Eating Packed lunch: Basic manual for beginners

If you think taking a packed lunch with you is an impossible mission, don’t worry!  Below we have collected a series of simple tips to introduce you to this new world, fancy joining?

The advantage of using containers and preparing our own food is that apart of being a more economical option it is also healthier, as long as we cook consciously. Here, we leave you some basic recommendations to give it a start.

To go tips

1. Preparation: Food is kept fresh better if it is prepared on the same day, but of course if you don’t have time you can always prepare it the night before.
2. Equilibrium: even if you don’t believe it, eating pack lunch doesn’t have to be monotonous or exclusive. Nearly all food groups can be packed in our containers, so be creative and alternate!
3. Plan: create weekly menus, you will achieve two things:

-It always changes so you are not eating the same thing all the time (remember point 2).

– Save time thinking about what you are going to cook when you get home, what am I cooking? Do I have everything I need?

4. Cold chain, don’t break it! If you don’t have a place to keep your container try to carry it in an isothermal container or bag with ice packs to keep it cool! In the worst case scenario and if you don’t have a place to carry or keep your food, it is not recommended that stays unrefrigerated for longer than 3 hours. Some foods a bit less, things like fish and milk. Avoid raw egg or cream.
5. Not in this case, measures your portions. Depending on the type of food we could be at risk of getting food poisoning.

In the kitchen: hands to it!

1. Hygiene is important, make sure your container is clean and dry.
2. Concerning the material, of which the container is made from, chose the one that adapts to your needs. Generally, plastic ones deforms with time and are more difficult to clean.
3. When you cook your meals, leave them to cool down and put them in a container. Don’t put them in the fridge while they are warm.
4. When we cook we need to take into account the following:

Salad: Do not add the dressing until you are about to eat it. The best thing to do is separate the lettuce to the rest of the components to the salad (tomatoes, tuna, corn etc). You can consider things like canned food to add on the salad. You can buy the dressing as single doses (olive oil, mustard), it is much easier or you can leave a bottle of the dressing you like at your work place (if it’s possible for you).

As it happens with salad, if you going to mixed cooked food with raw food mix it once you going to eat it.

If you are eating a sandwich and you don’t want the bread to get soft, you can always put the sandwich together just before eating it.

At work: enjoy the moment

1. Avoid eating in front of you laptop, take a brake and enjoy your meal.
2. Don’t eat in a rush to finish ASAP. You don’t have a good digestion when you eat quickly.
3. If you have some time left after eating, move a bit or take a walk to stretch.

In you menu do not forget about veggies, meats and fish. You do need to take into account that some foods don’t tolerate re-heating as well as others, like fish and meets.

If you have any other tips to eat from packed lunch share them! Which is your favourite?