ISO: Quick, healthy brown bag lunch ideas

[mandarin2j]

One of the things many of you mentioned in the thread about things we would like CL to do was have more features on quick, healthy lunches. I'm pretty tired of the old veggie sandwich, light mayo routine and I know that everyone here has great ideas to share, so…What are some quick, healthy lunches that can be taken to work? Ones that require refrigeration and heating are fine.

To start us off, here's my latest favorite: I spread about 1/3 to 1/2 cup hummus onto a lowfat tortilla, add some minced olives, and a bunch of sprouts (yes, I've been reading the thread on sprouts, but as many moms and MILs said about food prep in the pet peeves thread, I haven't gotten ill yet!), roll the whole thing up and eat like a burrito. I tried this with chopped tomatoes the other day, but it got very soggy and did not make a pleasant lunch entrée.

-Amanda

[emilycat]

I almost always bring my leftovers from dinner the night before, but if I do ever make something specifically for lunch, I like grain and bean salads served over watercress or some other green with a slice of crusty fresh bread. I was in a rush the other morning and didn't have any leftovers to speak of, so I tossed together some chickpeas, French sheep's feta, fresh basil and chopped vine-ripe tomatoes. Yummy http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Wendy w]

Like Emilycat, I usually bring leftovers too (especially soup)or I make a mixed green salad the night before with lots of stuff like tomato, garbanzos, artichoke hearts, celery, red onion, maybe some turkey or avocado.

I like bean and grain salads as well and have done a concoction very similar to the feta, chickpea, basil and tomato and have dressed it with a little olive oil and lemon juice-which also works great with the bean and grain salads too.

Another thing that I like to do is to make a sandwich with either pita or a good onion bun and add hummus, tomato, red onion and maybe some avocado.

By the way Amanda, thank you for your advice on the Mark Bittman book. I bought How to Cook Everything and the Minimalist Cooks at Home at the swapmeet for a total of $18.00.

I have been very naughty lately with purchasing cookbooks. Since I realize that I'm not ready to "cure" my addiction, I will just have to buy more bookshelves http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif .

[MelissaAS]

I agree- I am a complete leftover girl, although sometimes I make something specifically for lunch like black beans and rice or something my husband doesn't like that's just for me!

[SusanMac]

For you hummus sandwich fans, try this -- carrots. I use a veggie peeler (because it's easier to eat) and just peel a bunch of carrots onto the hummus sandwich. Yum.

Also, my favorite easy no-cook/low prep lunch is yogurt, cherry tomatoes, a bagel and piece of fruit (whole wheat for you Emilycat!) CL would never publish that, but it works for me. If I get hungry in the afternoon I have either some sourdough pretzels or dried fruit.

[AndreaU]

Ditto again on the leftovers. With just 2 of us, we almost always have leftovers and we both enjoy taking them for lunch the next day (or two). When I have the time, I'll fix a big batch of some kind of salad (like tabbouleh with pitas or pasta salad of some sort or Oriental salad) to last a couple of days. Sometimes just a big green salad- just toss together some lettuce and a ton of fresh veggies. Add some fresh fruit and a yogurt and I'm set!

[beacooker]

I switch between cooking enough food to eat for lunch for a week, and just having leftovers. My two favorite lunches are whole wheat pasta with tomatoes, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, and balsamic vinegar; and a recipe from last year from CL for Thai Chicken Wraps (might not be the right name, comes from the article about wraps). Both are so yummy, I haven't gotten tired of them yet. I also do the veggie sandwich thing, I'll try adding carrots next time.

[makedah]

Leftovers here, too.

Do you eat meat? the filling from the BBQ Chicken Potpie makes a great sandwich. Put it in a glass container with a plastic lid, separate from your bread (I like foldable pitas). Heat the filling (this is why the container must be glass -- it will ruin plastic) and serve on the bread. I like the bread warmed up.

Mandarin, you may want to pack the ingredients for your burrito separately (hummus, veggies and bread) and assemble at work/school.

I like Nile Black Bean Soup (cupa soup things) but the cost ($1 ea.) means that I don't eat them often.

I have heard of people freezing homemade soup in 1-serving portions and heating them up at work.

[catharine]

As a variation on the vegetable sandwich, I offer my favorite quick and easy lunch (although initial preparation is a bit heavy).

I use my Foreman grill to cook a variety of veggies (red peppers, portobellos, squash, onions, etc.) at the beginning of the week (this is the time consuming part).

Every morning I throw an assortment into a tortilla, sometimes adding a little cheese (goat cheese and brie are my favorites) and sometimes some fresh spinach. It is delicious and healthful.

[luv2cook]

I often don't have the luxury of a microwave for lunch and sometimes we don't take lunch and I end up taking half my sandwich and eating it in the bathroom because I have low blood sugar, but I have to admit I'm getting sick of sandwiches but I need the bread to make it stick for the afternoon.

Nothing seems to work as well...and I can't always grab a piece of fruit to munch either so that makes it interesting. I gave up pretzels because of the high glycemic factor. I used to much on those...

[ama47369]

I copied this from one of the two boards I visit, and I can't remember who posted it--I'm sorry, but I did think it was a good idea...

"This past week I made a veggie pizza thing that we carried to work one piece at a time to eat cold that was a real hit. You can use any pizza crust but I like Boboli. The "sauce" is a combo of light cream cheese, hot sauce to taste and a can of drained tuna. I used the food processor to whip this together. Spread on crust and then add chopped veggies to taste. I used sprouts, finely chopped broccoli, red peppers, lots of chopped fresh mushrooms, cherry tomatos, thnly sliced basil, finely diced radishes....whatever turns you on. Moosh this slightly into the cream cheese wrap and refrigerate to let is all blend together. It was a real nice change of pace for lunch"