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adrian_turtle(LJ asks about adult content these days, but they don't have a setting for juice boxes and chocolate milk.)
I'm having a little trouble packing lunches for work. With a 30 minute lunch break, nobody goes out for lunch. I am always terribly cold in this workplace, and hot food in the middle of the day seems to help a little. There is a lunchroom, with a sink, microwave ovens, coffee makers, tables and chairs, a tv. I started out just putting some tangerines and a little rubbermaid container of beans and rice in my backpack. Then I realized I needed to carry eating utensils, as well as food. Having a fork and an apple both tossing around loose in my backpack can be hard on the fruit. And I found it awkward to take my flatware, food, and cup out of my pack and carry them across the plant to the lunchroom (yet taking my whole pack to lunch is completely inappropriate.)
I tried the insulated lunchbox I bought a few years ago for another purpose. It will hold one medium rubbermaid container and one small one (or a fair-sized apple), along with a juice box and flatware. I don't like how much room it takes in my backpack, or how hard it is to pack around it. (It's strange that I have so much trouble working around it, because most of what I'm carrying is small notebooks, small electronic gadgets, and personal insulation. Nothing big and rigid.) I've seen cleverly designed bento boxes, but they seem cleverly designed for carrying cold lunches, and it's important to me to have something hot. More important, they seem cleverly designed for presenting lots of little bits and pieces of things, which would seem to involve more preparation than I can handle. When I have a big apple, I'd rather just take bites of it than fuss with making slices fit in the fruit cup, and worry about what to do with the other 2/3 of the apple. But I would like a way to keep the flatware from cutting up the apple before lunchtime.
Do any of you have suggestions? Either for what to take for lunch, or how to pack it? I want something I can reheat in the microwave and eat quickly. I want it to be reasonably healthy, with some vegetables, and substantial enough to be my main meal. (I often come home too tired to bother with dinner.) I don't eat anything with pork, shellfish, or dairy products. Eggs are fine. I'm dubious about bringing fish or cooked cruciferous vegetables in close quarters, partly because the smell might be impolite to my colleagues, and partly because I might not want to deal with the smell when I have a migraine flare. And of course it needs to be packed compactly, and enough to eat to get me through the afternoon and early evening. Shepherd's pie sort of works. Though with the amount I can bring in the medium rubbermaid container that fits in my lunchbox, and either an apple or some celery, I'm awfully hungry in the late afternoon.
Silk makes things like juiceboxes, only with chocolate soymilk. I would think of them as an expensive snack...but they're a lot cheaper than going to Starbucks for hot chocolate, both in terms of money and time. I started putting one in my lunchbox with the intent of drinking it at lunchtime, but I found I don't want a cold drink at lunch. I end up drinking it on my way home (or on my way to an evening appointment), after I've been in the car for 10-15 minutes and I'm starting to feel thoroughly warm.
I'm having a little trouble packing lunches for work. With a 30 minute lunch break, nobody goes out for lunch. I am always terribly cold in this workplace, and hot food in the middle of the day seems to help a little. There is a lunchroom, with a sink, microwave ovens, coffee makers, tables and chairs, a tv. I started out just putting some tangerines and a little rubbermaid container of beans and rice in my backpack. Then I realized I needed to carry eating utensils, as well as food. Having a fork and an apple both tossing around loose in my backpack can be hard on the fruit. And I found it awkward to take my flatware, food, and cup out of my pack and carry them across the plant to the lunchroom (yet taking my whole pack to lunch is completely inappropriate.)
I tried the insulated lunchbox I bought a few years ago for another purpose. It will hold one medium rubbermaid container and one small one (or a fair-sized apple), along with a juice box and flatware. I don't like how much room it takes in my backpack, or how hard it is to pack around it. (It's strange that I have so much trouble working around it, because most of what I'm carrying is small notebooks, small electronic gadgets, and personal insulation. Nothing big and rigid.) I've seen cleverly designed bento boxes, but they seem cleverly designed for carrying cold lunches, and it's important to me to have something hot. More important, they seem cleverly designed for presenting lots of little bits and pieces of things, which would seem to involve more preparation than I can handle. When I have a big apple, I'd rather just take bites of it than fuss with making slices fit in the fruit cup, and worry about what to do with the other 2/3 of the apple. But I would like a way to keep the flatware from cutting up the apple before lunchtime.
Do any of you have suggestions? Either for what to take for lunch, or how to pack it? I want something I can reheat in the microwave and eat quickly. I want it to be reasonably healthy, with some vegetables, and substantial enough to be my main meal. (I often come home too tired to bother with dinner.) I don't eat anything with pork, shellfish, or dairy products. Eggs are fine. I'm dubious about bringing fish or cooked cruciferous vegetables in close quarters, partly because the smell might be impolite to my colleagues, and partly because I might not want to deal with the smell when I have a migraine flare. And of course it needs to be packed compactly, and enough to eat to get me through the afternoon and early evening. Shepherd's pie sort of works. Though with the amount I can bring in the medium rubbermaid container that fits in my lunchbox, and either an apple or some celery, I'm awfully hungry in the late afternoon.
Silk makes things like juiceboxes, only with chocolate soymilk. I would think of them as an expensive snack...but they're a lot cheaper than going to Starbucks for hot chocolate, both in terms of money and time. I started putting one in my lunchbox with the intent of drinking it at lunchtime, but I found I don't want a cold drink at lunch. I end up drinking it on my way home (or on my way to an evening appointment), after I've been in the car for 10-15 minutes and I'm starting to feel thoroughly warm.
