Packed Lunches

If you had to pack a lunch, but had absolutely no access to (re)heating implements when it was time to eat, what would you pack? Or how would you pack it? Alternatively, any portable reheating implements you guys find invaluable?

I've been doing this for the last few weeks now and honestly don't mind having my meals cold. This week I'm eating roast chicken with a few boiled potatoes and raw broccoli + butternut squash, all stuffed in a food container. I'll take it to work and throw it in the fridge and eat straight from it come lunch time. I've done the same with fish and beef the past few weeks too and was never bothered by it being cold either.

What's your usual lunch Jason ?
 

Classic: chicken/turkey breast and rice. At room temperature it does not taste that bad :-).

I'm a little on the anal retentive side, so I do a salad in a jar. I've since added a second one with anything that doesn't go with the rest. I bought a vacuum pump to go with it so I can make these in advance and not have the leafy greens wilt by the time I'm ready to eat them. I also keep a 3 qt bowl at work to dump this into, as it shouldn't be mixed in the jar because of the dressing at the bottom (also making sure the greens don't wilt).

In addition to the above, I like cold meat salads (such as tuna salad and chicken salad). There are lots of good recipes out there that are easy to tweak for optimum health--two of my favorite chicken salads are bacon, pecan chicken salad and chicken Waldorf salad. 

Shrimp cocktail is another good cold protein. 

And if you just have to have something warm, a thermos with homemade soup/stew is always a good option  If you fill the thermos up with boiling water and let it sit for a second, it gets the thermos really hot. Put your food in immediately after dumping out the water and your food will stay warmer for longer.  

Bring a Jet Boil to work! haha. 

All jokes aside. The leaner the meat the more cold friendly it is. Example; chicken breast vs. ribs. Julia's idea of salads is pretty much what I do w/ olive oil for dressing. 

David you have been promoted to Captain OCD. 

Oh I almost forgot, I don't have a fridge at work either! I can bring an ice box though. I always end up either making food and eating it at home, or going to whole foods next to work if I can't do that. My usual lunch is beef or salmon with rice or potatoes and a heap of green stuff. Sometimes with avocado. My meals are pretty bland but the food still tastes delicious. I'm not a fan of cold food at all, I'm actually surprised that's what most suggestions are! If I was to do it, I'd probably go with the salad, can't stand cold sandwiches. The thermos idea is promising though, I do have a slow cooker I need to learn how to use! Any good stew recipes? 

Oh man! You don't like cold food. Good to know

I don't know if your work set up would allow this, but my dad has used one of these mini crockpots before in his office. You put your cold food in there when you leave the house, and plug it in at your office. It slowly warms up your food while you work! 

As for big crockpot recipes, my favorite beef stew is this one from Emeril. The spices are so good.  I throw everything into the slow cooker (without browning or sauteeing anything first), skip the flour (or use tapioca starch instead), and skip the peas. If you want a thicker stew, then just use a half cup of stock (the meat and vegetables will release a lot of water in the crockpot). 

I've also made borscht in the slow cooker before too, which is basically beef stew with different spices and beets added.

Oh! Also, if you can go home for lunch, this recipe for slow cooker cashew chicken is fantastic. Turns out 4 hours on low is the best time in the slow cooker for chicken that is tender, but not falling apart and disintegrating. If you put this recipe in before you went to work, when you came home for lunch it would be ready to eat! 

I'll try the beef stew first so I can yell BAM! when putting in the finishing touches. Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi 

I'm on the road all the time and like to pack full home cooked meals in my cooler bag. I bought a microwave from that hooks up to the car and use that to heat my food. It was expensive but way cheaper then buying lunch everyday. When im lazy and don't feel like hooking it up I just eat it cold 

Nice!

Now that it is warming up here in Texas I can use my car hood as a grill

2 minutes ago, Jason Dupree said:

Now that it is warming up here in Texas I can use my car hood as a grill

This is truth. I used to live in the Austin/San Antonio area--there are recipe books for cooking with your car! Ha!