I am pretty lucky to work from home and to have it pretty easy for lunch. Often I go out to a little cafe just to get out of the house. However, if I have a good option at home, I do like staying in and being extra productive. Louisa is here today sharing great ideas for things to have on hand for lunches!
5 Packed Lunch Ideas for a Full Week of Lunches
Guest post by Louisa from Living Lou
I try really hard to bring my lunch to work every day. It’s tough, but honestly spending $20 a day on a lunch that isn’t going to be that good is just not something that I really want to be doing.
When I cook, I often cook with leftovers and lunch in mind, but I have a few recipes up my sleeve that I’ll make on a Sunday or Monday so I’m not stressing about packing a lunch this week. Here are five of my tried and true lunch favorites.
1. Pasta salad or grain salad
I’ll often make a big batch of lemony herbed pasta salad, quinoa sweet potato salad or farro salad because they are sturdy salads which means they’ll hold up in the fridge for the full week. I’ll be sure to pack some kind of hummus or chicken on the side as well so that I stay full all afternoon.
2. Sandwiches
There’s a reason why sandwiches are a go-to dish for lunches. I’ll often make a big batch of tuna salad or egg salad with bacon and avocado on the weekend and assemble sandwiches throughout the week (also makes a great snack for when you’re hangry after work!).
3. Soup
We always make a soup on a Sunday as something to have in the fridge to snack on throughout the week, and when I don’t have any leftovers or anything else prepped, I’ll fill up a thermos with a hearty soup for lunch. The key is to make sure that it’s something filling like six vegetable white bean soup or Moroccan vegetable soup.
4. Quick stir fry
I started making a quick stir fry at least one night a week and the leftovers make the perfect packed lunch. Asparagus and tofu stir fry for my veggie friends and this peanut chicken stir fry for everyone else.
5. Pasta
Honestly, pasta packs really well for lunches. I’m a big fan of having pasta for lunch because it gives me something to look forward to! Chicken asparagus pasta is a favorite, but I also love making this sheet pan gnocchi.
When I was living at home, I would regularly make myself sandwiches whenever I wanted, but strangely enough, since moving into my own place, I’ve hardly made myself sandwiches! Instead, I labour over making “proper” dinners and then packing those leftovers for the next day’s lunch. You’ve reminded me that sandwiches are so underrated haha. It’s also nice that you don’t need to bring a hefty container for it -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Love these lunch ideas, especially the salads!
xx Irene | http://www.clubcoconutti.com
Great ideas for lunches here. I tend to make pasta salads for work lunches as I can make it in bulk and then that’s my meal prep for the week. I’ll also take some balsamic dressing with me to add to my lunches each day, as it makes it a lot tastier.
Snippets of Emily’s Life xx
Thank you for the suggestions. I need to switch it up.
These are great options!! I need to be better at packing my snacks and lunch for when I go to school, and spend the entire day there studying. I agree that pasta is the best lunch 🙂
xx Libby
https://premedwearspearls.blogspot.com
Thank you, Louise! I made a goal to pack more lunches to save money and eat more veggies, but didn’t know what to make. This is so helpful!
Carly, I would love to see a week’s worth of what you’re cooking for lunch. Need some inspiration. Also, any creative and quick ways to make eggs more exciting for breakfast?