Lunch Ideas

[SimplyComplex]

I need ideas for lunches... I have a fridge and microwave where I work. I want stuff that I can make a bunch of Sunday night and it will carry over for a few days (or all week). Preferably a bit healthier (hot pockets are getting a bit old ) but not so healthy its gross (like salad or something). Also, as a warning, if it sounds really good or something, I might ask for a recipe, so be prepared!


Any ideas?

[John81]

Lunch? What's that? We eat breakfast, dinner and supper 'round here. :smile

Have you tried the new Minute Rice in cups that can be microwaved? They work great, can be mixed with other things and only takes 60 seconds per cup.

How about the various flavored pizza rolls/snacks out there today. The last ones I had only took 90 seconds to nuke the whole package.

The even have cups of microwavable peas now!

Sometimes I'll nuke a few things and mix 'em together. Like rice and chicken tenders, or rice and peas, etc.

There is getting to be a lot of choices for microwaving now.

[5dumplings@home]

soup or chili works well for a few days.

[SimplyComplex]

soup or chili works well for a few days.

I do chili sometimes, but I don't know how to make soup, and the canned stuff gets old.

Lunch? What's that? We eat breakfast, dinner and supper 'round here. :smile

Have you tried the new Minute Rice in cups that can be microwaved? They work great, can be mixed with other things and only takes 60 seconds per cup.

How about the various flavored pizza rolls/snacks out there today. The last ones I had only took 90 seconds to nuke the whole package.

The even have cups of microwavable peas now!

Sometimes I'll nuke a few things and mix 'em together. Like rice and chicken tenders, or rice and peas, etc.

There is getting to be a lot of choices for microwaving now.

Hmmm.... the rice thing sound interesting. I'll have to see if we have those here. The pizza thing is sorta what I usually do, but they're just so greasy and such...

[LAF]

I like the Lean Cusine frozen dinners ,they are pretty healthy ,and qucik for lunch .

[5dumplings@home]

quick and easy minestrone

ground beef cooked with onions(amount varies according to how much I want)

drain, add frozen, mixed veggies and heat a couple of minutes (add sliced fresh mushrooms here,too, if you like them) and 1/2-3/4 tsp of Italian seasoning...or pizza sauce spices work well too
add one box of beef broth (32 oz), 12 oz can V-8, can of diced tomatoes, can of white or pinto beans...bring to a boil and then add

barley or pasta...barley holds better for leftovers...cook 'til done.

[SimplyComplex]

quick and easy minestrone

ground beef cooked with onions(amount varies according to how much I want)

drain, add frozen, mixed veggies and heat a couple of minutes (add sliced fresh mushrooms here,too, if you like them) and 1/2-3/4 tsp of Italian seasoning...or pizza sauce spices work well too
add one box of beef broth (32 oz), 12 oz can V-8, can of diced tomatoes, can of white or pinto beans...bring to a boil and then add

barley or pasta...barley holds better for leftovers...cook 'til done.

that sounds so good, and so easy! thanks, I'll have to try it!

[qwerty guy]

I prep all my lunches at once for the week also. I cut a tomato, onion and head of lettuce and seperate them in sandwich bags. I then make 3 containers that have what I need to make a great sandwich, but it is just as good on Wed because nothing is touching. I cook up rice and throw it in the fridge, and buy the big yogurt containter for about 2 bucks, and portion it out (mmm strawberry yogurt) Thur and Fri my lunch is usually a mix of precooked stuff like the rice I have prepped, and I throw in stuff from the week.. like when I make some bacon I'll make 2 extra slices, and throw em in the fridge knowing that will be crushed into the rice later...

Mainly I've learned that I hate how long it takes to make a lunch every day, but I can make a lunch for 5 days in about the same amount of time. But a sandwich on fri that you made on sunday is just... well.. nasty.

For meat I just buy the Carl Buddy meats... about 80 cents and it's enough for 2 sandwiches, and they keep for a couple weeks.

What it breaks down too is keeping things seperated. I assemble the sandwiches at work when it's time to eat. I put everything into the rice and heat it up when it's time to eat. I just use the cheapest sandwich bags you can buy, I think they are like 90 cents for 300 and it's just a roll of bags.

[John81]

The pizza rolls/snacks I usually cook, if you put them on two paper towels they don't tend to come out greasy.

The Wal-Marts in this area have those Minute Rice cups for the microwave.

[matie-k]

Spaghetti-O's! (I really do like them!) - I don't suppose that's the sort of idea you were looking for though, eh? :ooops

[Lee-Anne]

My sister in law makes her lunches for the week as well. She has small cans of tuna and crackers at work for emergencies.
Some of the things she does are;
she cooks big pots of different types of pasta meals and freezes them in portion size freezer/microwave containers
She freezes leftovers and takes them to work

[Bakershalfdozen]

If you want real food, doing what LeeAnn suggested is what I would do.

If you take a different item for lunch every day, you can make several meals, freeze them and have enough for several weeks.

Lasagne
Spaghetti
Chicken and rice bake
Chicken pot pie
Stroganoff
Stirfrys
Casseroles
Pot roast

If you want any recipes, let me know.

For variety, qwerty's sandwich idea is good too. The tuna and crackers thing is good.

One thing I used to do when my son went to school (as opposed to homeschooling) was to take a whole loaf of bread and make PB&J sandwiches. Put the sandwiches into individual baggies and put them in the freezer. Whenever you want PB&J for lunch, take one out, carry it to work in your lunch container and it will be ready to eat by lunchtime.

To get your veggies, buy those baby carrots that are ready to eat. You can also chop your own veggies: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

Apples, bananas pack well in a lunch.

Pretzels are healthier than chips and are cheap.

[LindaR]

quick and easy minestrone

ground beef cooked with onions(amount varies according to how much I want)

drain, add frozen, mixed veggies and heat a couple of minutes (add sliced fresh mushrooms here,too, if you like them) and 1/2-3/4 tsp of Italian seasoning...or pizza sauce spices work well too
add one box of beef broth (32 oz), 12 oz can V-8, can of diced tomatoes, can of white or pinto beans...bring to a boil and then add

barley or pasta...barley holds better for leftovers...cook 'til done.

That sounds really yummy. I have several questions:

What is a box of beef broth? I've only seen beef broth in cans. How many ounces of beef broth do you use?

Are the cans of diced tomatoes and beans 15oz. cans?

How much barley or pasta?

Here's a side dish recipe I got from one of the ladies at church. I don't know what she calls it, but it sounds really easy and I'm going to make it for our church fellowship after church tomorrow night:

1 stick of butter or margarine (8 TBSP)
1 15 oz. whole kernel sweet corn (drained)
1 14.75 oz. of cream style corn
3 oz. uncooked spaghetti, broken up
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Melt butter or margarine in an 8" square baking dish. (microwave is fastest way) Add the cans of corn (don't drain the cream style corn) and spaghetti. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I've never made this before. Tomorrow will be my first shot. I'll let y'all know how this turns out.

[SimplyComplex]

Spaghetti-O's! (I really do like them!) - I don't suppose that's the sort of idea you were looking for though' date=' eh? :ooops[/quote']

hehe! actually, I bought a can opener for work so I could eat those :frog



I just made it for this week, and its REALLY good!! I'll be eating this for the next few days... :frog something to remember for the future though... a whole 1lb box of pasta is too much! You need more liquid that way... the pasta is yummy though. :lol

[SimplyComplex]

That sounds really yummy. I have several questions:

What is a box of beef broth? I've only seen beef broth in cans. How many ounces of beef broth do you use?

Are the cans of diced tomatoes and beans 15oz. cans?

How much barley or pasta?

A box of broth is 32oz.

I used a 16oz can of beans, and half of a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes (all the juice though, I just don't really like tomatoes)

I used a whole 1lb box of pasta which I like because I'm not a big fan of veggies, so its more filling, but you need more liquid if you do that. I'm thinking about half the box would have been good.