can be eaten raw.

A further example if the microwave has a grill function: the warm goat salad http://www.750g.com/salade-chevre-chaud-au-miel-r4602.htm No oven? No biggie, you'll eat a salad and bread and cheese.

 

[Kaido]

Invest in some good gear:

1. Large insulated lunchbox (picnic/family-sized)
2. Small re-usable ice packs to fit between food (instead of just one big one)
3. Protein shaker bottle with powder cup
4. RoadPro 12V stove
5. Disposable TV dinner containers

You basically have 2 options:

1. Cook the meals yourself
2. Buy pre-made stuff

Lots of pre-made stuff out there: Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, a million flavors of frozen burritos, etc. If you're willing to cook, you have even more options. Snack ideas:

1. Beef jerky sticks
2. Pretzel sticks
3. Hummus & carrots
4. Protein shakes
5. Energy bites (google it)

You can eat like a king from your car if you're willing to prep ahead of time.

 

[magomago]

insulated lunch box is the way to go...but don't place it under direct sunlight if you have something cool in there.

I prefer cooking because it tastes so much better, but I tend to go with simple dishes because they are easy, and to really improve their quality doesn't require a lot of effort; If anything, learn to use spices well.

Curry Powder and Black Pepper can turn a bland can of beans into something much much more when heated up for just a few minutes.

Spaghetti with sauce from a jar may be typically bland, but if you prep the sauce by first sauteing garlic+onions*, and adding lots of oregano/dill/other spices, and include some extra diced tomatoes (i also love to added sauteed mushrooms) with liberal dosing of extra virgin olive oil it very quickly becomes gourmet pasta.

Store bought packs of Guacamole are amazingly more tasty and satisfying when you add chopped onions, diced cherry tomatoes, and salt to taste (Its amazing with pita bread or naan...when I have a another dish of hummus these two are basically a meal unto itself).

If you cook rice (throw in curry powder and black pepper again for awesome results), as it requires zero prep time.
If you saute veggies decide if you really need perfectly even thinly sliced veggies --> 20 minutes of prep time can drop to less than 5 if you are okay with variably sized chunks that might be a little bigger than normal.

Yams are also no frills --> wrap them in foil and pop them into an oven...you got a meal ready to go (but these taste better when warm...reheating yams doesn't do it for me).

Smoothie of fruits and your choice of milk or juice can give you long lasting staying power in the morning.

Sometimes you don't need to cook: buy grapes, carrots, strawberries...anything fruits or veggies you enjoy to eat, add them in as it only requires you to rinse in water.

Most of my cooking happens within 1 hour, and I'm usually OK with eating the same thing next day.



Kaido has lots of good ideas for premade stuff, and while most of the time I favor cooking for taste, there is a limit for me on how much work I'll do (i.e. i'll buy that hummus and guac instead of make it from chickpeas and avocado). Like I said, I'll keep my effort focused on simple dishes that are easy to jazz up.

Look at Costco (if you have a membership) for "small" packs in bulk size.


*FYI learn to cut an onion like this so it happens fast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCGS067s0zo

 

[purbeast0]

every week i cook about 4lbs of chicken breasts in a slow cooker. recently i've been cooking it in mild salsa. after it's cooked i shred it and mix some of the salsa back into it.

then i add some scoops of light mayo and some spring onions and toss some salt on it, and that's my chicken salad for the week. i will make 2 sandwiches on wheat and bring them to work and eat them like 2-3 hours apart.

since i started doing this (as well as eating better in general) i've gotten down to just under 200lbs, up from around 210 or so. i've leaned up a bit (while losing some size too) but this is with just a diet change. i'm not doing any cardio or anything different. still doing my normal lifting routine though. and on the weekends i eat whatever i want. had mcdonalds breakfast on sunday then taco bell for late lunch/early dinner lol.

 

[Kaido]

every week i cook about 4lbs of chicken breasts in a slow cooker. recently i've been cooking it in mild salsa. after it's cooked i shred it and mix some of the salsa back into it.

then i add some scoops of light mayo and some spring onions and toss some salt on it, and that's my chicken salad for the week. i will make 2 sandwiches on wheat and bring them to work and eat them like 2-3 hours apart.

Yeah, I do the same thing, only lately I've been doing it via pressure cooker (Instant Pot) because it's so quick (25 minutes for frozen breasts) & using my Bear Claws to shred:

http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Paw-Products-Inc-11001/dp/B003IWI66W/

The Bear Claws make quick work of chicken breasts...I can shred a whole pot in literally a minute or two (plus skip getting carpal tunnel from using forks, lol), they're like magic! If you're not familiar with Instant Pots, they're basically a fast version of slow cookers...they pressurize the container using a sealed lid, which raises the boiling pot of water & lets you cook wicked fast (without affecting the food quality). $135 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-DUO60-Programmable-Generation/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/

I like to shred the chicken & then do various sauces & mixes like you do - BBQ chicken (in the same vein as pulled pork), chicken salad, etc. I've also been experimenting with my Anova sous vide system for making chicken salad, makes pretty dang moist chicken:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/sous-vide-chicken-salad.html

 

[utahraptor]

I eat a can of this for lunch every day at work.

Helps round out the macros and is low cal.