Jump Start: Pack A Lunch!

Une femme ties on the feedbag

And snacks.

I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Really?? She’s just now figuring this out?!?”

It’s been decades since I’ve brown-bagged on a regular basis. I’ve been really resistant, mostly because the planning and prep required an investment of time, but also because in the past I’d frequently find myself tucking into my lonely little sandwich at 10:30 when morning hunger hit, and then have nothing to eat come lunchtime. And I thought I needed the freedom and spontaneity to choose my déjeuner based on my mood on any given day.

I know, we’re all supposed to be emulating those French Women who reportedly Never Snack. But I don’t function well physically or mentally if I go more than 4.5-5 hours without food (trust me, you don’t want to be around when my blood sugar drops!) and with my commute/work schedule the stretch between mealtimes can be upwards of 6-7 hours. So now most work days I generally pack a lunch and two snacks.

I know you’ll ask 😉 so here’s what’s on the menu above:

AM Snack: cottage cheese mixed with cinammon & diced apple
Lunch: wrap sandwich, salad, fruit
PM Snack: raw veggies, a small chunk of cheese

One thing I’ve learned in recent years is that I need a little protein with every meal or snack. It helps keep the aforementioned blood sugar levels well…level. Usually I prepare and pack it all up the night before, and have my assembly line down to a science so that it doesn’t take more than 20 minutes (including making a sandwich for le monsieur).

Side benefits:

  1. Even if I buy the fancy sliced lunch meat at the deli counter it’s still less expensive (and certainly healthier) than buying lunch from a deli or fast-food joint or the taco truck.
  2. It ultimately saves more time than it requires to put together (no more having to dash somewhere, wait in line).
  3. No worries now if I am suddenly scheduled on a conference call that starts at 11:30 and goes on for two hours.
  4. It frees up mental energy from daily decision making about what to eat, which is actually a huge relief!

And for salads, these are brilliant!

There’s a small container for your dressing that snaps right into the lid. I don’t know about you, but I love being able to have a fresh salad for lunch!

Do you pack a lunch regularly?  What are some of your favorite foods to brown bag? What do you use to transport your movable feast?
~

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36 Comments

  1. That looks delicious, I always pack a sandwich and a yoghurt for lunch.
    Oh and I don’t think “those French women’ exist, it’s an internet urban myth, I think there are weight conscious women all over the world.

  2. I don’t pack a lunch, but working in a densely populated financial/commercial environment, I can grab some roast chicken, or tandoori chicken, or Asian chicken salad (note the lean protein theme?) with lots of vegetables for $10 in 20 minutes. So I could budget more wisely but the nutrition is handled:).

  3. I’m quite spoiled with a semi-retired husband. When he’s around, he usually plans the dinners he makes so that there are leftovers for me and often even packs the leftovers up into the containers. Today’s lunch container contains fabulous curried chicken with rice, and I think there might even be a leftover chapati in the mix. As well as an arugula salad punctuated by cauliflower he pickled yesterday. . .

  4. When I worked in an office, I packed every day but Fridays, when the group went out. Restaurants give you too-big meals (unless it’s something like sushi, which you can order by the piece). And of course I’d overeat, not wanting to waste food.

    You post reminds me of one of my favourite “Cathy” comics, the one in which she says, looking at the sandwich served to her in a café “We don’t pay $10 for the sandwich, we pay them $10 to keep food away from us till noon!”

  5. We’ve always packed lunch, though ours our very plain compared to yours. Till recently–peanut butter sandwiches. Now usually a bean and cheese burrito, which we make assembly-line.

    I have a metabolism similar to yours, so I get an extra burrito or so and have one or a half around 10 and one on the way home.

  6. I go through phases where I will bring something left over for lunch, then periods where I can’t stand to eat whatever meal four times in a row. (Living alone creates a problem with meal planning and too much leftover from a baisc recipe.)

    There’s a good salad bar in the food court where they sell by weight. I often go there. I agree about the protein at every meal, I can include a hard boiled egg for protein with this meal. I figure it’s cheaper than buying salad stuff myself and having half of it rot in my fridge!

  7. Now that I’m working from home I don’t brown bag any more — but when I was lunching at work, it was Mr. Bento to the rescue. I liked being able to have something hot to eat without having to deal with the microwave and I’m a sucker for all things Japanese, so it was a win-win. (I find hot food keeps me full longer, even in the smaller portion size required by a bento-style lunch.)

    I usually took leftovers in the bottom two containers, and fruit/cookies in the top, plus a couple of pieces of string cheese in the outside pocket for a snack. Like you, I need regular protein intake to keep the blood sugar from going all over the joint.

    My one other hint for feeling satisfied when you pack a lunch is to have green or herbal tea with a dollop of honey for dessert. I find that it brings the meal to an end very nicely.

  8. In the “if it’s not one thing it’s another” column, I fret that I’m missing valuable work reconnaissance by not smoozing with my co-workers all the time. The never eat alone dictate.

  9. I rarely eat lunch out and I am a true believer in snacking. Yesterday my lunch consisted of swiss chard and chickpea fritters with a dollop of greek yogurt on top. The chickpeas provide my protein and the swiss chard provides my greens. I just mix up the patties in my food processor with some garlic, cumin, Feta cheese and a touch of flour to hold it all together. Brown it with some cooking spray. I refrigerate the patties and just microwave them when needed.

  10. I do this every day! I am sitting at my desk at work and I just had fat free cottage cheese, pineapple, and cinnamon for breakfast…I have an avocado hummus with celery and red bell pepper for lunch; sugar free jello for a snack and I am drinking my coffee with Sugar Free Hazelnut cream…I am trying very hard to go low carb!! I am also very blessed to have a small refrigerator in my classroom…after 13 years, it is almost an apartment!!!

  11. I often have last night’s leftovers which frequently taste better, but I do tend to get that ‘is it nearly lunchtime’ feeling quite early on.

    PS Hope that we can meet up when you’re in London.

  12. Yep, I’m a bagger! 90% of the time. I tend to eat soup and healthy choice meals. I really need to get more in line with the salad. Those bowls are awesome. I think they’ll help me! Thanks, I haven’t been to the grocery in months so I didn’t know about them.

  13. Never pack a lunch. I need to get out of my studio at lunchtime and have a different environment to sit in. There’s a little diner nearby where I eat everyday, and they have my meal down pat.

  14. I don´t remember having ever packed lunch for work.
    These days I snack with fruit or a sandwich ( rye ), or both.
    But – good for you!

  15. I don’t work outside the home but my husband does and I ask everyday if he wants a breakfast and lunch to go. It not only saves money but it keeps him from buying a huge salami and swiss on sourdough at his favorite deli (where he actually knows the sandwich maker by name) everyday like he would if I didn’t make him a healthy lunch.

  16. I keep at work:
    – single-portion cheese, either string-cheese-type portions, or packaged by me
    – a variety of canned soups, plus a mug to nuke it in
    – several flavors of almonds, which are easy to count out for a portion
    – several flavors of Triscuits
    – several kinds of Kashi granola bars involving dark chocolate
    – graham crackers
    I obviously have no problem with carbs!

    I take to work every day, in a small tote bag:
    – some kind of lite frozen entree. I don’t like sandwiches, and I find its hard to get enough protein otherwise.
    – a large portion of fresh fruit
    – a cloth napkin
    – real silverware, because life is too short for plastic

    I usually have a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack. I joke that I come to work just to have a little something to do between meals.

  17. For most of us, a small snack every few hours is so much healthier and will keep your blood sugar level stable. I tried to keep small snacks in my desk; other lazy people would take my food, so I found keeping cheese crackers or oatmeal bars in my purse helped.

  18. Having snacks with protein is very important which I just realized recently. I am starting to use my slow cooker so that I have a nutritious hot meal. The cottage cheese with an assortment of toppings, celery with peanut butter, cheese and crackers, a salad. I feel so much more ready for my next surgery!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

  19. I bring my lunch most days, although sometimes I know I need to force myself out of the office, so I make myself go out. I usually bring leftovers, and yes, I use those same containers! I had a nice little bento box, but it broke its latch, so now I need to go back to Little Tokyo and find another.

  20. The French that never snack? They start later in the morning and take a really long lunch–even the cafeterias in the offices have several courses. The French work day is not like the American one. 😉

  21. I’m on the same page …especially the economics of it! A tip I got from my 9year old granddaughter, an apple a day…she by the way eats at least 3 per day. It is the perfect lunch to pack, as it comes in its own container and you can put it in your bag, or pocket and it fills you up for several hours. Also I find that a chai tea satisfies my sweet tooth, and gives me the extra boost through the day, and then it is dinner!

  22. This post just warms my heart! As an avid “foodie” and dietetic professional, it makes me so happy to see so many people bringing their lunches to work!! It also seems easier than ever to find containers and cooler bags to bring them in as well so it definitely is a growing trend – and I think your fabulous salad containers is proof of that. I work from home but am a longtime “brown bag” veteran. As to snacking and a little protein throughout the day… keep up the great work! It’s much better for us to spread out our calories through the day so snacks are great as long as you figure them into your daily eating plan. My current lunch obsession, marinated carrot salad, homemade hummus with whole wheat pita bread and vegetable/grain salads!!!

  23. I bring the same lunch most days: salad made up of raw spinach or mixed lettuces, several grape tomatoes, either a 1 serving packet of tuna or salmon (alternate), roughly 1 tbsp fat-free balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Since I drive/commute 100 miles a day, I also bring breakfast with me as I leave around 4:45 am. This consists of low-sugar oatmeal with some raw almonds tossed in. For snacks I bring a 0% fat Greek yogurt, and a piece of fruit-either apple/pear/banana and eat one or the other either mid-morning or an hour or so before I head home. Between commute and work, I am away from home 12 hours a day. And I eat in my office…alone, thanks very much. I absolutely refuse to go to “brown bag” lunch meetings.

  24. Being rather frugal and a very good cook, I always brought a bagged lunch to work and I could control the portion size (which I think is the main problem buying your lunch). As a treat, my coworkers and I would go out to a really nice restaurant once a month. I too had to snack a lot until I started eating more fat at my meals. The common wisdom is protein at every meal, but I’ve found that fat is more satisfying (helps you absorb those vitamins from the veggies too). I keep the portions small so the calories are about the same, but using a tablespoon of peanut/almond butter on my toast, 1/2 cup whole milk in my morning cafe creme, 1 tbsp. of real salad dressing, and small portions of whole milk yogurt (much tastier) and cheese really satisfies me so I can easily go 5 hours without a snack and keeps my blood sugar levels more even as fat is digested more slowly than protein. The upshot is that I have stopped craving sugar and lost some of my belly fat and my skin is much more supple. Oh, and my cholesterol stats improved as well.

  25. I’m lucky to be able to come home for lunch, and my husband works at home so we eat together, usually leftovers or canned soup. I need snacks at work – raisins, nuts, Wheat Thins, always an apple for the afternoon. Plus I keep an emergency lunch of some kind, like instant mac and cheese, for those days I can’t get home (like today).

  26. I now work at home, but I still keep food with me when I’m out and about because I’m like you–when I get hungry, the world stops! I am a sucker for lunch totes. They are sort of like purses to me. Have discovered some practical solutions at Bed Bath and Beyond. Yeah, for you! Great post reminding me to stay on the healthy eating track. It’s easier now that some of the Christmas confections are out of the house!

  27. I bring my lunch almost every day — usually salad topped with turkey. We roast a turkey breast with seasoning every Sunday evening for the week. I keep a bottle of dressing (Annie’s shiitake and sesame is my favorite) in the fridge at work. For snacks, I bring a piece of fruit and I keep organic almond butter (from those machines you can grind fresh at the grocery story) and whole grain rye crackers around. I prefer bringing my lunch since my break doesn’t always occur at noon (it’s whenever I get a chance, which I prefer), and when I have my break I’d rather spend it going out for a brisk walk!

  28. I brownbag it too and I agree with the lady above who comments on the usefulness of fats in a meal to help you feel satisfied. I also find weight control much easier when fats and proteins are moderate, vegetables and fruits high and (non plant) carbs are low.

  29. Oh yes I do pack lunch every. single. day.

    My favourite snack (in summer only, sigh) is a fruit salad made of only seasonal-local fruits and a little handful of hazelnuts. Or roasted sliced almonds. Mmmmh!

  30. I bring my breakfast (oatmeal that I cook a few times a week, then package in serving-size containers, then heat at work again, and two hard-boiled eggs) and my lunch. Today lunch is a cup of ful medemes that I made this weekend and a cup of tomato-dill sauce for the fish we had on Sunday. I don’t want the fish at work – too smelly, but the sauce is good by itself.

    I also have a jar of peanut butter and a bag of almonds in my desk. And some chocolate.

    I am too frugal to buy lunch out every day. (I am also a good cook, so don’t need to eat out to get good food.) I spend my lunch hour at the gym, so eat at my desk when I am done.

  31. My problem is not the packing a lunch, it’s the carting around of my day tote plus the lunch box plus my field bag. I can only imagine I look like a well dressed bag lady. I have contemplated getting a larger tote but that would mean a bigger, heavier, and more unwieldy bag and my shoulder won’t tolerate that. Did I miss the memo on how to carry all these necessary work bags without posing as a sherpa?