Maria Skatova: I carry everything I own with me: five rules for the work menu - Healthy Russia. Food for work: lunchboxes and lifehacks What types of lunchboxes are there?

08.10.2023

November 3, 2016

text: Myhandbook

What could be simpler: collect fresh, delicious ingredients for soup, salad or granola in a jar/bottle and take it with you to work. When you want to have a snack, all you have to do is pour hot water or add dressing and stir. Ksenia Tatarnikova, blog author Smart Cookie, tells you how to prepare a delicious and quick lunch in a new way.

I first heard about salads in jars from my sister - she has lived in Berlin for a long time, and recently it has become common for them to take these cute, multi-colored jars or bottles with them to work, and they contain salads, pickled vegetables, granola, oatmeal and even cupcakes!

It couldn’t be easier: put the ingredients in a jar and add hot water before use or add yogurt if we are talking about granola. All that remains is to stir or let it brew for ten minutes - and voila! - lunch is ready. You can prepare it the day before and put it in the refrigerator, vary the ingredients according to your mood, your own taste and budget.

Here are some tips on how to assemble the jar:

– it is better to pour dressing or liquid into the bottom;

– then – “heavy” ingredients like vegetables and boiled legumes;

– on top – “light” greens and herbs, berries and boiled rice, pasta, soba (so that the cereal does not become watery at the bottom of the jar due to the dressing);

– finally, on top – nuts, seeds, pieces of dried fruit, crackers.

Quick noodle soup in a jar

Place in a clean, dry glass jar with a wide lid: 1 tbsp. l. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, 1/4 bouillon cube (you can make homemade vegetable broth and freeze), 1/4 tsp. grated ginger (optional), 1/2 tbsp. grated carrots, 1/2 tbsp. chopped Chinese cabbage, a handful of chopped parsley/spinach/cilantro, pepper to taste. Place a handful of rice noodles on top (break them with your hands). Cover with a lid and store in the refrigerator (no more than a day).

Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before eating. Then pour boiling water (the water should cover the noodles) and leave to brew for 10-12 minutes. Stir gently. You can eat the soup straight from the can or pour it into a bowl.

What else can be used in quick soup: dried shiitake mushrooms, sweet corn, slices or paneer, seaweed, bean sprouts, watercress, hot and bell pepper pieces, green onions, kimchi.

Multi-colored salad in a jar

By analogy with instant soup, you can take it with you on the road.

“East”: put a dressing of yogurt, salt, pepper, finely chopped cucumber, chili pepper and parsley on the bottom of the jar, top with 3-5 spoons of cooked orzo pasta, 2-3 chopped sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, 3-5 spoons of boiled ( canned, rinse and drain in a colander), a handful of iceberg lettuce. Stir gently before eating. Stores in the refrigerator for a day.

“Varied”: Whisk and pour a dressing of olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, apple juice, Dijon mustard and finely chopped chives into the bottom of the jar. Top with slices of tomato, carrot, yellow bell pepper, fennel, mushrooms and green salad. Stir gently before eating.

Quick breakfast for work

Place fresh berries or fruits, thick natural yogurt in layers in a glass container, and granola (baked muesli) or nuts on top. Crispy fruit parfait is ready! Don't forget to bring a spoon with you. It’s better to take it separately and add it right before eating. You can put yogurt and fruit in the refrigerator in advance.

Proven combinations for different days:

blueberries/blueberries + walnuts

raspberries/blackberries + granola

apricots, cherries/cherries + cashews

Vietnamese pickled vegetables

Peel and cut into strips a long cucumber, daikon and 3-4 small carrots. Mix 200 ml rice vinegar (without additives), 2 tsp. sea salt, 150-200 g sugar and 200 ml water until the sugar dissolves. Place the vegetables in a jar, pour in the marinade, and close the lid. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, preferably 3-5 days. Take it out, place it on, garnish with herbs and enjoy!

In the office cafeteria, I decided to take complete control of lunches. That is, bring home-cooked food to work.

My past experience in this area was in the hungry nineties - we all carried thin soup in glass jars to work. I remember then I swore to myself that “never again.” Since then, I've learned a lot, including the fact that I weighed the least while I was cooking myself.

After analyzing the failures, I developed set of simple rules for the work menu. I’ll say right away that they are suitable for those who have a refrigerator and a microwave at work, as well as the ability to wash and cut vegetables and fruits.

Rule one. Buy the right containers

Let's leave banks in the past: they are heavy, fragile and evoke orphan melancholy. I suggest buying small plastic containers designed for freezing food and heating it in the microwave.

I prefer the ones that fit exactly one serving side dish or main dish. They take up less space in the refrigerator, freezer and bag. In addition, lunch in small boxes cannot be shaken into a homogeneous mass, which often happens in large containers. It is physically impossible to put too much food in them.

If we are not talking about vacuum containers made using modern technologies, silver ions and other marketing tricks, food box can be any. Such dishes are inexpensive.

For obvious reasons, rectangular containers fit better in the freezer. It’s good if the lid has a valve for steam to escape, but you can do without it. The lid can be either regular or screw-on.

Keep in mind that containers - even "guaranteed leak-proof" models - will lose their tightness after several months of active use. Change them from time to time and use a plastic bag to protect yourself when you put the container in your bag, otherwise you will end up with sauce on your planner like I did.

Rule two. Make friends with vegetables and fruits

Seasonal salads, such as sauerkraut or grated beets, “tolerate” the commute just fine in a container. But a chopped and seasoned salad made from fresh vegetables will quickly yield juice and begin to deteriorate. This is best prepared right at work.

Check if the working kitchen has a good board? If the plaque is made of wood and has clearly seen better days, you can bring a personalized plastic– it is easy to clean and much more hygienic.

Fruits are a worthy alternative to office tea parties with cookies and pies. To avoid carrying them with me every day (and not adding weight to a heavy bag), I try to buy apples, oranges or tangerines near work once a week. I keep my supplies in a desk drawer.

Rule three. Stock up

You can keep it in a “healthy” desk drawer not only fruits, but also a small bottle of olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar for salad dressing.

Add dried fruits and nuts to your office rations in case of acute hunger, as well as whole grain bread and a pack of oatmeal or buckwheat flakes without additives. These products will help you last the whole day if you didn’t have time to take lunch with you or were late at work.

I also bring honey in small jars - it helps a lot with the desire to immediately eat a kilogram of chocolate.

Another unobvious advantage of healthy supplies: a “stash” will soon make you the most popular person who can always help out hungry colleagues.

Rule four. Break away from the team

Having a rainy day fund will help you become more popular, and that's a great thing. After all, now we have to lose some of the people's love.

When most colleagues bring lunch with them, all you have to do is join them. But if employees prefer to dine in cafes and canteens, they will have to break away from the team and deal with the misunderstanding of others.

Are you embarrassed to say directly that you are tired of unhealthy, fatty and not always fresh food? Come up with comic explanation.

Say that you are doing a survival experiment, testing how much money you can save, learning to cook using new recipes. Refer to the doctor's recommendation or diet, finally! Soon everyone will get used to the fact that you don’t go to the dining room, and they will stop inviting you along.

Rule five. Count your money

If concern for health and the desire to lose weight are not enough to systematically prepare and carry lunches with you, try talking to your “toad”.

The bill for a business lunch in the city center, of course, differs from the price for lunch in a suburban canteen. But in any case, the cost of one meal in an establishment is comparable to the price of a kilogram of chicken, turkey or fish.

In addition, if you cook yourself, you clearly control the composition and freshness of dishes. Accordingly, save on medications for indigestion, poisoning and other problems with the digestive system.

I like to count how many yoga or swimming classes I could get if I stopped eating at the neighborhood cafes. You can also increase your exercise budget by avoiding paper coffee cups and cinnamon rolls from chain coffee shops.

This is the case when the amount spent on yourself does not change. But the terms and the result become different.

So, are you determined to cook your own lunch? Then next week we will discuss what and how to cook when time is short, and most importantly, how to store it all.

I have two bonus cards in Eldorado and from time to time the “generous” store throws in 200 rubles in cash. For the Eldorado store this is a very small amount; you can’t buy almost anything with it. So I go around racking my brains about what to buy with such a bonus in the store.

My husband has recently refused to take first courses (soups, borscht) to work with him. Every container I buy leaks all the time. Although I don't buy the cheapest options. So it occurred to me to buy a high-quality container for first courses, to please my beloved husband, so to speak)

There are cheap options in the store (although they are not exactly cheap, since the same containers are much cheaper in other stores).

After choosing for a long time I decided to buy Grand Chef brand container from the CURVER collection.

I have a square mold with a volume of 1.2 liters.

What attracted me to this container is the silicone lid; it fits very tightly to the container itself.

The lid has a convenient edge for opening.

I can note that the lid is difficult to close the container; it takes a lot of effort.

There was also an information brochure inside.

My husband has already tried to carry my soups to work. Nothing spills! Really 100% tight)

The only downside I can mention is the price, in the Eldorado store the price was 299 rubles, but since I paid 200 rubles in bonuses. That container cost me 99 rubles.

I think that 99 rubles is an adequate price for plastic, albeit of high quality.

Eating at a cafe 5 times a week is not a cheap pleasure. Not even to mention the fact that it’s easier to be tempted to eat a higher-calorie or unhealthy dish. But here the question arises: how to take home-cooked food with you to work in a convenient and reliable way? We will answer this today.

What should I bring for food?

If you bring lunches to work irregularly and make do sandwiches, the problem is solved quite simply: the sandwich can be wrapped in foil or cling film so that it does not fall apart, and later put in a plastic or paper bag for safety. An excellent solution in this case would be thick ziplock bags, originally intended for storage in the freezer.

If your sandwich rarely remains appetizing until lunch, try the following:

Wrap the bread separately from the filling. Alternatively, store the bread at work and only take the filling with you.
If you use sauces, take them with you in small containers or bottles and add them just before eating.
Place your sandwich in a plastic container so it doesn't get crushed in your bag on the way to work.

In Soviet times, people took with them to work soup in a glass jar. The idea is clear, but not the most convenient: it’s heavy, fragile and still not perfectly sealed. Now there is a good alternative - plastic containers. To prevent the soup from spilling, you can use a container with a screw-on lid - it will ensure maximum tightness. But it still wouldn’t hurt to be on the safe side: don’t turn the container or bag with it on its side for too long and don’t forget about the plastic bag. I have an inexpensive Bytplast container (pictured below): I don’t carry soups in it, but dishes with sauces don’t leak.

Another way to achieve a seal is to use a rubber layer between the container and the lid, which can be found in many lunchboxes. However, such a layer can become unreliable with constant use, and the tightness also depends on the quality of the fasteners that press the lid to the container.

You can even take lunch with you in a separate bag specially designed for these purposes. There are several advantages here:

load redistribution, beneficial for the back;
easy to clean if food spills inside;
It’s easy to keep food at the desired temperature;
The size of the bag will not limit the portion you would like to eat for lunch, and vice versa.

To get hired full lunch, there's nothing better than a special lunchbox. In Japan, lunches are often packed in oblong containers called bento, which became the ancestor of all lunchboxes. Classic bento is suitable exclusively for dry food (for example, sushi and vegetables) and is used mainly by schoolchildren. The Japanese have made a real art out of bento filling.

Lunchboxes - the European version of bento - have a different number of levels and compartments, so you can always choose the appropriate option among many models. Two levels are convenient because you can heat only one, and leave the second one - with a salad or snack - cold. One or more compartments must be sealed in order to carry, if not soups, then meat and gravy. Another important characteristic - the ability to be used in the microwave - is found in the vast majority of lunchboxes (but not all plastic containers). If you don’t have a microwave at work, a thermal lunchbox can help out by keeping food warm for a long time.

Lunchboxes are more expensive than regular containers, but a high price, unfortunately, is not always a guarantee of their quality. I’m sharing my own experience: we bought my husband a plastic two-tier lunchbox with a bunch of compartments for work (it’s pictured below). I dabbled in putting a variety of food into containers for only three days, then the plastic fastener cracked - the lid no longer holds and does not hold all the levels together. You won't be able to carry food in it to work anymore.

In this regard, I can advise you to choose only high-quality plastic, or even better metal: it can be used to make either the entire lunchbox or individual parts of the structure that bear the load. Particular attention to the material is also necessary because many types of plastic, when heated in the microwave, emit harmful substances that should not be in our food. Lunch boxes usually have labels indicating that the plastic is safe. If you're health conscious, simply transfer the dish to a plate before reheating, or invest in a ceramic lunchbox.

It is useful for the lunchbox to “work” with a different number of parts: for example, today you took two dishes with you on two levels, and tomorrow you want to take only a salad - it is very convenient to take only one compartment so as not to take up extra space in the bag. For example, the lunchbox in the photo below can do this.

Lifehacks

About food:

Organize a supply at your workplace consisting of bread, honey, nuts and dried fruits - these products last a long time, are healthy and can save you if you are late at work or did not have time to take lunch.
Sandwich bread can also be stored at work so it doesn't get soggy along the way.
Buy a bag of apples, tangerines or other similar fruits at least once a week for work: this way you won’t have to carry them with you every day, which is quite difficult, and a healthier alternative to chocolate will always be at hand.
Always keep your salad dressing or sauce in a separate container/bag to add before eating. A small bottle of olive oil and vinegar can also be kept at work.
Ideal if you have a refrigerator at work. If you don’t have one, and food cannot be stored for a long time without it, you can put a bottle of frozen water in the same bag with your lunchbox.

Life:

If you don’t want the lunch you brought from home to limit your rest during your lunch break, make it a habit to go for a walk. In summer, you can eat lunch in the nearest park, and in the cold season, just take a short walk in the remaining time.
If everyone goes to a cafe or canteen, and you don’t want to lose the social component of shared lunches, choose the most interesting interlocutor from among your colleagues and propose an experiment: carry lunches from home for a week or two and calculate the savings. Suddenly he gets involved.
Keep a supply of healthy snacks at work that you can use to save hungry colleagues. Let's hope this kind of generosity returns in spades.

Photos: homedorf.ru, ippinka.com, backtoherroots.com, indulgy.com, magicmag.net, gallerily.com