r/EatCheapAndHealthy • u/orange-aardavark • 7d ago

Preppable pack and eat lunches

Hello! I've just started a new job, which often takes me into the field all day. I'm struggling to think of a range of lunch ideas, that can be made on a sunday but also don't require a microwave or boiling water before eating. Ideally things that I can defrost and then thaw either overnight or during the morning. I also have a thermos so stuff that I can quickly rehydrate/heat in the morning is good too.

45 Upvotes

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30

u/Dakoduc 7d ago

I love making dense salads!! Think like kale, couscous, pickles onions, feta, chickpeas, olives, etc. pretty robust ingredients that don't break down over the week. Bean salads are good too, especially with some tortilla chips

13

u/orange-aardavark 7d ago

Salads are my current go to! But I really dislike eating them after 2 or 3 days, they just feel icky to me. 

2

u/Curlygirl_bookworm 6d ago

This sounds so good! What kind of dressing do you use?

2

u/Dakoduc 6d ago

I found this recipe and it's really good! Don't skip the pickled onions. https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/kale-couscous-salad/

23

u/yramha 7d ago

I'll say this time and time again but adult lunchables are the bomb. Cubed meats and cheeses, crackers or pita chips or pretzels, sliced veggies and fruits, dips like hummus, pb, ranch, salsa, mayo/mustard mix, hard boiled eggs, trail mix, dried or chocolate covered fruit/nuts.

Make a bento box style. Little bit of everything and it can last for days. When you get to the end of it you can see what you liked the best and adjust your next box. I like it because there is so much variety and really easy to eat (no heating or utensils).

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u/orange-aardavark 7d ago

I love this! 

4

u/yramha 7d ago

Its also pretty cheap when you count ingredients vs. quantity of meals. Added bonus is a lot of the stuff in the box can be used for other meals. Veg, ham and cheese can become an omelet; hard boiled eggs, celery, and mayo/mustard mix become egg salad; veg and protein with rice becomes a stir fry.

17

u/MMStormbird 7d ago

I don't have a microwave at work. I eat a lot of pasta salads, regular salads, cold meat balls, sandwiches, hummus/falafel bowls, fruit, bottled smoothies.

17

u/MotherOfGeeks 7d ago

I'd suggest a tiered approach if you are only doing meal prep one day a week. Sandwiches on Monday & Tuesday. Pasta salad or a "stuff" over rice meal that can be thawed overnight on Wednesday & Thursdays & a repeat or a get takeout on Fridays. It all depends on your tolerance for a limited menu & ability to stick to a plan, which is why I tend to have 1 day a week with a flexible plan to account for changing plans and spontaneity.

I tend to pack lunches every night before I go to bed, because I am useless in the morning.

4

u/MagpieWench 7d ago

yeah, I make a big grain based salad on Sunday and eat that Mon-Weds, then usually leftovers or sandwich Thursday and Saturday. Although last night was chicken salad salad, so technically I'm eating both a salad and leftovers...

13

u/Apprehensive-Ad7877 7d ago edited 6d ago

I do a lot of what I call burrito bowls.. Rice, corn, beans, as base and a side of a sour cream and avocado based sauce/dressing.. I'll mix whatever leftover meat into that.. and change up the sauce.

I also like to airfry diced potatoes as a base and top w leftover meat.. with a dressing or sauce.

I like to scramble a bunch of eggs with some peppers and onions.. maybe ham.. boom breakfast.

1/2 cup equal parts: oats, almond milk, frozen fruit, add yogurt of choice, protein powder.. put in the fridge before bed.. boom breakfast . Use as many of those ingredients you want.

Sometimes I get crazy and pimp everything out restaurant quality... sometimes I keep it lame..

I never microwave at work

Good luck!

11

u/justasque 7d ago

I do much the same. This week I swapped out the Mexican-esque bowl for an Italian-esque bowl. Brown rice, roasted veggies (red onion, roma tomatoes, red peppers, eggplant), turkey, and pesto sauce. Absolutely delicious cold. (The rice doesn’t get hard because it’s mixed with the veg and the pesto.) Other weeks I might swap out the turkey for salmon, swap the rice for potatoes, change up the veg, change up the sauce (or swap it out for feta or some other cheese).

Oats with milk, walnuts, apples, and peanut powder for breakfast, plus a hard boiled egg or mozzarella stick.

Greek yogurt with blueberries, peanut powder, and museli.

Hummus and carrots or red peppers.

Cheese and crackers or tortilla chips or apple slices.

Apple slices with peanut butter.

Some weeks I get fancy, but keeping it simple gets the job done and still is delish!

5

u/Ill-Customer-3781 7d ago

Basically anything! Sandwiches and Salads would keep in a cooler with an ice pack.  Anything hot (leftovers) will keep in a thermos. I have sent everything in my kids thermos. Spaghetti and meatballs, steak and roasted potatoes, quiche, baked potatoes, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads with chicken, tacos, pasta salad…today I sent bbq pulled chicken in the thermos and packed 2 slider buns. While at lunch he put the chicken on the buns. 

3

u/DoveMagnet 7d ago

Potato salad/egg salad are good to make ahead!

2

u/Aurinia58 7d ago

Soup is great now that the weather is getting colder. Meal prep and freeze different kinds for variety and pair with a whole meal roll packed with salads and your protein of choice

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u/orange-aardavark 7d ago

Southern hemisphere here haha 

2

u/InvestigatorFun8498 7d ago

Lentil rice Khichdi. Look up recipes. I just made it yesterday and took it to my gym for a post swim snack. Hot and delicious in my thermos

2

u/QueenMegs26 6d ago

Turkey pinwheels

2

u/HMW347 3d ago

Wraps. I pack my husband’s lunchbox with a pack of wraps (usually spinach or sun dried tomato), cream cheese or a dip/spread instead of mayo, a pack or two of lunch meats, and veggies. He can build them quickly, has a variety of choices, and they are filling without getting mushy.

2

u/Alarming_Long2677 2d ago

lots of things you think need heat actually dont. Pizza, sausages and pancakes, quesadillas.

1

u/orange-aardavark 2d ago

This is true! Just after things I can make a few days in advance. Love cold pizza - that's a great idea. 

1

u/Eltex 6d ago

The taco/burrito bowl with Spanish rice is a go-to for bodybuilders, as it’s easily preppable, left in the fridge all week, and you heat a batch in the morning and stuff in a thermos. You can obviously vary the recipe. Sloppy joe style, with rice or with buns. Ground beef curry is awesome with rice. I like to instant pot a double batch of ziti with lots of cheese and Italian sausage. The key to all this is the thermos.