Need help with food to take to school

I'm returning to college after a very long absence (15 years) starting tomorrow and my schedule is pretty hectic since my employer has just decided to give me ten more hours a week starting on Monday. Yay money, boo lack of time.

My Monday schedule is particularly difficult because now I'll leave for work at 7:00 a.m., leave work at 2:00 p.m. and go directly to school where I'm in class until 9:20 p.m. I don't have time to go home for lunch or dinner. I also need it to be portable because I exclusively walk or use public transit.

Give me ideas for what I can pack for Mondays that will get me through the whole day? I go for between 1200 and 1600 calories a day, but I'm so accustomed to eating at home that I'm kind of flailing around now.

If you have access to a microwave I'd suggest making a few large meals like casseroles and freezing them in individual portions to warm up later.

Else, fruits and veggies are highly portable!  Roasted veggies are good, maybe over brown rice?  That's something you could make a lot of in advance.

Tamales are the traditional mexican working-food.  HIGHLY portable and available at a lot of supermarkets.  They taste fine at room temp as long as you've cooked them beforehand.

I'd make your Monday schedule 'front-weighted'.  Have quite a large (hot) breakfast before you leave at 7am.   Keep back an extra portion of whatever you made on Sunday night to warm through at work (assuming there's a microwave) so that you have a substantial lunch.  And then pack sandwiches or similar to have for your supper with some fruit or yoghurt as snacks.  If you've had plenty to eat at breakfast and lunch you can get away with a lighter supper and still feel satisfied.

If you have no microwave, there are some things you can still eat. I personally had to bring lunch/before workout snacks and didn't get home until about 4:30, which isn't quite as bad, but here is a list of my favorite snack-lunch items.

light yogurt (without a fridge, try to eat this early on) apples grapes carrots pb&j string cheese sunchips kashi golean roll (a fiber/protein bar about 200 calories. sometimes if I didn't have pb, I'd substitute this for the sandwich) I'd also sometimes bring ind. servings of crackers, etc.

You'll probably have access to a locker at school so I'd suggest you keep some food that won't go off there.  As to what you could eat, no idea sorry.  I have whey powder as a protein source which keeps me feeling full, stores well and is easy to consume if you're lacking in time. 

I am also a student, and I have class from 5-8 in the evening.  It's a weird time because it's too early to eat before I leave, but I tend to get hungry for a real meal during that window.  Luckily, my professors encourage us to bring dinner, because it helps us stay awake.  Here are my favorite low-cal, portable options:

-Fiber One Bars (I like Oats and Chocolate) 140 Calories and VERY filling

-Protein Shakes (I buy Gold Standard Whey protein powder and put one scoop of the powder into a blender bottle, when it's time for the shake, I just go to the water fountain and add 6-8 oz. of water and shake to mix).  Blender bottles and protein powder available at Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, etc.

-Salsa Chicken:  Get 2-3 lbs of chicken (I used boneless, skinless breasts, but this would work with this bone in as well), a can of chicken broth, and a big jar of your favorite salsa.  Put the ingredients in a pot and simmer for 3 hours.  The chicken will be incredibly tender.  You can eat it plain or shred it and make tacos, put it in a salad...whatever you like.  I like to have one breast with some extra salsa on top.  I just pop it in the microwave at school, and it is so tender that I don't need to bother bringing a knife, just a fork!

100 Calorie Packs - There are so many of these to choose from, and they are a great option for times when you need to bring something non-perishable.  The options, such as cheez-its, ritz-mix, and chocolate covered pretzels keep you from giving in to that trip to the vending machine during the mid-lecture break.

-Campbell's Select Harvest Light Soups - My favorite is Savory Chicken and vegetable.  Usually not more then 160-200 calories for the whole can (2 servings), has protein, and fiber.  I find it to be very filling and easy when I'm in a rush.

-Quaker "Quakes" Mini Rice Cakes - Again, these are my way of avoiding the temptation to get chips.  They make them in favors like ranch, nacho and cheddar cheese, and bbq, as well as the regular rice cake flavors (caramel corn, etc)  70 calories for 10 cakes, not bad!  They also have a new product called "Tortillaz" which are air baked chips made from rice and corn, in flavors like guacamole and nacho cheese.  These are around 130 calories for 15 chips.  Also a much healthier substitute for the junk that you'll see many of your classmates munching on.

I actually just started school as well and while my schedule isn't as hectic as your sounds, it's prety up there.  I usually try to make my lunch the night before so that I can grab it and go.  I don't know if you want to eat your breakfast at home since you leave pretty early but if you do, I'd suggest a high fiber cereal with milk and a piece of fruit in the morning or instant oatmeal (it's not as good for you as the real oatmeal but on the plus side it doesn't take 5 million years to cook) with some raisins and cinnamon (or another dried fruit/spice combination that you might like).  If you want to take your breakfast with you and eat it while you're traveling try making a egg sandwich and taking that with you, just fry up and egg or two and add some cheese or lean deli meat with bread and eat on the go.  For lunch I would suggest another sandwich option.  I usually have some lean turkey, a slice of cheese, 1/2 tomato sliced, some lettuce and mustard on whole wheat bread.  As for portable dinner, I really don't have any suggestion other than another snadwich.  I'd go with peanut butter and jelly this tome ot break up the monotny of it all.  I also usually bring two snacks to have with me, which are a combination of baby carrots, a piece of fruit, and a cup of cereal.  Some other snack ideas are dried fruits and nuts or granola bars.  This all comes out to take up a bit of space, so I would suggest usuing a small paper bag you have laying around the house, gift bags are ideal, and just taking it with you.  hope this helps.