While on vacation, a group of us were talking about how to handle lunches on days when there is no time to cook or even to prepare much, especially since we don't buy lunchmeat on a regular basis. We all agreed that there are days when you just can't be picky, and anything is better than nothing. It's a matter of just putting random foods onto plates and calling it good.
By the way, my definition of an instant lunch is one that takes 5 minutes or less to throw together.
Here's my instant lunch from today:
apple quarters (fruit) with peanut butter (protein), slices of cheese (protein/dairy), canned pumpkin puree mixed with salt and butter and heated (vegetable),
and for dessert, two of these part whole wheat applesauce-raisin bars (grains).
Mostly, I try to include a fruit, a veggie, some protein, and some grains or other starchy food. It's usually some version of peanut butter and/or cheese, a bread product, and any type of produce (canned, frozen, fresh, dried).
When I needed to grocery shop after church on Sunday my priorities were cheese, peanut butter, and fresh fruits and vegetables. I can throw together very basic (but complete) lunches, snacks, or breakfasts in minutes if I have those items on hand. And as these are normals foods that I almost always keep in stock, they're very budget friendly. If I didn't have the bar cookies, I'd have had a slice of bread and butter.
These are the types of lunches that we all call working lunches. I may be working on taxes, getting dinner prepped, cleaning, starting seeds or tending the garden, or working on a home painting project. My lunch sits on a plate and a grab a bit here and there.
For those of us who commute to work, these foods can also be grabbed in minutes before heading out the door when there are no leftovers waiting in the wings -some bread and butter, slices of cheese, apples or oranges, and a carrot make a complete lunch.
By the way, years ago we were in Scotland. In a pub they had something called a Ploughman's Lunch. It consisted of a chunk of bread, a wedge of cheese, an apple, and some pickles. Nothing fancy, but it got the job done. My instant lunches remind me of that simple Scottish cold meal.
So how about you? What's your favorite instant lunch? Bonus points if you can take the meal on the go, and extra points for lunches that use ingredients that you have in your kitchen right now.
My favorite go to lunch is hard boiled egg, some strawberries to mix in my plain greek yogurt (stirring in a few flax seeds), some sea salt almonds, and a cheese stick. I usually pack snacks on Sunday for the entire week, just grab and go as I'm heading out the door. I too, love convenience. Enjoy your day! Shelby
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delicious, Shelby! I love strawberries and can hardly wait for our garden ones this June. Packing snacks on Sunday for the week is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteI love Ploughman's Lunches! The quality of the bread and cheese makes them extra yummy (this was many years ago, when I visited the UK).
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to offer for lunch suggestions. We either have leftovers or sandwiches. I like yogurt for work lunches for the calcium and protein they offer. I occasionally buy hummus from Aldi to go with sliced raw veggies. Fresh fruit is a favorite for me with lunches.
Hi Kris,
DeleteWe'll also eat whatever leftovers there are. But they're never enough for all four of us. Yogurt makes such a great quick lunch food, especially Greek yogurt for its protein. Hummus is a great suggestion.
We mainly have leftovers for lunch. Some of the things I grab if we don't have leftovers are cottage cheese with fruit or salad, a piece of bread with cheese, a hard-boiled egg, and yogurt. My husband likes hummus and veggies. Basically, we have whatever is convenient.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI think cottage and cheese and fruit is an excellent quick lunch. I don't eat cottage cheese any longer, due to lactose. But years ago the combo of cottage and cheese and fruit was my go-to lunch. My brother likes cottage cheese and tomato slices.
It sounds like I should be keeping boiled eggs on hand.
Fall through winter we make a pot of beans in the Instant Pot a couple of times a week. If at home, we eat a bowl of beans with some veggies, bread. I’ll add some seasoning, a little shredded pork or diced ham, whatever is hanging out in the fridge. We don’t eat fast food and live far away from all shopping, so when we go out it’s quick and easy to throw the beans in a soft taco wrapper with some toppings (cheese, tomatoes, diced peppers, onion) for a road trip meal. Summer I roast and slice/tear apart chickens for sandwiches and chicken salad, so easy to throw together a quick chicken sandwich, piece of fruit or cherry tomatoes to take with. Annie
DeleteLike L and L, I like cottage cheese, and like everyone said, yogurt. And like Shelby, we like it with flax (meal.) Obviously, if dairy's a problem, that won't work. But my best "stay with you all day" combo, is cottage cheese plus half a can of (Amy's, in our case) refried beans which are stir-able at room temp. (Rosarita doesn't work very well/isn't very appetizing). With taco sauce drizzled all over, and chopped onion or parsley, if I have those washed/ready, I find this amazingly enjoyable and satisfying. Sara
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
DeleteI love your suggestion for refried beans with some simple toppings (taco sauce, onions, etc). I haven't tried Amy's refried beans. I will check those out. Even though canned beans cost more than cooking from dried, they're still a good value for quick meals.
Thanks for sharing.
They ARE pricey, and we try to stock up when they're on sale; but when you have a lot of dietary restrictions, sometimes have to find something to take with limited advanced notice, and/or need to stick to simpler food options than you can get easily "on the road", we have found that there's quite a lot of food value, compared to other options. I'm not sure what else I can spend @$2.50 on that will give me @12g of protein, 10g of fiber, and 38g carbs, that's organic, with no gluten, sugar, MSG, bioengineering, GMOs, etc. That's obviously the beauty of packing your own lunch/snacks, anyway; but being able to get something that nutritious that takes literally a minute to "pack" into a portable container, doesn't need to be warm (for ME ), and doesn't even need a can opener, has been a huge win for me. When we were on a week-long car trip last year, I used cold refried beans as my main picnic food for two different days -- opening a new can each day, and snacking on it throughout the late morning to late afternoon, stashing it in the ice chest in between. We also second Live and Learn's boiled egg suggestion. They're great for quick protein, and will travel well in a lunch box or ice chest, as well as in your fridge. Sara
DeleteMy local Walmart carries a lactose free cottage cheese. Just a FYI
ReplyDeleteHi, Anonymous! What's it made out of? Do you know? One of the soy/tofu-type things? Sara
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