For those of you that take a lunch to work everyday....

What is your routine?  I am trying to get in the habit of bringing my lunch to work everyday but I realize that I am going to have to plan ahead because I know that there is no way I will be packing my lunch at 5:00 in the morning.

So I am interested in everyone's routine? Do you make your lunch at night? Do you plan your meals each week? Are they already made & sitting in your refrigerator? I would love to get some ideas!

I plan my lunches ahead.  On Sunday I cook 5 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I just put some olive oil and pepper on them and bake 'em.  I also put 1 or two bags of black beans in the crock pot and cook up some plain black beans.  I also pick up a 4 cup tub of 1% cottage cheese and various fruit.  I keep bbq sauce and the cottage cheese at work.  So during the week if i do nothing else I know that I can have a snack once a day of cottage cheese, and I can also have a snack once a day of some sort of fruit.  I also know that I always will have some chicken and black beans that I can eat with a little bbq sauce for lunch.  Some time I do not eat all the chicken for lunches and I end up eating super healthy dinners of baked chicken and steamed veggies.  I also take this to the next level and cook up some chopped Ham steak and onions in olive oil so i can very easily make egg white omelets in the am all week or mix in the ham steak and onions in my beans to add some extra protein.

I have no time to prepare meals every day and if I spend the two hours on Sat or Sun to go to the store and cook the chicken, beans and ham I end up saving my self an enormous amount of time.  If I am lazy I pick up a pound of lean sliced turkey and some of that Norwegian flat bread and have wraps with mustard, turkey and Jalapenos for lunch every day of the week.  I also like to portion out salad in bags and take that to work with the chicken and have Chinese Chicken salad for lunch.  Once you have the cooked chicken in the fridge you have endless possibilities of super easy, healthy and tasty lunches and dinners.  AND to top it all off it is extremely cost effective.  i figure i saved at least $4,000 last year my eating right for the whole year.  Who knew dieting (I mean life changing) in a recession is the best way to save money!!!!

I shop on Friday night/Saturday morning and stock the fridge with lots of cleaned veggies and fruit for the week.  Then on the weekend I'll cook a batch of meat (chicken, pork tenderloin) and a big pot of soup/stew/chili/casserole/whatever as well as a batch of slow cooker steel cut oats to put in the fridge.  I'll portion out the oatmeal for easy grabbing in the mornings.  And every night I'll assemble lunch and snacks for the next day (cut up veggies, fruit, containers of yogurt, whatever in the fridge/pantry) while I'm making dinner.  In the mornings I just grab the pile of containers for the day out of the fridge and head to work.

I just bring lunch - don't usually eat snacks at work.

I make a sandwich the night before - either turkey, slice of low fat cheddar and tomato on whole wheat OR hummus, slice of low fat cheddar and tomato on wohle wheat. Then, in the morning I grab that, a yogurt (switching up the flavor each day) and a piece of fruit (usually a banana).

Simple, easy and I don't mind having relatively the same thing each day.

I buy the ingredients on Sunday to have on hand throughout the week.

Hope this helps!

I usually make my breakfasts and lunches the night before for days when I'll need a quick start and won't have time to cook or do any food prep. Sometimes I'll also just make quick meals from leftover componets in my fridge. For example, I always have some "basics"...

• Cooked chicken breast
• Variety of shredded cheeses and parmesean and feta
• Whole grain and corn tortillas
• Salsa
• Cooked vegetables
• Beans or chickpeas
• Cooked brown rice
• Pita pockets
• Canned unsalted tuna
• Containers of Greek yogurt
• Cut-up fruit
• Apples

I can pretty much make a full meal out of various items from my fridge and pantry any time. Today I made chicken enchiladas with leftover shredded rotesserie chicken, Mexican cheese, homemade sauce, salsa, corn tortillas, Greek yogurt "sour cream" and some chopped onions. Yummy and fast.

I usually make some kind of wrap in a whole wheat tortilla (burito size).  Typically will  grill or saute some chicken breast tenderloins on sunday night and chop-up.  Then each night, a wrap with chicken mayo greens cheese.  I switch off between bbq sauce or a little evoo and balsamic.  Rollup in plastic wrap.  Takes about 2 minutes to make each night.  Sometimes i do wraps with other leftovers too - pork tenderloin, beef, steak...

I also do a 90 second breakfast - two eggo special k waffles nuked for a minute; each gets a tbsp peanut butter and half banana.  Eat with a lowfat choco milk chug.  This one's from men's health mag.

I'll also bring some fruit and keep a bag of nuts and baby carrots at work for snacks.   I'm used to eating the same stuff at work all the time, and leave the food adventures for the weekend.  Hope this helps.  Pretty painless.

Wow!  After reading all these I am very impressed that just about everyone seems to plan ahead!

I am inspired...2 days of lunches already packed. :)  Hopefully I can get in the habit of doing this all the time...more healthy & it will help me save some money!

This time of year, I just make a big pot of soup every Sunday and bring that to school every day.  I have a food jar (like a thermos), and I preheat it with boiling water while I drink my coffee. Then I heat up the soup, pour it in, and it's still hot at lunchtime.  In the summer, I use a bento box.  The little compartments make it easy to pack a variety of foods.  I just throw in whatever is in the fridge.  I usually pack that the night before, because the separate compartments keep everything from getting soggy.

i make my sandwich the night before (as i am cooking dinner) and then just put it in the fridge, then the next morning i just grab it and go.

I like to pack small snacks that I can enjoy throughout the day like

baby carrots

mini bon bel lt cheese

lt laughing cow cheese

cracked pepper & garlie or rosemay & olive oil triscuits

tuna salad

fruit

sf jello or pudding

lt string cheeses

When I put in these little snacks (counted, weighed and measured) together, it looks like I have a lot, but it really is within the calorie per day range.

Plus you save $ for that mani & pedi for yourself.

I get bored very easily, so I need to change things often. When I cook things like pasta sauce, chili, casseroles, stews or soups, I pack individual containers and freeze them. Then when I'm too busy to cook, or I'm tired of the same old thing, I have something ready on hand. Plus they double as ice-packs in my lunch bag.

I eat a Healthy Choice meal or a Lean Cuisine pizza.  The Healthy Choice meals tend to be lower in calories and still taste great.  I love the slow roasted turkey with mash potatoes (190 calories).  And then I'll have a fruit and a small bag of pretzels with mustard.  I tend to need pre-made meals because I always pack mine in the morning as I'm running out the door.  I also like the Lean Pockets.  They are just easy with no fuss.  Lastly, I have planned ahead and made myself a good salad.  I always look forward to those!  Mix everything but the croutons and dressing, add those later so they don't get soggy. 

Wow, everyone has made some really good suggestions.  I'm the same with not wanting to spend ANY time getting stuff ready in the morning.  I eat both breakfast and lunch at work.   I've found that planning ahead is really easy if you get things that require little or no preparation.  For example, every weekend I buy enough yogurt, bananas, and apples to last me the week.  I'll also get some sort of lean meat and whole wheat bread for sandwiches.  Leave everything in the fridge at work, and I've got enough food for 5 breakfasts, and 5 lunches.

I work 3 different shifts, 7 am-3 pm, 3 pm- 11 pm or 11 pm -7 am. For me it depends on my shifts. When I work at 7 am I tend to take a more "lunch" like meal to eat around one. I normally make a low cal PBJ or a wrap with roasted red pepper hummus carrots and green beans, a pudding cup, baby carrots, rice cake, low fat yogurts, pretzels, a special k bar, things that are not as filling since then I can go home and have a satisfying dinner.

If I work at 3 pm I try to take a filling dinner. Lean cuisine or Kashi frozen meals are wonderful. Amy's are good to take too but can get expensive if you take them to work 5 days a week. I take spinach salads with tofu and have a bottle of balsamic spray in the work fridge to use :-). Also I sometimes take my PBJs or a wrap with yogurt or pudding or really anything I have at home. I like those Campbell light soups you can microwave :-). Also some times Kraft easy italians or a pizza lunchables have been know to pop up in my lunch box :-). Also if you have a microwave taking left overs always works too :-).