Why and how to bring your lunch

Why should you bring your lunch to the office or workplace?

In my case, it was out of necessity. After working from home during nearly ten years, I started to hire a desk at a coworking space in 2012.

I’m one of those people who like to eat every 3-4 hours, and it’s not easy to buy healthy vegetarian meals here in Spain. So I bring my own food, usually a second breakfast, lunch and sometimes an afternoon snack.

Another important reason is that bringing your own food is much cheaper than eating out, and it’s nice to be in control of what you eat.

But the practical aspects can be a little challenging, so I’d like to share what I’ve learned during the last year.

Analyse your necessities

Everyone’s different, and that’s especially true when it comes to food. I like to eat frequently, others are totally okay with only three or even two meals a day. I need lots of carbohydrates and protein to feel full and satisfied, others love big bowls of salads or lots of fresh fruit and get all their energy out of this. So try things out, take note of your habits and preferences and adapt your packed lunches accordingly. But don’t limit yourself to a couple of favourites – find a balance between what you love and what’s good for you, try to be creative and bring a wide variety of food.

Don’t be overambitious

Don’t put yourself under pressure. Of course you can find a thousand stunningly beautiful ideas on Pinterest, but not everybody has the time to create a carefully crafted bento every day. In my opinion the same thing is true when it comes to healthy, homemade stuff versus convenience food. Of course it’s ideal to cook things yourself, but combining prepacked items with homemade ones is often much healthier than just grabbing something greasy at the next takeaway.

Planning

If you bring your own lunch, planning is absolutely essential. Again it depends on your circumstances and lifestyle how you plan and when you shop and cook/prepare your lunches.

In my case I usually prepare everything that has to be cooked on Sunday evening and freeze it in the same containers that I will take to the office. During the week I prepare some things (like substantial salads and raw vegetable sticks) the night before, and some things (like sandwiches) in the morning just before I leave.

You might prefer to make every meal the night before, or even the same day, if you start working late. A woman I know only cooks once a month, she always reserves one weekend for preparing big batches of food and then freezes everything for the next four weeks.

Transporting your food

I think this might be the most difficult aspect of bringing packed lunches.

Again you should analyse your personal situation carefully. When I started packing my own lunches, I was fascinated by those big, tighly packed bentos. Then I noticed that they weren’t practical for me, because of two reasons: First of all I often combine cold food (like a sandwich or a salad) with something that has to be reheated, and packing the two in one container obviously isn’t an option.

Secondly I mostly travel in public transport and use a different kind of bag every day, depending on how much stuff I have to schlep around. But even in my biggest bag, my bagpack, a big food container cannot be transported horizontally, and it will certainly not have a cozy and hitchfree journey.

So separate, small containers it is. The most important thing for me to learn was that you have to invest some money in good food containers. For me that meant spending a couple of euros extra on leakproof plastic containers – I own several by Lock and Lock and Emsa, and as long as you don’t overfill them, they are totally safe, you can bring along soups, smoothies, puddings, whatever you want.

I have found out that for my main dish a tightly packed container with a volume of between 200 and 300 ml is enough if I bring something substantial like pasta or rice. I feel satisfied and full, but not so tired that it affects my work.

Sometimes I bring a second container with salad or a vegetable side dish.

I use smaller, not leak-tight containers for things like sandwiches, raw non-soggy vegetables or fruit, nuts, cookies etc.

The smallest containers in my collection are used for dips and sauces, but as I have not yet found really small leak-tight ones, I usually put them inside a bigger container or wrap them in a dish towel.

Sometimes I bring a small mason jar for desserts or jar cake.

I transport rolls, bagels and the like in paper bags, just like some whole pieces of fruit.

So yes, I usually have several smaller items, but they actually help me to make better use of the space in my bag. And sometimes I can store the smaller containers inside the bigger ones after eating.

I hope these explanations are helpful! How do you pack and transport your lunch? Do you have some ideas to add?