Grownup Lunchbox Ideas

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

Ok I'm done I'm tired of icky TV dinners for my lunches ( I bring leftovers when I can but we don't always have leftovers like on waffles for dinner night)

So please help me with some great and yummy and filling lunch box ideas to keep me from heading to the drive thru....which is sooo bad for my budget and my waistline. Don't get me wrong I love greasy/cheesy food but I need some ideas to freshen up my lunch.

PLEASE SHARE!!!

 

[BLAZEY]

I take my lunch almost every day. I have sides of veggies and fruit, yogurt, cheese and crackers. For mains I take soup , I love th Campbell's soups in tetra packs. I make big batches of chilli, pasta dishes, burritos, and freeze them in single serve containers. Just take them out the night before to defrost and heat at lunch. Nice hot lunch in the wintertime. Summer is more pasta salads, slaws, wraps.

 

[weeniecat2442]

I try to bring my lunch every day too. I usually bring in a banana, yogurt, and goldfish to snack on throughout the day. for my main lunch i have been making a salad with either chickpeas or white beans, cilantro, peppers, cucumbers, low fat feta cheese, onions and lime juice. sometimes i throw an avocado into the mix. it's healthy and filling and actually tastes pretty good too! i make a big tupperware of it on Sundays and just keep it in the fridge at work. It lasts 3-4 days.

 

[havaneselover]

I make dd tortellini in the morning for her lunch and just make two servings. Other than that I take leftovers from dinner (spaghetti, rotisserie chicken). Occasionally I'll make a pizza bagel or a baked potato. I work in a small office with a fridge, microwave, and convection oven so I basically eat lunch at work like I do at home on the weekends.

 

[elgerber]

I like to throw some rice, beans and precooked chicken in a bowl with some hot sauce. Yum

 

[ForeverAlice]

I have no particular ideas to share- but I do recommend pinterest for inspiration!!

 

[dashofsunshine]

I make my husbands lunch for work every morning Some of his favorites are:

-Flat out wraps with boars head deli ham, Swiss, lettuce, honey mustard, and bacon (sometimes I send him some onions and he sautées them at work, they have a small kitchen)

-Cobb salad with romaine and iceberg, bacon, avocado, cheese, crunchy onions, tomato, chicken (leftover from the night before or rotisserie), and blue cheese dressing

-Whole wheat pasta with turkey meatballs, sauce, and Parmesan.

-naan pizzas (I send the naan, a container of sauce, and pepperoni/mozzarella in a ziploc bag - they have a toaster oven at work)

-leftover taco bowls (we eat those a lot for dinner, so he takes the leftovers for lunch)

-leftover meatloaf (he loves meatloaf, and sometimes I'll send him some thick sliced bread to make a sandwich if he asks).

I make a lot of soups and stews in the winter in the crockpot, so he takes those for leftovers sometimes, too. I always pack him pepperoni + cheese and pickles, as well. Sometimes I can get him to eat some baby carrots, lol.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

these all sound great!!

I'm writing some ideas down now... I find myself eating plain salad or a plain ham & cheese white bread sandwich and it's sooo old

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

I will make Mason jar salads...they keep really well in the fridge. Just google Mason Jar Salad and you will get tons of ideas.

This week was lots of egg salad (on pita bread, on crackers) due to an abundance of eggs we were trying to use up.

A lot of times, my snack/breakfast is plain yogurt with a ripe fruit (usually pears in the winter) and cinnamon.

I also like cooking extra soup and bringing that to work. I usually make dinner with lunches in mind for hubby and I.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Hummus and raw vegetables is a standby for me. Also soups - I often make a bit batch of soup on the weekend and then have soup to take all week (we have a microwave). The mason jar salads mentioned above are good but I hate carrying the jar in my bag (it just clunks around in there).

 

[pjlla]

I make soups and stews in large batches when I have time (usually one or two weekends a month) and freeze individual servings in wide mouth jars. Three different types gives me enough variety when interspersed with the ocassional container of leftovers.

Some of my healthy/easy/budget favorites are lentil soup, split pea soup, quinoa stew (easy to flavor in different ways...Mexican, Italian, curry), curried chicken stew, beef barley soup, curried carrot soup , butternut squash and apple soup, and chicken vegetable soup. I make them all from scratch using (mostly) homemade stock to keep it SUPER budget and extra healthy.

When it isn't soup weather, I bring plain fat-free greek yogurt with berries, salads, and hummus with veggies. Good luck.........P

 

[mommysaurus]

My go to is cottage cheese with green onion and black pepper. I eat it with triscuits. Sometimes I have other cheese and cracker combos.

Salads: greek, quinoa, pasta, Caesar, etc.

Hummus: I make my own and vary the beans...traditional chickpea, black bean, white bean, or edamame.

I round it out with baby carrots, celery, yogurt, banana, graham crackers, goldfish, etc.

Embarrassingly I also eat an (unsweetened) squeeze fruit pouch every day too lol. My son is addicted and has got me going too. We buy a lot of those things!!!

 

[MataHari22]

Pasta and grain salads were a big part of my lunch rotation when I was working. I cannot swallow meats, so I add beans to my pasta salads. I make quite a few versions. The basic ones that I make most:


A "Greek" one:

Cooked pasta, I like Orzo
Chickpeas or small white beans
Kalamata Olives
Feta
Cucumber
(Grape tomatoes if you like. I can't.)
Chopped fresh dill
Chopped flat leaf parsley
A little diced red onion if you like
Tiny bit of garlic
A lemon & olive oil dressing



A "Southwest" one:

Cooked Pasta or Quinoa
Black beans
Diced green pepper
(Jalapeño if you like, I can't)
Queso fresco cheese
Diced avocado
Diced tomato
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped green onion
If I could swallow corn, I would put freshly grilled corn kernels in there, but since I cannot, I make a dressing with the corn. Roasted or grilled Corn and Cumin salad dressing. When I whiz up the dressing, I put the corn in there and blend. Corn taste, but no swallowing issue for me.



An Italian one:

Cooked Rotini
Cannellini beans
Diced roasted red peppers
Tiny fresh mozzarella balls
Olives
Diced red onion
Chopped flat leaf parsley
Chopped oregano
Roasted garlic
Diced artichoke hearts. Since I cannot swallow them, I make a balsamic & artichoke heart dressing.


Roasted Veggie and Tortellini Pasta Salad:
In the summer I do the salad from the items we grow in the garden. Roasted zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, red onion, and sometimes, fennel. We also grow fresh herbs, so I will switch up and add, fresh basil, or tarragon, or flat leaf parsley, depending on what I feel like.

Winter, I like roasted root veggies like butternut squash or acorn squash, beets, carrots... With a little goat cheese.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Leftovers a lot.

If I don't have leftovers it is either:

- salad
- apple with peanut and a container of Greek yogurt
- tuna salad with crackers

 

[ldo]

I always take a baggie of tomatoes/carrots/celery, or 2 cuties or an apple and then add one of these 1. piece of grilled or rotis chicken eaten cold with a packet of Chic Filet sauce; 2. hummus; 3. soup; 4. 1/2 sandwich; or 5. lean cuisine. I keep a jar of peanut butter and a greek yogurt in the fridge to add, if needed. After lunch, a mini candy bar and decaf coffee for a not too bad treat.

 

[Vernie822]

I generally take leftovers too but when that's not an option I usually go with the following...

- Big batches of turkey chili or soup. Freeze some and use some for lunches.
- Chicken salad. Kitchenaid mixer works wonders to shred it! Add some mayo, celery, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder. I like mine sweetened with grapes and granny smith apples. Usually I take crackers or a sandwich thin to eat it on.
- Occasionally I want an adult lunchable: Crackers, cheese, turkey pepperoni, carrots and dip or hummus, apple slices, etc. I like to switch it up and use stuff like prosciutto, brie, etc.
- Pasta salad: Bow tie pasta, sliced olives, pepperoni, cheddar cheese cubes, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, Italian dressing. Easy to just make a big batch and eat from it.
- Cold tuna noodle: Tuna, mayo, elbow noodles, onion, celery, salt, pepper, garlic powder.
- Crock put buffalo chicken: Mix shredded cooked chicken (I make mine in a crockpot) with buffalo wing sauce or hot sauce. We eat it on a salad, in a wrap, etc.

We also do salads a lot. I'll pan sear some chicken breasts and cut them up. We like Caesar, buffalo chicken, bbq (with ranch dressing, black beans, and corn.. so good), etc.

 

[LovesTimone]

When I was working, I always tried to take my lunch, drinks, snacks.. whatever.

Frist tip, make sure you have lots of little containers to take your lunch in, all sizes and shapes. Lots of Ziplocs, foil and cling wrap( if you can use it.. its outlawed at my house!!) Also some utensils' and keep paper plates on hand to use to put your lunch on. I use to put pretty napkins that I had left over from some holiday or party or that I picked up somewhere in my lunch bag it made lunch seem a bit brighter. Pick up those picnic salt and pepper shaker to keep in your bag.

Planning out what you are going to have helps a lot to, go by what's seasonal and on sale.

I had a drawer that I kept - crackers at least 2 boxes, raisins/cranberries, a jar of peanut butter, breakfast / granola bars, something sweet and a couple of cans of soup, this was for when I did not have time or feel like putting together lunch. Drinks - a 12 pack of Coke, capri suns or some other juice pack and 6 pack of water under my desk.

Rotisserie chicken is good way to make a couple meals, chicken salad on a pita, with lettuce and tomato, chop into chunks to add in salads, add into some left over rice, or pasta.

Deli meat and Cheese roll ups / slice as pinwheels, you can use some soft spread flavored cream cheese in the middle, with a few crackers, lettuce and tomato salad, baby carrots, celery, apple slices.

Keep on hand, baby carrots, celery washed and chopped, grape tomatoes, bags of lettuce mix, a couple of different salad dressing, flour wraps, shredded cheese

Boiled eggs (a couple) ready to use for egg salad or to add into a chef salad or eat plain with some veggies and dip.

Check out the deli case's for some single serving options, We shop at Publix, and in there seafood department, in the cold case below there is always some type of seafood salad, or pasta seafood salad, sushi, and some single serve soups that are really good.

In the frozen food aisle - egg rolls, cheese sticks, flavored chicken wings, lots of options here.

Lloyds BBQ is really good - BBQ sandwiches, you can put on top of chips for a BBQ nacho type thing

On taco night make a larger than normally batch, and use for taco salad, nachos.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

I generally take leftovers too but when that's not an option I usually go with the following...

- Big batches of turkey chili or soup. Freeze some and use some for lunches.
- Chicken salad. Kitchenaid mixer works wonders to shred it! Add some mayo, celery, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder. I like mine sweetened with grapes and granny smith apples. Usually I take crackers or a sandwich thin to eat it on.
- Occasionally I want an adult lunchable: Crackers, cheese, turkey pepperoni, carrots and dip or hummus, apple slices, etc. I like to switch it up and use stuff like prosciutto, brie, etc.
- Pasta salad: Bow tie pasta, sliced olives, pepperoni, cheddar cheese cubes, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, Italian dressing. Easy to just make a big batch and eat from it.
- Cold tuna noodle: Tuna, mayo, elbow noodles, onion, celery, salt, pepper, garlic powder.
- Crock put buffalo chicken: Mix shredded cooked chicken (I make mine in a crockpot) with buffalo wing sauce or hot sauce. We eat it on a salad, in a wrap, etc.

We also do salads a lot. I'll pan sear some chicken breasts and cut them up. We like Caesar, buffalo chicken, bbq (with ranch dressing, black beans, and corn.. so good), etc.

The buffalo chicken sounds sooo good because I've been craving wings but on a wrap...yummy

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

When I was working, I always tried to take my lunch, drinks, snacks.. whatever.

Frist tip, make sure you have lots of little containers to take your lunch in, all sizes and shapes. Lots of Ziplocs, foil and cling wrap( if you can use it.. its outlawed at my house!!) Also some utensils' and keep paper plates on hand to use to put your lunch on. I use to put pretty napkins that I had left over from some holiday or party or that I picked up somewhere in my lunch bag it made lunch seem a bit brighter. Pick up those picnic salt and pepper shaker to keep in your bag.

Planning out what you are going to have helps a lot to, go by what's seasonal and on sale.

I had a drawer that I kept - crackers at least 2 boxes, raisins/cranberries, a jar of peanut butter, breakfast / granola bars, something sweet and a couple of cans of soup, this was for when I did not have time or feel like putting together lunch. Drinks - a 12 pack of Coke, capri suns or some other juice pack and 6 pack of water under my desk.

Rotisserie chicken is good way to make a couple meals, chicken salad on a pita, with lettuce and tomato, chop into chunks to add in salads, add into some left over rice, or pasta.

Deli meat and Cheese roll ups / slice as pinwheels, you can use some soft spread flavored cream cheese in the middle, with a few crackers, lettuce and tomato salad, baby carrots, celery, apple slices.

Keep on hand, baby carrots, celery washed and chopped, grape tomatoes, bags of lettuce mix, a couple of different salad dressing, flour wraps, shredded cheese

Boiled eggs (a couple) ready to use for egg salad or to add into a chef salad or eat plain with some veggies and dip.

Check out the deli case's for some single serving options, We shop at Publix, and in there seafood department, in the cold case below there is always some type of seafood salad, or pasta seafood salad, sushi, and some single serve soups that are really good.

In the frozen food aisle - egg rolls, cheese sticks, flavored chicken wings, lots of options here.

Lloyds BBQ is really good - BBQ sandwiches, you can put on top of chips for a BBQ nacho type thing

On taco night make a larger than normally batch, and use for taco salad, nachos.

I'm beginning to think we are related!! Everything here sounds AMAZING! plus I need to take your idea of stashing some drinks in my office. I have a huge office so no excuses not to.

 

[Pesky]

I tend to use a lot of leftovers. Sometimes they are just the leftovers and sometimes I turn them into salads. Leftover taco meat plus lettuce and little shredded cheese, plus a lime cilantro dressing and a few crushed tortilla chips -- taco salad! Leftover grilled shrimp plus lettuce, parmesan, and dressing -- shrimp caesar salad! I keep a few go picnic boxes for emergencies and sometimes I just do greek yogurt with some granola or hummus with veggies and crackers. Agree with making sure you have plenty of containers of various sizes and consider what you can stash at work (bottle of salad dressing in the fridge, utensils and bowls, etc.).