Tired of sandwiches for lunch.

[MrsPiglet]

I need help. I take my lunch to work everyday. Yes we have microwaves and a stove but I always seem to be taking either a chicken salad or ham sandwich and chips.

What do you take, I looking for ideas?

 

[Kermit]

I love soup for lunch. When I was working, I'd make big pots of soup on the weekends. Then I'd freeze individual servings in sandwich-sized freezer bags. The night before, I'd put the bag in the fridge. Then in the morning, I'd empty the contents into one of those small Corningware dishes with the plastic lids. (If you forget to start defrosting the bag the night before, run it under hot tap water a few minutes to loosen the soup enough to get it out.) Then I'd obviously heat the soup at lunch. I usually took a roll, corn bread muffin, slice of bread, or something like that with me, too. I kept a package of disposible spoons in my desk so I didn't have to take one each day.

 

[musicfan]

I take a large head of raw broccoli and two slices of pepper jack soy cheese -- I microwave the broccoli for 8 minutes, then put the soy cheese on it and wait for it to melt. YUM!!!

Or I make myself a big salad with greens, carrots, cucumbers and crumbled feta cheese at home and take some out of it every day for work. I also bring a tupperware container with my salad dressing in it.

I bring lots of grapes to snack on.

 

[DixieDreamer]

I pack my lunch to work everyday. I eat low carb, but here is a what I typically take:

1/2 cup of chicken salad made from white meat diced up, some mayo, celery, and onion - on a bed of romaine lettuce with some bottled water.

Chef salad - strips of ham, turkey, and cheese with a sliced up hard boiled egg on a bed or romaine lettuce. I bring 2 TBS of ranch dressing in it's own small container and put it on at the last minute - plus bottled water.

Steak salad - strips of steak sliced up on a bed of salad greens (either romaine or baby spinach). Separate container of ranch or blue cheese dressing and of course... some water!

Chicken Taco Salad - strips of grilled chicken, 1/4 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup of diced fresh garden tomatoes, 1/2 of a small ripe avocado sliced on a bed of romaine lettuce. I bring 1/4 cup of sour cream in a separate container and add it at the last minute. With... YOU GUESSED IT... bottled water!

If I am in a real hurry... I grab left overs from the dinner the night before and just have a repeat... usually a roasted chicken thigh and some steamed brocolli with some butter... just microwave both for a minute to warm up... and have it with... you guessed it... some water!

I eat good.

 

[BethR]

DH has started to take his lunch after 20 years of eating at his company's food service. He was moved to a new facility and they did not provide food service!!!
DH has never been much of a sandwich eater, so what I have been doing is to try to make at least one extra serving of dinner each night. I bought a lot of those Glad Ware containers and I pack his lunch as I am cleaning up after dinner each night.
Sometimes I try to make sure that I have a LOT left over to pack up individual servings in the freezer - things like chili, stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbages, etc. Then I have those for days when we have not had dinner at home.
I also keep cans of chunky soups on hand for when there is NOTHING.
I usually try to pack a piece of fruit and a snack cake and voila - DH's lunch with very little effort and hopefully some variety.

 

[JasonLyons]

how could anyone ever get tired of a sandwich

 

[browneyes]

I go get me something quick or I eat snack mix. I brought leftover pizza the other day though. I usually don't take much of a lunch break anyway.

Bring you a crock pot and some soup or stew in it. Yum.

 

[missymouse3367]

How about taking left overs? What about Hot Pockets?
We get most of our lunches are provided by Pharmacy Reps so I usually don't have to worry about it. I am trying to eat more sensible so it can be tuff. There are times when the rep cancels 2 the last min., in that case I eat one of my Smart Ones or have soup. I will go out if our schedule isn't to bad.

 

[BethR]

Originally posted by missymouse3367
We get most of our lunches are provided by Pharmacy Reps so I usually don't have to worry about it.

Don't mean to go off topic here but -

missymouse, I don't know where you work, but my DD is a pharmacy student and she tells me that Pharmacy Reps will have a lot more restriction placed on them regarding providing things like meals etc. to Dr's offices and pharmacists and pharmacies. Have you heard anything about this?

 

[missymouse3367]

BethR .. I work @ a Dr's office and yes we have seen a big drop in the Reps bringing us stuff. We are allowed to have meals there just has to be a message behind it ie.. a speech about the product. It is a little difficult to do this on the golf course. I am sure that the rules will change even more. They have started inviting us nurses to some of the conferences.

 

[BethR]

Interesting missymouse. I was telling our Pharm Student DD that our Chemistry Studnet DD may be interested in being a Pharm Rep "since she likes to talk to people and she could just go in and out of offices with food and gifts in hand." That is when the Pharm Student DD told me that things were really changing and that the days of gift and food laden Pharm Reps were going to be a thing of the past.
I am sure that there is good reason - but it is too bad for those who work in Dr's offices!

 

[missymouse3367]

Yes it is a bad thing for those of us who work in the office, it saves me alot of money. those of us who do work there do not get paid very well.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I bought some divided plastic plates with clip-on lids. When we have leftovers at dinner, I make a homemade tv dinner. I mark it with the date, pop it in the freezer and it's handy for dh to take to work or for my lunch at home.

 

[MrsPiglet]

Since I am working two jobs I don't normally cook dinner. DH fixes something quick for him and DD for dinner and the nights I don't work the second job we normally go out (I seem to be too tired to cook). Don't get to cook much lately on the weekends since, i normally work weekends lately.

Never tried the hot pockets or many of the tv dinners, Are they any good? and the broccili idea sounds really good Do you put it in water? I will have to try the soup and salads ideas
Thanks for helping

 

[MerryPoppins]

How about cooking several things on the weekend and pre-packaging them? Or even putting something in the crockpot. The only problem with this idea, is if you are the only one eating it you may get tired of it before it's all gone. Not much variety, but if it's something you like . . .

 

[musicfan]

No, the great thing about the broccoli is that you don't need any water to microwave it. I just put it in a bowl (with a plate over the top of the bowl to keep the steam in) and turn it on! About 6 minutes for a really small head and 8 minutes for a really large one. Oh, and I cut it up into pieces before I cook it -- usually quarters for a small head and eighths for a large head. After it cooks, there is always a little water in the bottom of thebowl, and I just hold the broccoli with my fork and tip the bowl to pour out the water. Then I put the soycheese slices on top, put the plate back on top to hold in the heat, and let the soycheese melt for a minute or so. Then take the top plate off and viola!, a totally yummy lunch that usually holds me longer than just a salad. Good and good for ya!

 

[clutter]

Try bringing in a potato to "bake" in the microwave. I have some small containers for some fixings.

 

[Poohbear123]

I eat "lunch" at 10:00am in the morning. I had a Horrible Roast Beef on Whole Wheat with Swiss Cheese today, and tomorrow, I am thinking of having Soup! YES I am SICK of Sandwhiches!

 

[d.kurz]

Sheesh! I forgot to make lunches. Thanks for the reminder. Not time to DIS yet, I guess....

 

[Kallison]

I work in a middle school and the cafe food is high fat - fries, burgers, nachos, pizza -- I can't believe the stuff they feed to the kids, and they wonder why they have a weight problem at younger ages! Then they all top it off with a 16 oz. Pepsi and bounce off the walls all afternoon.

I buy two for one on sale - Lean Pockets or the single serving Lean Cuisine. I like to have a hot lunch.