If you take your lunch to work with you, it’s easy to fall into the rut of taking the same one or two things day in and day out. Sandwich, frozen microwaveable meal, sandwich, frozen meal. How do you keep your lunches interesting, and at the same time, easy to prepare?
One way is to take leftovers with you, and even possibly transform them into a different meal. Try packing a leftover grilled chicken breast along with a container of chopped lettuce, shredded carrot, and sliced cucumber, plus a little leftover plain pasta and a container of salad dressing. Instant grilled chicken salad! You can also make a dish specifically for lunches, such as a batch of Festival Pasta Salad, and take it several days during the week. Here are some other options.
Making sandwiches better
Sandwiches made several hours in advance get a little soggy by the time you get around to eating them. Remember back in school, when sandwiches sat in your locker all morning? Now, when I pack my lunch for work, I often pack ingredients separately and construct my sandwich when it’s time to eat it. It is a bit more work this way but it sure beats a soggy sandwich.
I recommend investing in reusable lunch containers (Sistema and Rubbermaid make good ones). The containers come in different sizes; the mini ones can hold condiments, salsa, pickle chips, sliced vegetables, and even snacks such as nuts, olives, or raisins; the medium ones are great for meats, cheeses, and other sandwich fillings; and the larger ones neatly contain bread slices. A bento box is another terrific option for keeping ingredients separated.
I always keep leftover condiment packets from restaurants; they work great for making a sandwich on-site.
For a change of pace, make your sandwich on a bagel instead of bread, or rolled up inside a large leaf of lettuce or a tortilla. Something as simple as heating up the sandwich can instantly make it new and interesting. For some more great sandwich ideas, see the Sandwich Mix & Match page.
Things that go great with sandwiches include fresh or dried fruit, carrot or celery sticks with Creamy Hummus, Spinach Salad with Summer Fruit, cubed cheese, pretzels, crackers, or a small bowl of Classic Tomato Soup.
The “Plough-person’s Lunch”
Popular in Great Britain, the Ploughman’s Lunch (I call it “Plough-person” to be more inclusive) is a box lunch often served at pubs alongside pints of ale. Easily prepared ahead of time, it is perfect for a quick snack or meal. It generally consists of a slab of cheese, bread, Branston Pickle (a sweet relish made from assorted vegetables), and any number of vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, or coleslaw.
You can include anything you like in your Plough-person’s lunch. Branston Pickle is not easy to find in the United States; substitute sweet or dill pickles. Just remember: small bits of a lot of different things! Bento boxes are great for this purpose, too. Some foods you can include:
- Crackers
- Slices of hearty bread
- Small container of Creamy Hummus or Speedy Spicy Guacamole
- Cheese (cubed or sliced)
- Leftover grilled chicken, shrimp, or other meats
- Small sweet or dill pickles
- Fresh fruit, such as grapes or a sliced apple or pear
- Raw veggies, like grape tomatoes, broccoli florets, baby carrots, or celery sticks
- Raisins, dried apricots, or dried coconut
- Olives
- Nuts
- M&Ms