packing a lunch

[svartidaudi]

Hey all,

I have long hours at university this semester and am going to start packing a lunch to take with me to save on food; since eating out every day would be expensive.

I was thinking that a sandwich might get boring although it's certainly an option, so I was looking to brainstorm ideas for what else to bring? I will not have access to a microwave or a fridge so it has to be edible at room temperature and won't spoil. Also...being 20, pudding cups and pb&j has kind of lost it's appeal.

I'll also be looking into a cute lunchbox and small containers so I can reuse them.

emotion_yatta yum_puddi

Thoughts?

[sugar gone bad]

dried fruit, chips, and those single serving containers of soup and ravioli come to mind.

[Patarr]

I still vote homemade sushi. You can go with just veggies in it, no need for fish (itll hike the price up), and you wont need to heat it up! and bomb it with sriracha biggrin

soup/ravioli or spaghettios seem like a decent cheap lunch.

pita bread & hummus?

hmmm

[misleading space shibe]

Are you considering buying an insulated lunch bag too? And some ice packs?

'cause this is what I brought for my uni lunch today...potstickers, broccoli, rice and the bottom tier is a bunch of fruit i had on hand tossed with a little bit of honey and lemon juice. my container's childish, but it's a pretty awesome 2-tier. >_>
I leave the food in the fridge until almost right before I have to leave.

I just treat it like any other meal, but I'm not sure how long it is from you at home to when you eat lunch. I usually consumer my food after about 3-4 hours at uni. Additionally, my food's normally not in a hot~ish environment for more than half an hour. Oh how I love that the buses have AC and so does my school.

[Duo-chan_in_wonderland]

Id have to agree with the person above me and cast my vote in for bentos. I commonly take a small two tiered lunchbox with me to campus filled with rice, some kind of veg, and whatever else I happen to have onhand.

[Meline Moon]

I second the hummus idea. I find that hummus tastes better warm or at room temp. I think it was Sabre that makes little singles cups that are good for dipping veggies or chips in. Also have you thought about nuts? You can also choose to make something ahead of time like a smoothie, then freeze it over night then have it the next day. That way you don't have to worry about keeping things cold.

[Pikkewyn]

Sandwiches don't get boring to me, as long as I put something different on them every day. And switching up types of bread also helps to bring variety.
You also could bring wraps, or look into the Japanese bento boxes.
There are also several recipes for salad-jars online, which are also suitable to use for lunch.

[Sweet_Sukkari]

sucks when you never have the food that you really wanna pack.

[Majikkani_Hand]

You can bring stuff that has to be kept warm or cold--you'll just need the right equipment (freezer "blue packs" or a thermos.) I liked to take couscous during high school, and egg salad occasionally at work, or curried chicken and potatos, or chevre and crackers. I also liked to take omelets--make the night before, put in box (expect it to lose shape, but whatever XD) and if it's going to be sitting throw a cold pack in there. Omelets are good because you can change up the ingredients--it got to the point where I was throwing weird things like lentils in there, because it was just so much fun to experiment. ^^ I never had a thermos that I trusted (ours was old and the seal was eeeever so slightly messed up, and it would sometimes spill), so I never took hot soup, but I wanted to.

[Faizett]

I really can't stress enough about using ice packs. Getting food poisoning would suck big time. So look for functionality and not just for looks. As for food I usually pack leftovers, dried food, water and an apple.

[svartidaudi]

I really don't mean to be rude and I appreciate the suggestions but I did stress in my OP that the food HAD to be kept room temperature, you guys.

I don't have access to a microwave or a fridge at school and I'm there from 8am to 4:45pm so an ice pack won't really work. Days when I take a frozen water bottle, it's melted before the day is even half over.

I also only have a stove top at my apartment (no oven, microwave, toaster, nothing) so that is an additional complication.

[cupcakes44]

You can eat vegetables with some rice maybe. How about pita bread with some kind of dip. And for dessert, pudding, fruits, or a type of granola bar.

[pacaplus]

When I bring a lunch to eat between classes, I pack:
-veggies and dip
-crackers/cheese/meat
-fruits like bananas/apples/strawberries/grapes
-chips/pretzels/other snack foods
-beef jerky
-leftovers (there is a microwave in the campus lunchroom that I can use)
-chicken salad sandwich with a cold pack next to the baggie
-cheese cubes/string cheese

I have to say though, the best thing would definitely be a salad. Load it up with cheese and meat and veggies, and have it all mixed in a container and ready to go for when you pull it out. I will usually bring a little thing of dressing to put on it as I like. It's still good at room temperature, though I like to feel fancy and bring a cold pak and chill it in my bag.

[Salem Jones]

If you get one of those insulated lunch bags with the ice packs that you freeze the night before, and keep the lunch bag sealed, it should keep everything at a decent temperature, even at the end of the day when it's semi melted or whatever... I think it would still be an alright temperature. Haven't you ever had an ice chest full of ice and drinks? Even after hours of sitting, the water would be bone chilling to stick your hand into blaugh

Leftovers of whatever you had for dinner the night before are good to pack... if you make salads the night before, I'd advise that you maybe throw some clean paper towels in the bottom and top of the container, since in my experience, salad can get easily soggy sweatdrop
Sandwiches are good, and like someone else said, you can always mix and match with ingredients if your feel like it's getting boring.
If you like canned meats like Vienna Sausages or Deviled Ham, you can bring a can of those and some crackers or bread to spread it on.

If you have access to one of those nifty water coolers that has a hot water dispenser (perhaps if you can find a lounge area?), you can make a cup of miso soup (the dried kind you get in the Asian aisle) or a cup of ramen.
Trail mix, dried fruits, nuts, beef jerky are all good snacks... carrots and celery would also be okay as long as the weather isn't sweltering.

[tomoyo_claire]

pita brea and hummus!