packed lunches anyone?

[nemily]

Hi all

Im getting a bored with my food ... So im gonna start on the packed lunch thread ...

I have been having ...

salads - varying cheese and nut combinations
roasted peppers and cheese

i work while i eat so nothing too messy ...

Please ... any suggestions?

Thank you

[Nigel]

I make lettuce wraps a lot.
I put in avocado, onion, tomato, cucumber, whatever I have on hand.
I am kind of addicted to the lettuce wraps.
Sometimes I just make them with tomato and cheese too.
I use the big red leaf lettuce leaves. I can usually keep them from being too messy with that type of lettuce.

I carry around little baggies of nuts and cut up veggies, etc. too.

[Rua]

Originally Posted by Nigel

I make lettuce wraps a lot.
I put in avocado, onion, tomato, cucumber, whatever I have on hand.
I am kind of addicted to the lettuce wraps.
Sometimes I just make them with tomato and cheese too.
I use the big red leaf lettuce leaves. I can usually keep them from being too messy with that type of lettuce.

I carry around little baggies of nuts and cut up veggies, etc. too.

They sound yum Nigel, could you post a pic up? I'm not familiar with lettuce types so i wana see which one to use! lol

Nemily, i usually put whatever dinner i had night before into a lunch box and heat in micro but sometimes i make salad and cook a veggie sausage (have you tried 'frys'?) in the morn and throw it in with salad and some cheese.

I'd also be interested in what other people have for lunch

[Butternut]

I pack a big salad with the drsg separate.
Berries and cottage cheese.
Nuts
Bunless cheeseburger
Chicken Nuggets

[Heidinem]

I microwave cheese on parchment & stuff w/ cream cheese, peppers, or peanut butter. Hummus might be good too.

[nemily]

Thanks all

I have tried using lettuce to make wraps with, but I must have had the wrong lettuce Nigel as it all kind of fell apart and broke, it was lovely to eat but too messy at work, I will have to check the lettuces out for durability ... wont that get me some looks in Tesco

Rua, thanks good idea, I have made a few larger portions of my evening meal this week and taken some into work the following day

And Heidinem, would that be the same as making cheese crisps which I do in the oven, kind of a circle of grated cheese? Sounds interesting I will definately try that one ..

Does anyone have a good hummus recipe? I have tried making at home over the years but never seem to get it just right!

[Nigel]

Here are some lettuce pics. I had to figure out how to get them online to post them. Sorry for the delay.
I've got red leaf, butter lettuce, iceberg and romaine pictured here. I like the red leaf the best, but the boston has the best flavor.

The iceberg makes great wraps too, but you might have to use 2 leaves at a time for it to be thick enough. I've never tried it, but read about people using cabbage leaves for wraps also. I find raw cabbage pretty crunchy for my tastes.

butter lettuce

red leaf

red leaf

romaine


iceberg lettuce

The leaves don't look that big on the picture of the red leaf lettuce, but they are when they are opened up. They also have green leaf lettuce like the red leaf, but it isn't as tender.

[Rua]

oooh thanks Nigel!
must get myself to Lidl for a lettuce shopping!

nemily, can you tell me how exactly you make the cheese crisps?

[Heidinem]

Nemily it is similiar to the oven method. In this case you do not have to have shredded cheese & its very quick. I make these at 5 AM for hubby's lunch. Parchment paper can be used over & over as long as the Deluxe American slices are used. I have read that regular American cheese does not work on the paper but can be pan fried for a similiar effect. I dont know if this kind of processed cheese is available in UK but I would think it would be, maybe under different name?

[Nigel]

Here is a picture of how it looks here:

[Rua]

theyre like easi singles here


do they not bubble up and burn? could never use them for cheese on toast cause theyd bubble up on top and stay soft on bottom

[TaDa!]

Ohmigosh you guys!!! I just went out to lunch to an amazing restaurant and had an epiphany, lol! There was an eggplant rolatini .. with the thinnest (maybe pounded?) eggplant slices wrapped around ricotta mixture covered in sauce and mozzarella .. but the eggplant ... at first I started excavating my dish because I thought it was a tortilla

and then it hit me .. wow, if I could slice an eggplant lengthwise and somehow do this to it, it would make a pretty good sandwich roll-up, especially if you wrap it in foil, so that the bottom is enclosed as you eat it (like they do at some sandwich shops with wraps).

Anyhow .. thought I'd throw it into your packed lunch thread as an idea. It would hold up to heated contents as well...



Pauline

[Nigel]

The eggplant idea sounds pretty interesting.

[7doghouse]

Love lettuce wraps using butter lettuce. I eat them every day just change up the fillings

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by 7doghouse

Love lettuce wraps using butter lettuce. I eat them every day just change up the fillings

That's a cute puppy ya got there. What breed is it?

[7doghouse]

Originally Posted by Nigel

That's a cute puppy ya got there. What breed is it?

Thank you. I think shes pretty cute too She's a mutt and a rescue. If I had to guess I'd say boxer/jrt/Dalmatian mix, but who really knows

You've got a pretty cute pup yourself

[Nigel]

Thank you. Your pup is so sweet, doesn't matter what breed she is, I was just curious. Rescue pups are the best. All of mine are rescues too.

[7doghouse]

Originally Posted by Nigel

Thank you. Your pup is so sweet, doesn't matter what breed she is, I was just curious. Rescue pups are the best. All of mine are rescues too.

Rescue pups are the best I have 7 rescue pups at the moment. All but one are mutts.

[Nigel]

We need more people like you in the world, 7doghouse.

Sorry about the threadjack. Another thing I thought of that is easy to pack for a lunch is the "better than quiche, ricotta pie" recipe. I make it in the big muffin tins, but the small ones work just fine too. You can leave out or add ingredients to the recipe to change it up when you get tired of the same ole thing. And they are freezeable, so you can make a whack at a time if you want.

If you have access to a microwave, it's easy to nuke them and they taste nearly as good as when you first make them.

You could always wrap a lettuce leaf or flatbread type thing around it to make it easier to hold.

I love the Tofuyan flat breads...they make excellent pizza crusts and great wraps. I wasn't crazy about most of the flatbreads I tried, but I like this one. Of course it does contain soy (tofu), so if you can eat that, then I'd recommend getting them. I am pretty sure that netrition sells them too.

So if you don't have a microwave and you don't mind cold pizza, then I'd suggest pizza on a flatbread. I don't mind cold pizza, sometimes I like it even better than when its hot. lol

[nemily]

Ooh some great ideas thanks. i have bought some processed cheese slices. Rua the cheese crisps i make, i use hard cheddar, grate small circles on greaseproof paper, lattice style, bake in the oven until they turn golden, only takes a few minutes, when cool they are very crispy, i eat those when the others have hash browns, adds some texture to the meal.

[Nigel]

yum, those cheese crisps are good.

You can make bigger ones to use for taco shells too.

If you can find the cubed cheese, that works great too. I use a silicone muffin pan and put a cube in each one. The pan I have makes square muffins, so they look like crackers.

[Heidinem]

Rua those cheese slices like you posted pic of maybe more like regular American cheese slices. The regular ones burn & cant be microwaved but can be pan fried according to posters on this board. There is something different about the Deluxe
American, perhaps more fat? It is higher priced than the regular.

[nemily]

aah, i have bought regular cheese slices too. maybe i wont micro them then!

i will try one and see if it works, if not, i could still wrap them around some salad type lunch maybe?

[Rua]

Originally Posted by Heidinem

Rua those cheese slices like you posted pic of maybe more like regular American cheese slices. The regular ones burn & cant be microwaved but can be pan fried according to posters on this board. There is something different about the Deluxe
American, perhaps more fat? It is higher priced than the regular.

Maybe theyre more cheese then plastic!

Thanks nemily, gona try them crisps, mmmm