new job, packing lunches??

So I'm very excited because I just got my first "real" job lol. No more waitressing!!

So its an 8:30-5 job which means I need to pack lunch. (definitely dont want to get in the habit of ordering or going out because thats just asking for waaaay to many calories) What's good lunches to pack (besides frozen meals like smart ones which I love) Something that will stay good in the fridge for like 5 hours...?

grilled chicken and oranges on top of salad almonds and a sweet dressing

Italian/greek  tomato, feta, onion, let. banana peppers, etc. wraps  with a pickle

tuna with newman's asian ginger dressing on top of salad

a hearty soup homemade or otherwise broth based no cream

Fruit is always a nice side- grapes, strawberries, apples

dairy wise-cottage cheese, string cheese if your not a big fan of drinking milk

With dressing to make the bread stay better long I don't up them on the food I just bring a little container on the side.

if there is a microwave, bring your left over dinners.

sometimes im so lazy i even just bring the bowl with seran wrap on top :-) instead of packing into a tupperware container or the like

hey congrats on the new job!

you definitely dont want to order out every day. That is super expensive and way too tempting to eat something bad.

I did do lean cusiens for a while but they really never actually fill me up and i worry about those not being very good for you.

You could do sandwhiches with light whole wheat bread, low fat cheeses .

What i have been doing is just cooling extra diner at night and then bringing in the left overs for lunch. That always seems to be the yummyest option and you have totaly control over how healthy your food is

Ditto on the congrats on the new job. My advice - show up on time, sober, and dressed appropriately and you will have no worries.

I pack my snacks and lunch every day.

Snacks - Yogurt; apple and almonds; apricots (or prunes) and brazil nuts; an orange and an ounce of dark chocolate; pumpkin seeds and some melon

My lunch these days has been a salad - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, radish, about 1/3 of an avocado or some green olives with either chicken or tuna with a teaspoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and pepper.

Sandwiches or wraps may be a good option, but I can't get good bread where I live  Even the whole wheat pitas here have refined flour as the top ingredient as far as I can tell. I need a bread maker.

Be careful with garlic and raw onion and other strong 'smelling' foods like curries if you are working in an office.

Sandwiches or wraps may be a good option, but I can't get good bread where I live  Even the whole wheat pitas here have refined flour as the top ingredient as far as I can tell. I need a bread maker.

 I would be more concerned about the High frutos corn syrup thats in everything these days.  It cant truely be whole wheat if it has refined anything in it.  By definition anything that isn't white such as white rice, white flour, white sugar, is unrefined.   If its white then they procceed it a bit more than simply grinding it up.  

As to needing a bread maker, you really don't need one.   I can make a loaf of bread from scratch by hand in the same amount of time it takes to add the ingrediants to one of those machines, turn it on, have it do its thing.  My grandmother has one because she can no longer kneed her own dough.  But, Breadmakers don't really make it any easier.   To me one of those contraptions is just a counter space occupier.   

Mrs, Johnsons yeast rolls take me 15 minutes to mix and kneed.  Another hour to let rise, before I punch it down and another hour to rise again, with another 20 to 30 minutes to bake.  As long as Im making it into loaves thats all the time it takes.   If I want actual rolls then I have to add 15 to 20 minutes to turn the dough into rolls depending on the size and how much dough I made.   

Some appliances make our lives easier.  Toasters, vaccums, washing machines and dryers.  Others like Dishwashers (I don't understand having to wash the dishes just to wash the dishes) and Bread machines really aren't neccissary.  People use them because the get intimidated by the idea of taking on what they think is a complicated task.  It isn't.  It really is rather easy to make your own bread whether it be quick, yeast, or flat bread.   The exception to this being bagles as that I never did get the boiling them thing to work right.

 As to the topic at hand, I usually send leftovers with my husband, or a nice sandwich on homemade bread, or a lean pocket.  Whatever is handy at 4 in the morning

As to needing a bread maker, you really don't need one.   I can make a loaf of bread from scratch by hand in the same amount of time it takes to add the ingrediants to one of those machines, turn it on, have it do its thing.  My grandmother has one because she can no longer kneed her own dough.  But, Breadmakers don't really make it any easier.   To me one of those contraptions is just a counter space occupier.   

 I have made bread by hand, and let me tell you the breadmaker I got is a HUGE timesaver, all I do is throw in the ingredients and I dont have to worry about how long it has been rising and when I need to punch it down and let it rise and put it in the oven. I LOVE it and then I know everything that is in my bread. I work night shift, I can get home in the morning throw ingredients in the bread maker, set what time I want it to start mixing and have warm fresh bread when I wake up, it's amazing

I also pack my lunches every day.  :)  Congrats!  This is really a way to make sure you eat well!

I always pack fresh veggies to snack on.  Carrots, cherry tomatoes, snap peas, broccoli ect.  You can get these ready the night before!   I also always take a luna bar (180 calories, zero high fructose corn syrup plus tons of vitamins for women!)  in case whatever I packed isnt' enough.  I bring those all natural fruit leathers (45 calories) and then something fun for lunch.  Sometimes its a salad, sometimes it double fiber wheat bread with low sugar jelly and peanut butter, sometimes its a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, other times its a bowl of kashi go lean crunch and soy milk (doesn't have to be refridgerated until after its opened).    Cheese and lower carb crackers or low fat string cheese are great snacks too!   I am a huge fruit lover too so there is always an apple and strawberries or cantelop or kiwi in my bag as well!  My coffee and my water bottle and I'm set for any shift!!  :)    I work rotating shifts so I have to be prepaired for any time of the day!       I eat something every three hours.... and I never finish all of my snacks.  But I always have something healthy to eat in case I need it! 

Good luck!! 

Tuna, turkey, chicken wraps, pitas or sandwiches. I pack the meat in a Tupperware and add at lunch time. Also have lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, in a Tupperware and add that. I use mustard, hot sauce or green taco sauce sometimes.

Egg beaters in a wrap or pita with hot sauce. Sometimes mix black beans or other beans with egg beaters.

Baked sweet potato. Bake the night before, cut up and put in Tupperware. Also add steamed veggies to this, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers.

Fresh fruit cut up in Tupperware

Boca burgers, turkey burgers.

 

 

I have a lunchbox with lots of little compartments (Laptop Lunches box).  I usually bring cottage cheese, lots of little fruits and veggies, some almonds, and things like that.  I guess I'm a muncher by nature, but I prefer lots of little things to one big thing like a sandwich.

I have a Mr. Bento lunch box...its basically the same as a laptop one, just conical :)

I dont use it all the time, just mostly when Im home (which isnt often haha travel for work...)

I usually just make a casserole or something sunday and pack up lunches all week...sometimes its chicken and rice, sometimes turkey burgers, etc