Desk lunch ideas - Easy, tasty, inexpensive

Most days of the week, I just eat lunch at my desk. It's not that I don't want to spend the money to go out, but I'm usually scrambling to get everything done, and the options around my workplace for dining out are either time consuming or not all that exciting.

So, as I eat my Wolfgang Puck tortilla soup (canned) and my fresh Panera bread that I brought in this morning, I'm looking for ideas of good grub to bring in for lunch with me in the morning. I'm looking for something easy (buy at store, pick up, quick assembly is okay), tasty (of course) and inexpensive. We have micro and frig. No oven. Specific ideas for micro meals are appreciated, as long as they are good tasting. Details, please, so I get the same exact thing. Edited to add: Please tell me where to buy your favs (i.e. Jewel at Ashland & Wellington, TJ's in Lakeview). The ideas are most helpful when I know where to find them!

I knew we'd done this one before (not that new ideas won't be welcome, I'm sure...)

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=326

Slightly different version of the question, but it's a start.

Thanks, Mike G. So, maybe this can be the brown bag, refrigerated/frozen/perishable items, please, post.

I find the Annie Chun's soups to be pretty good for the microwave fare that they are. I've tried the udon, miso and teriyaki. No, they aren't a substitute for the real thing (what is teriyaki soup, anyway?). They come w/ their own bowl and have separate packets for noodles, sauces, spicing. The noodles are soft, and manage to retain some integrity thanks to their cryovac'd plastic packaging. The noodles make these soups a bit heartier than most microwave soups. I keep a few bowls in my desk drawer for those days I don't bring lunch and don't have time to go out.

I usually keep shelf stable white rice in my office. You can get them at Mitsuwa or Chicago Food Corp (cheaper). Each pack is about $1.00, and it takes 2 minutes in the microwave. I usually pair it with seaweed (japanese or korean, I have both in the office), or cooked salted duck eggs which are cryovac'd individually. Argyle or Chinatown grocery stores have the duck eggs, but you have to be sure that you get the cooked ones.

This week however, I am having baos (Chinese steam buns) for lunch. I pick up a dozen assorted ones at Argyle on my way to work on Monday, and keep them in the fridge. A minute in the microwave for each bun, 2 a day for lunch, 2 for "emergencies", and I am set! For less than $2 a day!

I often find myself eating lunch at my desk too. My lunches usually consist of leftovers from dinner, sandwiches, or salads. When I'm really feeling lazy or lacking creativity, I love Trader Joe's frozen Lemongrass Chicken bowls. I have never ventured to try their other frozen bowls, but I have to say that I love the flavor in this one. I also saw that they now have udon kits in the refrigerated section that I have yet to try out.

If I don't have leftovers, I usually bring frozen dinners. If I decide to go out (or some kind department has a leftover catered lunch), they don't spoil and I have them for the next day.

So far I have liked:

Whole Food's Organic Mac and Beef
Whole Food's Pad Thai Bowl (Much better than the TJ's version)
Whole Foods Malak Paneer
Amy's Cheese Enchilada Dinner
TJ's Roasted Enchilada
Lean Cuisine Thai Lemongrass Chicken (not, this does not taste like lemongrass, but it a tasty light curry)
Home Run Inn Individual Microwave Pizzas (usually on special 5 for $11)
(the meat or cheese ones are fine, the grilled vegetable one is not. It's very watery, and tastes like liquid smoke)
The Annie Chun's Udon or Miso soup (the teriyaki is weird and the hot and sour has no flavor)

What I have not liked:
Anything by Healthy Choice
TJ's Pad Thai Bowl
TJ's Tamales - they are ok, but dry
TJ's Burritos - see the tamales
The "boxed" shelf stable meals - they are usually just not enough food and are bland or have an odd texture - TJ"s has some, also Simply Asia - nothing i have had of theirs is very good.

I get a lot of good lunch-packing ideas from http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com although this woman sometimes spends hours on her kid's gorgeous lunches.

But my favorite super-easy idea that I've stolen from her and use frequently is this: take a tortilla, whatever kind you like. Open a can of refried beans. Spread refried beans all over the tortilla in a thin layer. Roll up and cut into 1-2 inch pieces, stick in a tupperware and bring some salsa to dip it in. Also good with alfalfa sprouts or spinach rolled in there. It's kind of like eating a maki, very satisfying.[/url]

I've always been a bit of a meat and potatos eater and never thought I'd see the day when I ate salads for lunch, but these two are hearty and pretty much keep me full until dinner. Very easy/quick to prep.

Pre-washed organic mesculin or salad mix
Sliced tomato wedges - go for the vine ripe.
Hearty sprinkle of crumbled goat cheese
1 or 2 grilled boneless skinless chicken breast halves sliced
Melissa's balsamic vinegar dressing (fridge section @ wild oats)
I usually grill about 3-4 pounds of chicken breast with a jerk rub and just freeze the chopped up breast in individual portions. Sometimes if we have salmon I throw that in instead - it's pretty good. Since the salad greens are pre-washed, it takes me about 10 minutes to assemble two salads in the morning - one for me and one for my wife.

Taco salad
Take everything from taco night the night before and toss it into a tupperware (except salsa). At lunch, put salsa in, give the tupperware a good shake and serve up with a side of Viggo rice and beans. Seriously though, it's just ground beef browned with taco seasoning, and all the usual taco ingredients. The Viggo rice and beans on the side really makes it a filling meal.

Most people say that they don't cook at home because "it is so hard to cook for one or two people." I generally cook dinner for 4-6 people and as the meal is completed, I plate the food for the meal AND I plate up the rest of the food for the next 1-2 day's lunches.

For example, on Sunday, I made up a pot of chili. Ate chili for dinner that night and put aside 2 portions for lunch on Monday. The other six portions were portioned out in small containers and placed in the freezer.

This is very affordable as most of my lunches cost under $1 to produce. Also since I am preparing the food, the food contains lower fat and sodium that if I purchased a frozen dinner from the store.

The ONLY drawback is that you need access to a microwave and regrigerator space. Since we do not have a cafeteria at work, we have plenty of both.

jlawrence01 wrote:Most people say that they don't cook at home because "it is so hard to cook for one or two people." I generally cook dinner for 4-6 people and as the meal is completed, I plate the food for the meal AND I plate up the rest of the food for the next 1-2 day's lunches.

This is exactly what I do as well. I never cook for just one meal - In my mind it takes the same effort to cook a meal for 6 as it does for two. I then pack extras in microwave safe containers. As a result, I have a fully packed freezer which allows me to take of lunches very easily.

Where can I buy the Annie Chun soups?

Annie Chun's soups are at my local Jewel, so I'd guess they can be found at any big chain grocery.

I usually buy the Annie Chun's soups at Trader Joe's (they are cheapest there at 1.99) but Jewel and Whole Foods also carry them.

Trader Joe's Corn Tortilla Soup (glass jar) is really good. When I make it at home I add extra corn and top it with cheddar cheese, but I suppose you could do the same at work. It's pretty filling w/ a piece of bread on the side.

Lots of good ideas here. Generally I follow the path of jlawrence and others: make extra portions of a weekend dinner, freeze, and select among what's available.

But there are a couple of things that I do that might be interesting to some, and a couple of others which will probably be found grooosssssss!

Hard-boiled eggs: make a curried mayo+sour cream dollop and eat a couple of eggs. Good, high-quality protein.

Chicken spinach salad: cut up some chicken into chunks, lay down a layer of some sesame salad dressing in the bottom of a suitable-for-serving plastic container, gently add fresh spinach leaves and chicken chunks. At the desk, toss with your chopsticks and enjoy.

And now for the grossies: (I apologize in advance for the indelicacy of these two suggestions...)

I love Juanita's menudito. Open can, put into suitable-for-serving plastic container. Make a couple of little teeny clingwrap packets of oregano and cilantro. At work, heat it up, finger-grind oregano, strew cilantro, and gobble.

In a similar vein, I love El Ebro's Cuban-style black beans. Treat as above: Do the cilantro trick, and, if you can figure out how, take a bit of sour cream or crema to dollop the top of the hot beans with.

Geo

Geo wrote:I love Juanita's menudito. Open can, put into suitable-for-serving plastic container. Make a couple of little teeny clingwrap packets of oregano and cilantro. At work, heat it up, finger-grind oregano, strew cilantro, and gobble.

Geo,

You are not alone, I occasionally indulge in Juanita's menudo in a can.* Hot, and add crushed red pepper and onion to the oregano for me please.

Enjoy,
Gary

*This is not something I typically admit in public.

It's getting to be the right time of year for this. Buy and cube a ripe canteloupe or if really pressed for time buy the already cubed stuff from jewel. Buy Trader Joe's prosciutto (real prosciutto di parma is better of course, but doesn't meat your inexpensive criteria. The TJ stuff is pretty good). Wrap 1/2 prosciutto slice around melon cube. Spear with toothpick. Repeat with 5-10 times depending on hunger level. For me, it's hard to find anything this simple that's more delicious.

i freeze lunchboxes from Wing Chan's. does that count? they usually last a week or so...

btw LAZ, how'd u know what non-spicy wet dog food taste like?

TonyC wrote:btw LAZ, how'd u know what non-spicy wet dog food taste like?

I used to be a kid with a dog.