Lunch Ideas

[Sira Raven]

I was wondering if anyone has any good ideas of what I can pack for lunch that would be gluten free. I'm a graduate student, so I generally pack myself and lunch and eat it in the lab or the common room. We also have multiple lunch seminars a week, so I have to bring my own lunch to those as well. I have access to a microwave. At this point, though, all I can think of to bring is sandwiches, which I think will get boring pretty fast. I can buy Udi's buns and bread and I can make Elizabeth Barbone's bread/bun recipes, so that's not an issue - I'm just kind of stuck on variety. I usually just do deli meat/cheese/tomato sandwiches or nutella/banana sandwiches at this point, but I'm afraid of getting tired of them. Does anyone have any ideas on anything easy I can pack and eat in the lab for lunch?

[pricklypear1971]

I don't bother with the bread....I use crackers instead.

I make salad - chicken, etc. and eat it with crackers.

Cold cuts or leftover steak, chicken, etc.

Make a lasagna or other casserole and nuke it. Same with soups. Rice dishes reheat nicely.

I'll also just snack on nuts, fruits, veggies for lunch.

[granolagal]

I'm struggling to find lunch ideas too. I was just diagnosed 3 weeks ago. Right now, my standard work lunches are:

-salads

-veggies & dip (Gluten-Free of course), plus nuts and yogurt or cottage cheese (for protein)

-left overs from dinner (which could be quinoa, etc)

-frozen burrito (there's one that's gluten-free, I think the brand is Amy's? It's good. Unless you're trying to go completely "unprocessed").

But, like you, I'm already getting tired of these and would love other ideas (it's hard for me because I'm also a vegetarian).

[T.H.]

We ended up doing a lot of asian food, specifically making japanese bento boxes. Rice balls are easy - Sushi rice soaked for 1-6 hours and then cooked, cooled, and formed into a shape with salted hands. A filling inside works well - fish or meat or fruit, depending on what you want the rice ball for.

We made gluten-free falafel with homemade hummues to dip it in, gluten-free pasta salad that was okay cold, chopped veggies, dried fruits and veggies and seeds that we made ourselves. cold chicken salads with homemade dressing, or soups/stews/bean dishes in a wide-mouthed thermos.

[Marilyn R]

I went for months buying three romaine salad hearts. I'd wash and spin them dry on the weekend, and bag them up into individual serving sizes.

I'd alternate proteins like safe tuna or chicken and add hearts of palm, grilled asparagus, shredded carrots. chopped seeded cucumber. Sometimes I had leftover salmon or shrimp, or sliced avacado. Loved that every day. My dressing was lime or lemon juice with olive or avacado oil. That was a nice, healthy lunch with protein to fuel you and good fiber and fats.

I suddenly got sick of salads, can't do them anymore, but I like coleslaw. And I'm really into soups.

I have a thermos. I'll probably be into soups unil I get sick of them, then go back to salads. The soup nazi would be jealous of the soup I made today, it was killer.