Making lunch for school

[SuperSalty]

I'm currently in 11th grade, and have gotten into the habit of waking up at 5:30 to run/exercise. As I'll also be starting a physics club at school, I won't have time to buy lunch at noon(plus school lunch is horrendous anyways), so I decided that I'd make myself lunch to prepare for college and whatnot.

I am looking for fast recipes(<20 mknutes) that I can make in the morning or the night before. I have a thermal lunch box so heat will not be an issue. The few Google searches I did were not particularly helpful so I came here instead.

Any source of recipes is fine, I am willing to spend a little money on cookbooks, but websites/blogs work too. Specific recipe recommendations are welcome as well. Thanks!

Any type of cooking is welcome, learning ethnic cooking would be quite fun as a side benefit of making lunch.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Hey Salty, welcome to DC!

What do you want to eat?

I never really used recipes for a sack lunch. I usually went with leftovers from last nights dinner, salads with various toppings, a sandwich or a collection of individual items like yogurt, cheese, hard boiled eggs, fruit, cookies, etc...

Stick around and I'm sure you will get several ideas.

 

[SuperSalty]

Some days I may eat left overs, but my family usually eats out on Sundays, so there wouldn't usually be leftovers for Monday lunch (when my club is supposed to be). cooking quick dishes seems like a pretty useful skill to have anyways, so I still want to find some quick dishes.

Some days I may just throw in a mix of things (salad, egg, cookies, sandwich, etc) if I run out of time though.

 

[mlyyates]

Welcome Salty. I generally take a salad for lunch with some fruit to snack on. I also occasionally take left overs. I don't ever cook anything special for lunch.

 

[Dawgluver]

Welcome to DC! If you like to cook, on the weekend when you're not too busy, make up a pot of chili, some split pea soup with ham, beef barley soup, you get the idea. These all freeze well. Before you go work out, nuke a portion and put it in your thermal lunchbag, along with some carrot and celery sticks and ranch dip, maybe some cheese and crackers, a sliced apple, and a cookie or a pudding cup.

I also like what I call salad in a bag. A mix of greens, frozen peas, cottage cheese, maybe ham, bacon bits or chicken, sunflower seeds, raisins, whatever other veggie you might have, and dressing. All in a ziplock. Croutons in a separate bag. You could do the same thing in a mason jar.

 

[SuperSalty]

Welcome to DC! If you like to cook, on the weekend when you're not too busy, make up a pot of chili, some split pea soup with ham, beef barley soup, you get the idea. These all freeze well. Before you go work out, nuke a portion and put it in your thermal lunchbag, along with some carrot and celery sticks and ranch dip, maybe some cheese and crackers, a sliced apple, and a cookie or a pudding cup.

I also like what I call salad in a bag. A mix of greens, frozen peas, cottage cheese, maybe ham, bacon bits or chicken, sunflower seeds, raisins, whatever other veggie you might have, and dressing. All in a ziplock. Croutons in a separate bag. You could do the same thing in a mason jar.

I see. I will consider that for some of my future lunches, thanks!

 

[Aunt Bea]

This is a great, easy, inexpensive, college survival dish that you can whip up for yourself or your family and take to school for lunch. You can change up the ingredients to make your own version, use spaghetti sauce instead of tomatoes, Italian sausage or ground turkey instead of ground beef, add mushrooms, etc...

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/recipe-for-american-chop-suey-48802.html#post657248

 

[SuperSalty]

mm yum

 

[Dawgluver]

In college, I cooked a lot of Minute Rice with Velveeta, ramen noodles, and spaghetti with meat sauce. These also made for good leftovers, but probably not the healthiest choices.

 

[Aunt Bea]

In college, I cooked a lot of Minute Rice with Velveeta, ramen noodles, and spaghetti with meat sauce. These also made for good leftovers, but probably not the healthiest choices.

Minute rice with a pat of margarine and some brown sugar used to be breakfast!

 

[jd_1138]

Get a thermos for soups and bring some crackers, maybe a piece of fruit.

 

[CWS4322]

Welcome to DC! Stir fries are great but my fav take on site lunches are Mega salads. Hard cooked eggs, nuts, dry/fresh fruit, a grain (quinoa, freekah, farro, bulgar), lots of greens, avocado, pepitos, beans--garbanzo beans are my fav, grated carrots, raw baby beets, celeriac, jicama, nutritional yeast, feta or other cheeses, olives, quick pickled cabbage/red onions, all kinds of things can go in a mega salad. Leftover chicken, etc. You can cook a big pot of beans and frreze them. You can grate the veggies (if doing carrots, rinse rhem well after grating to get the starch out, cover with water in a container and they will keep at least a week) on the weekend. hummus and veggies. Vegggie chips.

 

[letscook]

Pasta Salads - cook up any pasta of choice, any will work even spaghetti. add favorite veggies, meat like ham ,peperoni, salami. and shredded or cubed cheese. the mix with an Italian or a ranch dressing.
My favorite is bow ties, broccoli, cauliflower, thin slices of carrots, red onion, deli ham cut in medium pieces, green or red pepper or both sliced thin black and green olives or both. Then toss it with a dressing of choice


if you want the broccoli cauliflower and carrot not as raw, toss the cut up pieces in with your pasta while it is cooking to soften to your liking.
heres a link for 22 different pasta salads. so many possibility's, pasta salads are great - make the night before and all set to grab and go
22 Summer Pasta Salad Recipes - Easy Ideas for Cold Pasta Salad?

 

[tenspeed]

if you want the broccoli cauliflower and carrot not as raw, toss the cut up pieces in with your pasta while it is cooking to soften to your liking.

When I add these to a green salad, I nuke them about half way (enough to soften them a bit), then dump them in cold water to stop the cooking process.

 

[Zagut]

I love leftovers for lunch. It gives me an excuse to make a larger portion at dinner time.

But when I haven't any leftovers There is the Sammie to take it's place.

A couple slices of bread and filling of your choice fuels the system.

Easy and quick are, Tuna, Ham, and Peanut Butter.

And don't forget the not really wanted but cheap fuel like canned ravioli (99 cents a can) by Mr. Boyardee. It's lunch which to me equals fuel for the system.

Fix what you can and like but keep in mind that it's pit stop and dinner is where the tasty stuff is important.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Many live off of such things as ramen, goulash, all kinds of pasta dishes, and a host of unhealthy foods. Here are some ideas for healthier meals.

Microwave a sweet potato in its skin while frying a small steak. Add green beans or freshly steamed spinach, or summer squash.

Cassoulet (French bean soup)

Cooked lentils with ham and sauteed onions

Yellow or green split pea soup with shredded carrots, and onions cooked in

Hard boiled egg, ground beef, celery, potato, carrot, and onion all made into soup

Boiled dinner= one of the following meats cut into bite-sized chunks- beef roast, corned beef, ham, venison (I know, hard to come by), lamb, with cabbage chunks, onion, potato, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Couscous with steamed broccoli and cheese sauce

Good, deli-style sandwiches with meats, cheese, peppers, tomato, etc.

That's a good start.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Dawgluver]

Dragon lady noodles! These were a huge hit around these parts:
http://www.dragonladykitchen.com/2010/04/sesame-noodles.html

 

[95Austin12]

When I was in the collage, I also usually make Rice nd noodles only. Great idea for starting this thread here SuperSalty. At last I was getting so boar through that and just started eating fruits in lunch. Hope you will get many choices.

 

[Ling]

Hi there Salty. My name is Ling and I just joined yesterday. In Japan we had "bento boxes", basically a lunch box of sorts- made with rice and all sorts of veggies and other foods incorporated. I used to make it for my daughter when she was growing up, and I still make them to this day...for myself in traveling or events. I'd be happy to help you with your dilemma. For starters, do you like rice and have a rice cooker> If not you can use a pot on the stove. This is a takeout or homemade lunch called a "Bento Box",
On any given day or night that you have about an hour, get all the vegetables that you like to eat for the week and prep them. If veggies are raw, like cucumbers, carrots, peppers or other pickled veggies (kimchee, takuwan, spicy bamboo shoots, etc.)...cut them in bite size or match sticks and you can even season them with shoyu (soy) sauce and a bit of rice vinegar. Put each veggie in small plastic bags in the refrigerator and take out what you want every morning to make your 'bento box'. You can even have cooked, sauteed veggies too. As for meats, you can utilize any cooked leftovers, or have boiled eggs on hand and slice them and add them to your bento. You can even use sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham or roast beef and just chop it up and add to your meal. The key is to prep the ingredients, then they are ready for you when and what you want that day and you can quickly throw it together These are healthy, quick and relatively inexpensive to make and doesn't make you sluggish afterward. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Good luck, happy eating and good health!