Food at work

[u/daniel43211234]

Need some ideas for food to bring to work with me.

I am unfortunately a panda on team so a lot of the time I don’t have the luxury of a microwave and need to eat in the car, in hospital or somewhere else. With this I was wondering what are peoples best lunch ideas that don’t require heating up.

My current rotation is a number of sandwiches with various snacks and fruit but this is starting to get mundane.

I’m also one of them “freaks” that eat on night shifts so this is an important issue to address before I get sick of my deli meat and mustard sandwiches.

[u/catninjaambush]

You can get some decent flasks for stews/soups/chilli and whatnot. Then just pour into a bowl perhaps have some bread for dipping.

[u/morleysbelt → u/catninjaambush]

Yeah i often make curry and put it in a thermos. The one i got has a spoon built into the lid which is convenient. Bring some chapatti or roti to have with it. Good times.

Ill also make ramen broth, or a thai chicken soup, then just have some noodles in a seperate container (so they dont go mushy), just dump the noodles in the broth when its go time. Its a decent hot meal you can pack with meat and veg.

I think the thermos i got cost about £20 but keeps food hot for an entire shift, one of my best purchases in the job.

[u/boltyjr]

I'm big into wraps at the moment, don't like eating hot food for lunch when it's boiling outside. Bang some chicken thighs in the oven or air fryer for 15 mins, with your seasoning of choice. Then just chuck some salad bits in a wrap with some sort of sauce, ceaser dressing, sour cream and hot sauce etc. Can eat anywhere hot or cold

[u/Unheller → u/boltyjr]

I'm also big on wraps. Normally slow cook and make enough for a set, pork or chicken, salad, cheese etc. 2 in fridge, rest in freezer.

Bonus: remove a wrap and you get yourself a salad box 🤯

[u/daniel43211234 → u/boltyjr]

I’ve tried wraps before, main issue was how do you keep them from unravelling?

[u/Jazzlike-Plate-4616 → u/daniel43211234]

Sear the seam on a pan to seal it, or just wrap the thing in foil. Or do both

[u/anabsentfriend → u/daniel43211234]

I used a large tortilla, roll it up so that each end is wrapped. Cut it in half and put in a small lunch box.

When I was on shifts. I did a pasta bake and portioned it into small lunch boxes (takeaway tubs are good). If I had access to a microwave I'd heat it up, otherwise it was fine to eat cold.

[u/chin_waghing]

I’ve got a meal, spaghetti, that I make and it’s super idiotic friendly that you can stick straight in the Tupperware hot and it doesn’t go stodgy 12 hour later when you eat it, and it tastes good hot or cold.

Happy to share if you want?

EDIT: adding below links to recipes

• https://cdn.breadnet.co.uk/Plant-Based%20Sun-Dried%20Tomato%20Spaghetti.pdf
• https://cdn.breadnet.co.uk/German-Style%20Curried%20Meat-Free%20Sausage%20Tray%20Bake.pdf

Despite saying plant based, you can literally just use normal sausages. The lack of meat is a conscious decision due to banging them straight in the gammy fridge at the nick, you won’t get salmonella

Enjoy

[u/daniel43211234 → u/chin_waghing]

Aye share it please

[u/chin_waghing → u/daniel43211234]

I’ve updated my comment with the recipes! They’re super simple and cook quickly and taste absolutely amazing

[u/I-Ribbit]

In the winter, I have a hot flask with soup, stew, chilli etc. Batch cook and portion it up in the freezer, heat it up before your shift then stick it in the flask. In the summer, I make poke bowls, wraps or do rice/quinoa based protein bowls. The Merchant microwave or Veetee packets are great for this. You use that as your base then add some salmon, chicken, prawns (or whatever else you fancy), cucumber, olives, cherry tomatoes, a boiled egg or two, hummus, some spicy mayo (keep that in a separate pot to add when you eat), seeds - you can mix up anything you want. There is an amount of food prep involved but it’s worth it to have a lunch you actually look forward to eating.

[u/I-Ribbit → u/I-Ribbit]

Forgot to add, it’s also worth getting yourself some decent containers for your food. I recently got these Brum & Black bowls which are leakproof, non plastic, dishwasher and microwave safe. I don’t know how much you can carry but a small insulated lunch bag goes a long way in the summer too. Put a small ice pack in and it will keep everything cool.

[u/Jesklmo]

My go to's are: Overnight oats- oats, chia seeds, cocoa, bit of frozen fruit maybe, poss honey or extra seeds then milk, leave in flask until nighttime munchies come - nutritious, filling and yummy!

Salad - but I rarely use leaves! I do cous cous or rice noodles with a variety of: olives, tomatoes, grated carrot, jarred artichoke, hummus, hard boiled egg, cubed cheese

Diet shakes - not on a diet, but quick, convenient, nutrient rich and filling to have two scoops ready to be topped up by water bottle when you can't get somewhere!

For snacks I buy oat bars, fig rolls, popcorn, rice cakes, cut carrot.

[u/justdont7133]

Rice bowls are good for a bit of variety and can be eaten cold. I cook sushi rice (usually have it warm for dinner the day before and save a portion), then add salad, chicken, top with something like teriyaki and kewpie mayo. Just need to make sure you cook it properly, and store in a lunch bag with an ice pack so it stays cold til you're eating

[u/sparkie187]

Finish late - have a claim up

[u/daniel43211234 → u/sparkie187]

Somehow I forget to claim every single time, I’ve still got like 5 claims to do for the past 2 months

[u/EpicEpicnessTheEpic]

Stainless steel Thermos food flask - I retired in 2017 and the one I bought in 2006 is still going strong after surviving in my kit bag for years, being bounced around in a motorcycle top box, etc.

Fill it with boiling water for five minutes, empty and put your hot food in. It'll last about six hours easily.