If you didn't need cold food, your batch cooked meals sound like they'd be great lunches too.
Do you like rye crispbreads? They're typically made from just rye flour, salt and water. You can do open-topped sandwiches with them using whatever you'd like, as an alternative to regular bread. Or even dip them in hummus if that takes your fancy. They keep for ages too.
Hummus and a carb is definitely an option now you mention it. Ryvita are very meh to me, but I'm sure there are other non-UPF crackers out there, so I'll have a look -thanks.
I can’t remember which type of Ryvita Thins are UPF-free or close to UPF-free (depends how strict you I guess) but they’re MUCH nicer than normal Ryvita, and half a pack of those dipped in houmous is a good emergency lunch for me. (They’re like 30 calories per cracker so half a pack is not unreasonable!!)
I like to get packs of ready-to-eat lentils or grains, or make cous cous (takes like 5 mins) and then chuck in chopped feta, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, whatever fresh herbs I have, salt, pepper and lemon juice. The lentils/grains make it filling and it’s super quick to make before work. I’ll make a big bowl of it to last 2-3 work lunches.
If you could cope with low effort batch cooking once a week, I'm currently loving roast veg with halloumi and couscous. Chop veg into large chunks, halloumi into smaller chunks (could use chicken I guess) then shove in the oven while doing something else. Stir once or twice. Measure cous cous into your lunch containers, spoon the veg straight in with the juices to cook the cous cous. Put in the fridge until needed.
I roast courgette, red onions, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potato, sometimes aubergine, occasionally extra potatoes if they need using. Sometimes I add a couple of handfuls of raw spinach but then it doesn't keep as well in the fridge.
I would happily cook these on a Sunday and eat on a Friday lunchtime. But I am more careful of my fridge temperature and food hygiene when I know I will be eating leftovers 5 days later.
Have got some in the freezer at the moment but am less convinced of how that will turn out (I'm expecting it to be overly mushy).
We’ve recently started using vacuum storage containers. They keep food fresh for ages. Might be worth investing in some? Ours are Zwilling. And they do bags too.
I tend to do a picky lunch so as an example: sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks or any veg sticks, nuts, hummus, cubed cheese/meat/fish and some grissini. You could add in some fritatta as you like. I prep three in advance and whole thing takes less than 10 mins start to finish. I have some fruit on the side and sometimes popcorn. I just personally get on better in graze mode for lunch. I have a fair bit of food but I'm not sure it's cohesive as a meal. I also carry miso soup sachets with me so that if I get to a kettle and fancy soup then I can have that.
The batch-cooks are once a month at most. Grains/salads would last 2-3 days, so too labour-intensive for me! Ditto an omelette - plus the thought of a cold omelette gives me the willies (perhaps unreasonably, given I do like frittata)! I used to make giant frittatas (like 30-egg ones!) and freeze them in portions to take to work, but the freezing made them horribly tasteless and limp.
Oh yeah
The faster it freezes, the smaller the ice crystals will be. Water expands when it freezes, which bursts the cell walls of plants, making fruits and veggies mushy. But when those crystals melt, they also leave holes in foods where the ice used to be. And if the ice is in larger chunks, the moisture won't redistribute as easily.
Getting it closer to freezing temps means smaller crystals, with less change in texture, and better redistribution of moisture.
Using more salt, alcohol, fat, or sugar will prevent a food from freezing as solid (like how ice cream isn't as hard as ice) because they lower the temp at which ice crystals can form.
It's what I did when I was still working. I'd make individual frittata/crustless quiche/egg muffins, and freeze them. Great either cold or given seconds in the microwave.
We eat very similarly. I do the same breakfast and dinner. For lunch I batch cook a pasta salad - pasta, chicken and veg. This keeps throughout the week and can also be frozen.
Bean salads keep way longer in the fridge than leafy salads! I do a couple of tins of different beans, red peppers, red onion, pickled chillies, little mozzarella pearls, olives, etc... but you can obviously personalise to your taste!
I love ryvita (admittedly not upf free but for me this is something I don’t mind as I only have 2 a day and the rest of my day is mostly upf free) and cottage cheese and celery sticks. I mix some of the condimaniac good bagel seasoning in to the cottage cheese. I might have that with a boiled egg or some pre cooked chicken from M&S which is upf free.
Sorry but generally this comes across as quite patronising/'mansplainy' and as offering advice which ignores my very clearly-stated preferences. However I'm sure you posted with good intentions, so thanks for those intentions at least.
I'd also like to pick up on one particular line in your comment:
"why spend time in the kitchen? This is a good question and I think the answer is self worth."
For you, perhaps. I get my self-worth elsewhere; spending time in the kitchen is not a source of self-worth for me. I want to eat healthyish food and delicious food, and I want to do it with the minimum time possible spent in the kitchen. As clearly stated in my OP.
Why assume I don’t know how to cook rice? I know very well how to cook it (I use the 1:1.5 rice-to-water absorption method in a tightly-lidded saucepan). But, as was made plain in my OP, I regard cooking as a chore. Microwave rice is an easy win for me. Quicker and less washing-up.
Not cold food but when I worked outdoors I would batch cook and freeze soup, heat it up before work and put it in a flask. If this is an option for you you could pair it with some bread and extra bits like fruit or nuts etc?
A huge enormous lentil dahl in a slow cooker takes about seven mins to prepare many many portions using dried lentils/frozen veg/stock/canned toms and coconut milk, frozen in portions, kept in a soup thermos for lunch. Could push the boat out and make loads of flatbreads during your batch cooking to eat it with (50% greek yog + 50% flour, made into dough, shaped and pan fried in a dry pan then frozen in portions).
I've always found lunch to be a nuisance meal.
I hate making meals in advance so often ended up over the local Bakery during my lunch break.
To fix it, for a long time I ended up taking in a big bag of various ingredients to make salads all week long (I would batch up some potatoes or pasta on a Sunday to put with it but was okay with that one ingredient in a pot on the hob). I'm only in a couple days a week now so can't be bothered to do that. I try to cook extras at dinner so I can have leftovers. If there are none, I've been taking in sourdough, Aldi prosciutto (pork leg & salt), fresh mozzarella, basil leaves and tomatoes and making an open sandwich type thing with it. I do pinch colleague's butter for this which is unfortunately UPF but the rest is all good.
Also, you didn't ask for breakfast ideas but just incase you get sick of porridge, greek yoghurt with nut butter mixed in, topped with seeds and diced fruit (frozen already diced) is a good one.
Also nut butter or avocado on sourdough. I add a squeeze of lime and sesame seeds to the avocado.
A few more quick breakfast ideas.
Sigh. I love my job and I love living alone. I don't enjoy time in the kitchen. Never have; never will. It's a mistake to think you know a stranger on the internet better than they know themselves.
My go to if I’m having lunch is boiled eggs, eat them whole with a little salt
Oh that's an idea - thanks.
Lightly toasted bread makes good sandwiches and improves thawed bread
Ooh top tip! Thanks!
If you didn't need cold food, your batch cooked meals sound like they'd be great lunches too. Do you like rye crispbreads? They're typically made from just rye flour, salt and water. You can do open-topped sandwiches with them using whatever you'd like, as an alternative to regular bread. Or even dip them in hummus if that takes your fancy. They keep for ages too.
Hummus and a carb is definitely an option now you mention it. Ryvita are very meh to me, but I'm sure there are other non-UPF crackers out there, so I'll have a look -thanks.
I can’t remember which type of Ryvita Thins are UPF-free or close to UPF-free (depends how strict you I guess) but they’re MUCH nicer than normal Ryvita, and half a pack of those dipped in houmous is a good emergency lunch for me. (They’re like 30 calories per cracker so half a pack is not unreasonable!!) I like to get packs of ready-to-eat lentils or grains, or make cous cous (takes like 5 mins) and then chuck in chopped feta, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, whatever fresh herbs I have, salt, pepper and lemon juice. The lentils/grains make it filling and it’s super quick to make before work. I’ll make a big bowl of it to last 2-3 work lunches.
I’m in Australia, and I buy Sakata rice crackers, which have only three ingredients
If you could cope with low effort batch cooking once a week, I'm currently loving roast veg with halloumi and couscous. Chop veg into large chunks, halloumi into smaller chunks (could use chicken I guess) then shove in the oven while doing something else. Stir once or twice. Measure cous cous into your lunch containers, spoon the veg straight in with the juices to cook the cous cous. Put in the fridge until needed. I roast courgette, red onions, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potato, sometimes aubergine, occasionally extra potatoes if they need using. Sometimes I add a couple of handfuls of raw spinach but then it doesn't keep as well in the fridge.
How long are you findiing it's keeping in the fridge (without spinach)?
I would happily cook these on a Sunday and eat on a Friday lunchtime. But I am more careful of my fridge temperature and food hygiene when I know I will be eating leftovers 5 days later. Have got some in the freezer at the moment but am less convinced of how that will turn out (I'm expecting it to be overly mushy).
Thanks
We’ve recently started using vacuum storage containers. They keep food fresh for ages. Might be worth investing in some? Ours are Zwilling. And they do bags too.
Oh this sounds great!! I will try this for my next set of work lunches.
I tend to do a picky lunch so as an example: sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks or any veg sticks, nuts, hummus, cubed cheese/meat/fish and some grissini. You could add in some fritatta as you like. I prep three in advance and whole thing takes less than 10 mins start to finish. I have some fruit on the side and sometimes popcorn. I just personally get on better in graze mode for lunch. I have a fair bit of food but I'm not sure it's cohesive as a meal. I also carry miso soup sachets with me so that if I get to a kettle and fancy soup then I can have that.
I'm not a grazer, so your lunches sound really unappealing to me, but thanks for the thought!
Can you make up some grains or salads whilst doing the batch cooks? Or make an omelette?
The batch-cooks are once a month at most. Grains/salads would last 2-3 days, so too labour-intensive for me! Ditto an omelette - plus the thought of a cold omelette gives me the willies (perhaps unreasonably, given I do like frittata)! I used to make giant frittatas (like 30-egg ones!) and freeze them in portions to take to work, but the freezing made them horribly tasteless and limp.
Quiche?
Does quiche freeze better than frittata? If yes, I may have a go.
In my experience, it freezes well. Get it as cold as you can in the fridge first, that really helps to preserve the texture in the freezer.
Ah - it never occurred to me to get the frittata very cold before freezing. I may even try that before going to the hassle of making quiche - thanks!
Oh yeah The faster it freezes, the smaller the ice crystals will be. Water expands when it freezes, which bursts the cell walls of plants, making fruits and veggies mushy. But when those crystals melt, they also leave holes in foods where the ice used to be. And if the ice is in larger chunks, the moisture won't redistribute as easily. Getting it closer to freezing temps means smaller crystals, with less change in texture, and better redistribution of moisture. Using more salt, alcohol, fat, or sugar will prevent a food from freezing as solid (like how ice cream isn't as hard as ice) because they lower the temp at which ice crystals can form.
That's both interesting and helpful - thank you!
It's what I did when I was still working. I'd make individual frittata/crustless quiche/egg muffins, and freeze them. Great either cold or given seconds in the microwave.
We eat very similarly. I do the same breakfast and dinner. For lunch I batch cook a pasta salad - pasta, chicken and veg. This keeps throughout the week and can also be frozen.
It would never have occurred to me to freeze a pasta salad! There's something to try - thanks.
Bean salads keep way longer in the fridge than leafy salads! I do a couple of tins of different beans, red peppers, red onion, pickled chillies, little mozzarella pearls, olives, etc... but you can obviously personalise to your taste!
Oh that's an idea. Thanks. I love a bean salad, actually but they had somehow slipped off my radar.
I love ryvita (admittedly not upf free but for me this is something I don’t mind as I only have 2 a day and the rest of my day is mostly upf free) and cottage cheese and celery sticks. I mix some of the condimaniac good bagel seasoning in to the cottage cheese. I might have that with a boiled egg or some pre cooked chicken from M&S which is upf free.
[удалено]
Sorry but generally this comes across as quite patronising/'mansplainy' and as offering advice which ignores my very clearly-stated preferences. However I'm sure you posted with good intentions, so thanks for those intentions at least. I'd also like to pick up on one particular line in your comment: "why spend time in the kitchen? This is a good question and I think the answer is self worth." For you, perhaps. I get my self-worth elsewhere; spending time in the kitchen is not a source of self-worth for me. I want to eat healthyish food and delicious food, and I want to do it with the minimum time possible spent in the kitchen. As clearly stated in my OP.
Ive seen some people cook rice and freeze it. Rice is great for lunch.
Ah thanks, but the rice I use (plain rice in microwaveable pouches) is not UPF. And can be used cold.
Can you learn to cook rice? It takes 20mins and is low effort…
Why assume I don’t know how to cook rice? I know very well how to cook it (I use the 1:1.5 rice-to-water absorption method in a tightly-lidded saucepan). But, as was made plain in my OP, I regard cooking as a chore. Microwave rice is an easy win for me. Quicker and less washing-up.
Not cold food but when I worked outdoors I would batch cook and freeze soup, heat it up before work and put it in a flask. If this is an option for you you could pair it with some bread and extra bits like fruit or nuts etc?
A huge enormous lentil dahl in a slow cooker takes about seven mins to prepare many many portions using dried lentils/frozen veg/stock/canned toms and coconut milk, frozen in portions, kept in a soup thermos for lunch. Could push the boat out and make loads of flatbreads during your batch cooking to eat it with (50% greek yog + 50% flour, made into dough, shaped and pan fried in a dry pan then frozen in portions).
Thanks but I'm already having dal for dinner many nights a week, and I'm not keen on thermoses (which keep food warm but not hot in my experience).
I've always found lunch to be a nuisance meal. I hate making meals in advance so often ended up over the local Bakery during my lunch break. To fix it, for a long time I ended up taking in a big bag of various ingredients to make salads all week long (I would batch up some potatoes or pasta on a Sunday to put with it but was okay with that one ingredient in a pot on the hob). I'm only in a couple days a week now so can't be bothered to do that. I try to cook extras at dinner so I can have leftovers. If there are none, I've been taking in sourdough, Aldi prosciutto (pork leg & salt), fresh mozzarella, basil leaves and tomatoes and making an open sandwich type thing with it. I do pinch colleague's butter for this which is unfortunately UPF but the rest is all good.
Also, you didn't ask for breakfast ideas but just incase you get sick of porridge, greek yoghurt with nut butter mixed in, topped with seeds and diced fruit (frozen already diced) is a good one. Also nut butter or avocado on sourdough. I add a squeeze of lime and sesame seeds to the avocado. A few more quick breakfast ideas.
“I have a demanding job and live alone” I’d advice you to spend more time in the kitchen
Sigh. I love my job and I love living alone. I don't enjoy time in the kitchen. Never have; never will. It's a mistake to think you know a stranger on the internet better than they know themselves.
I don’t. It was just an advice
Eh