Among the changes that the pandemic brought to your life, do your workday lunch habits look different today? Do you leave the office for lunch less often than you did prior to 2020, or do you work from home exclusively now and eat there? A recent Washington Post story by reporter Taylor Telford explored the question “What Did the Pandemic Do to Lunch?”, and we thought it’d make for an interesting discussion today. Regarding the effect on restaurants, the story noted, “It used to be a vital part of doing business, but lunch is lagging in downtown areas as workers stay home.”

Readers, we're wondering: Does this story ring true for you? Has the pandemic changed where you eat your workday lunches — or how you connect with business contacts?

{related: 6 tips for saving money on lunch (even if you eat out all the time!)}

Here are a few excerpts from the Washington Post story to kick off our discussion:

Business lunch will never die, but it’s evolving as the reassessment of work continues: Professionals who consider lunch an essential part of doing their jobs are going out far less than they used to. Upscale restaurants in big business centers can’t count on commuters and are scaling back offerings and slashing their hours.

* * *

When workers do go into offices or are working from home, many are opting for takeout. Three-quarters of restaurant traffic is currently consumed not at the actual restaurant, or off-premises, up from 61 percent before the pandemic, according to data [from] the National Restaurant Association.

* * *

Another reason restaurants in downtown areas might find themselves lacking in lunchtime traffic is because employers are going to greater lengths to make offices attractive, tempting workers to stay on-site with high-end corporate cafeterias.

{related: our best tips for business dining etiquette}

Do tell, readers: Have your solo restaurant lunches or lunches with colleagues or people in your network switched to phone calls or Zoom/Teams calls?

If you buy lunch, are you now more likely to answer “to go” rather than “for here”?

Have restaurants near your workplace limited their hours and/or seem less busy during the lunch hour?

If you have summer associates or interns coming to your firm or company in a few weeks, have the Powers That Be changed rules on networking lunches?

And if your employer has a cafeteria, have they improved it recently?

The post Have Your Workday Lunch Habits Changed Because of the Pandemic? appeared first on Corporette.com.

Looking through the archives, I don't think we've ever talked about this: What are your easy, warm workday lunches? Do you regularly eat out/order, cook something fresh, eat leftovers, or eat something else prepared? Which are your easiest meals, which are your healthiest, and which are your best for energy or satiety?

I have for years been one of those people who primarily eats the same food all the time for lunch: eggs. Eggs over hard. Scrambled eggs. Omelets. Egg wraps. Eggs with savory oatmeal. Egg McMuffin-type sandwiches. That said, I've recently realized eggs aren't actually that great from a protein perspective (and it's hard to get a lot of veggies even into an omelet!), so I've been trying to mix things up.

Summer lunch meals in recent years have looked a lot like basic turkey sandwiches, huge Greek yogurt bowls, and lots of cottage cheese — but as it gets colder, I find I don't want to eat those things that much. So, as we head into the colder months, I've been trying to brainstorm warm but easy meals for myself.

For me, this looks like researching affordable freezer and pantry options. Obviously leftovers, meal-prepped, or freshly made foods would be better, but I don't always have the energy or the time to do those.

(My classic move is postponing eating anything “until I work out,” then realizing it's 1:00 p.m., I'm starving, and there's no way I'm getting the midday posts up if I attempt to work out and then eat.)

So, some of the easiest meals I've found are below — but readers, I'd love to hear yours!

My Favorite Frozen Meals for Affordable Warm Workday Lunches

These are all generally under 350 calories and more than 15 grams of protein; I'd supplement all of these with at least an apple. (But I also tend to have a pre-dinner snack — popcorn, beans with hot sauce, protein bar, etc.)

Tyson's Blackened Chicken: These are actually really good (and spicy). They're great on salads in the summer, or as a side to pump up the protein on another meal.

Jimmy Dean Egg Delights English Muffin: For years this has been my “bah I don't want to cook anything” meal, but they've been getting harder to find over the past few years. I like the Delights one because it has 18 grams of protein and just around 300 calories.

Lean Cuisine Vermont Mac & Cheese: I always add frozen broccoli and sometimes add chicken if I have it. They're always on sale, and you get 18 grams of protein per serving. (The other, orange mac has less protein.)

Lean Cuisine Spinach & Mushroom Pizza: This is another comfort food favorite — I almost never get to eat pizza like this anymore because the kids don't like it. I was delighted when I realized it's actually pretty good from a protein perspective.

Amy's Tofu Lasagna: I'm not a big tofu fan usually but this has been one of my favorites for a while now.

Obviously there are a lot more — I've had a lot of luck taste-wise with foods from Tabatchnick, Red's, Trader Joe's, Evol, and others, but finding enough protein to keep me full can be tricky. (I tend to avoid Healthy Choice like the plague, so I haven't tried any of them in years.) I'd love to hear what your affordable, easy favorites are!

My Easy Shelf-Stable Workday Lunches

I've gotten away from having canned soup for lunch over the years for some reason, perhaps because my husband really likes soups, so we often do them for dinner. (And then he gobbles the leftovers before I can get to them!)

But I think this is the year I'm going to get back into the old “dump a can of soup into a bowl and nuke it,” perhaps trying to “healthy it up” by adding vegetables and/or beans, lentils, or some other pre-made meat. (This bowl is perfect for the dump-and-nuke, or you can heat it at home and bring it in a Thermos jar.)

(I recently did some research on this new goal, so these are the best canned soups I've found from a protein/calorie perspective. (But I haven't tasted them!) Note that the sodium counts are incredibly high on almost all of these, so these should probably be “once or twice a week” lunches instead of daily lunches…)

• Trader Joe's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup: 21 grams of protein, 360 calories
• Progresso Chicken Orzo with Lemon: 15 grams of protein, 200 calories
• Pacific Vegetable Lentil Roasted Red Pepper: 14 grams of protein, 260 calories
• Pacific Black Bean Kale: 14 grams of protein, 300 calories
• Campbell's Well Yes Chicken Noodle: 14 grams of protein, 200 calories
• (not a soup) Trader Joe's Madras Lentils: 13 grams of protein, 300 calories
• (not as affordable) Trader Joe's Cioppino stew: 25 grams of protein, 200 calories

I'm not a huge fan of bone broth, but if you are there are lots of options with that.

My Easy-to-Assemble Warm Work from Home Lunches

These are going to be a bit harder if you're working with an office kitchen… For most of these, I'll set aside enough portions for a second or third meal so I don't have to go into as many places to get the ingredients.

Turkey meatballs + jarred sauce + palmini, zucchini, and/or protein pasta: The kids were big into meatballs for a while, but now no one eats them — it isn't too hard to microwave a little meal for myself.

Tortilla egg sandwiches (per Skinnytaste): These are good with pretty much any cheese or tortillas you have on hand. I tend to make mine with 2–3 eggs, turkey pepperoni, and shredded cheese, and I usually add hot sauce.

Omelets

Pizza chicken: This is a weird one that I don't do often — a few years ago I ate a ton of baked chicken breast and sometimes would treat myself by topping the chicken breast with turkey pepperoni, cheese, and pepperoncinis. I'd generally make the baked chicken in advance and just reheat it in the toaster oven (350 for 10 minutes). You can customize this…

Sheet pan wontons: I haven't tried it yet for lunch, but inspired by this NYT recipe, I would try a sheet pan meal of Bibigo or TJ wontons + meat + veg — I for some reason have a lot of turkey kielbasa so that's what in my mind. (The roasted kimchi is kind of amazing.)

Oatmeal: I would add powdered peanut butter or protein powder + frozen berries or chocolate chips depending on my mood.

Protein pancake-in-a-bowl: I just started using this Jordo's World recipe for this snack and like it; I've done it with both Birchbenders and Kodiak. I've added frozen berries and mango, as well as chocolate chips — when I added powdered peanut butter it was OK but not great. I might try a powdered peanut butter drizzle on top next time, because they do need additional sweetness and I'm not a fan of syrup. (Confectioner's sugar also works in a pinch, but then it really feels more like a treat.)

Crunchwrap sandwiches or burgers: I can never get mine crunchy enough. but if we have lavash bread I like to do a “crunchwrap” — one of my favorites is with turkey burgers + cheese + pepperoncini.

What I do with leftover rotisserie chicken: Add to soup, add to frozen bags of stir fry or “frozen cauliflower fried rice,” make a lazy “chicken quesadilla” in the microwave, make a weird chicken melt sandwich (hot dog bun + cheese + pepperoncini).

Readers, how about you — what are your easy, warm workday lunches?

Stock photo via Stencil.

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I was reviewing an older post on eating lunch alone at your desk, and realized that we've mentioned this elegant solution to that “how to keep your homemade lunch warm” problem a TON in the past, but we've never run a separate Coffee Break on it — so, as we head into soup and stew season, now seems like a great time to mention it.

So: meet “Mr. Bento” by Zojirushi — it's a system of four little containers, that fit into a temperature-controlled case. The company promises that the bottom two containers will maintain their temperature — so if you want them cold, they will stay cold; if you want them hot they will stay hot.

This system is ideal for times when you're packing a lot of small quantities of things to eat, such as soup + 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich + chips + grapes — where the hot items (soup and sandwich) can be packed on the bottom, and the item you prefer at room temperature (grapes) packed at the top.

(If you're eating something less involved, Thermos food jars are also great options, but I think fitting two of them into a typical lunch box — and still having room left over for anything else — is unlikely.)

The Mr. Bento system is $43-$59 at Amazon; they're now offering a ton of nice colors in addition to the traditional gray/white/black options. Zojirushi Mr. Bento

(Just for kicks today, let's all share our favorite soup recipes! I tried this commenter's lentil soup recipe a while ago (posted in our holiday recipes open thread) and it's now in regular rotation (SO lovely and bright; have it ready for the day after Thanksgiving). Another favorite that we're making tonight is this sausage and tortellini tomato soup from Emily's Bites.)

Sales of note for 7.19.24

• Nordstrom – The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is now open to everybody! Here are all of our picks, and here are reader favorites.
• Ann Taylor – Semi-annual sale, extra 50% off markdowns + 20% off everything!
• Banana Republic Factory – 40-60% off everything, take an extra 20% off your purchase
• Eloquii – 50% off select styles
• Everlane – Up to 70% off
• J.Crew – End of Season Sale, extra 50% off sale styles
• J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything
• Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off
• Madewell – End of season sale, up to 70% off with code.
• M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the biggest sitewide discount I've ever seen…)
• Rothy's – Lots of great finds in the “final few” section
• Talbots – Semi-annual red door sale, extra 40% off markdowns

Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

• Is there a mantra or slogan that will help me combat imposter syndrome?
• AITA for not moving to the middle seat to be closer to my husband on a recent flight?
• What are your latest favorite nonfiction books for fans of Mary Beard?
• I'm so annoyed by people who look at their smart watches instead of paying attention to our conversation…
• Let's have a secrets thread…
• I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
• I'm thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?

The post Office Lunch Hall of Fame: Zojirushi Mr. Bento appeared first on Corporette.com.

There was an interesting story in The Atlantic recently about The People Who Eat the Same Lunch Every Day  (one man ate “a peanut-butter sandwich, with various fruit, vegetable, and dessert accompaniments . . . nearly every workday for about 25 years”), and I thought it might make for a fun conversation here.

I definitely do eat repetitive meals sometimes, and I'm always fascinated to meet someone who does it more rigidly.

So, let's discuss — do you eat the same lunch (or dinner) every day? Do you feel like it's most useful with the concept of decision fatigue (think Obama and Zuckerberg wearing the same thing every day), from a meal prep perspective, or from some other perspective (comfort, nutrition)? 

First, a quote from The Atlantic article about how common this is:

One of the few existing surveys of people’s eating habits estimated that about 17 percent of British people had eaten the same lunch every day for two years; another indicated that a third of Brits ate the same lunch daily. But it’s hard to say for sure how common this really is, since these surveys tend to have been conducted by food purveyors, who might be inclined to exaggerate the ruts that diners are stuck in (and then try to sell them a way out). Still, loyalists who stick to a single meal for months or years—they are out there.

For my $.02, I've known two people who eat the exact same food all the time — every day, for months on end. One of them was my former personal trainer (dinner: spinach salad with strawberries and chicken) and one was a close male friend (dinner: Boca burgers).

My trainer was one of those older women who is super skinny through calorie control and cardio (one of the reasons I stopped seeing her since I want to gain muscle, although I liked her personally), and my guy friend was just really busy with law school and he'd decided Boca burgers were an easy thing to grab. He told me he knew it was time to switch it up when, upon the first bite of his Boca burger, he felt bile rising in his throat.

Personally, I definitely tend to alternate lunches between just a few meals, usually involving eggs: an omelet, eggs over hard, runny eggs with savory oats, or an egg sandwich from the freezer… I recently decided that because my willpower decreases during the day, that I should probably have my “no thought required” meal for dinner and instead try to find something else to eat for lunch… I'll let you know how that works out. (Today: fat-free, plain greek yogurt with PB2, hemp hearts, and chia seeds.) In my own head I tend to view these as healthy habits, but that's me.

{related: how to build good habits}

For those of you who do this from a purely nutritional perspective (or for ease of macro counting or something else), what foods do you eat — and how did you choose them?

I just splurged on the GenoPalate food assessment (since I'd already done 23 and Me years ago) and I may try to work some of their recommended foods into my diet on a much more regular basis. (Recommended starches and grains for me: quinoa, russet potatoes, amaranth, sweet potatoes, bulgur. I eat none of those regularly, unless fries count as potatoes…)

Readers, how about you guys — do you eat the same food all the time, or repeat meals regularly? (What are they?) For those of you who have successfully integrated that strategy into dining with others (partners, kids), how does that work out? How do you view the habit — something good to continue and grow in other parts of your life to cut down on decision fatigue, or something a bit weird? 

Stock photo via Stencil.

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If you're like us, you bring your lunch to work when you're trying to save money, meal plan for healthier eating, or to be more eco-friendly and avoid all of those takeout containers.

If you want to do those things, plus maintain a professional look — even if you’re just eating at your desk or on a park bench — we’ve rounded up a variety of stylish office lunch containers. We're featuring adult lunch boxes, bento boxes, ice bags for keeping your lunch cool, insulated storage that will keep cold things cold and hot things hot, reusable storage bags and food wraps, and more, including the Mr. Bento Lunch Jar Set pictured here — along with a restaurant that serves takeout food in reusable bowls.

Readers, how often do you bring lunch to work? What are your favorite environmentally-friendly and stylish office lunch containers? Compared to brown lunch bags, Ziplocs, and individually-packaged food, what swap do you think makes the biggest impact environmentally? What is the easiest swap to make?

Psst: You may want to see some of our older tips on saving money on lunch at work (even if you're eating out all the time), what to eat when you have no time to eat lunch, and the best snack ideas for work. 

So start thinking about all of the meals you could take to work and how much waste you could save by making just a few changes to your routine with these items. Or, if you have your own lunch accessories that you swear by, feel free to share with us in the comments!

Psst: hunting for stylish office lunch containers that are also eco-friendly? Some of our favorites (Sistema containers, Thermos food jars, and this classic bento) are pictured below — also check for cute lunch bags from Modern Picnic, Artelaris, Kate Spade, and Built NY! (If you're working from home, we love glass containers from Snapware and Anchor Hocking.)

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Adult Lunch Boxes That Will Blend In With Your Other Bags

If you’re ready for an upgrade or just want a new way to carry your lunch on your commute, whether it's by car or public transit, we found a range of options and price points. Links, where to buy, and prices are below each image:

Igloo Mini Crescent Cooler Bag (Target, $9.99)

LunchFox Eco-Friendly Neoprene Lunch Bag Tote, designed in L.A. (Amazon, $19.97)

Vaschy Neoprene Lunch Tote Bag (Amazon, $13.99)

Bento Boxes for the Office

We’re loving bento boxes for their minimalist look. Plus, most of them are stackable and great for meal planning when portion control is one of your priorities. Several of the containers even come with flatware, so you won’t find yourself needing to keep a box of plasticware in your desk.

 Mr. Bento Lunch Jar Set

Bentgo All-in-One Stackable Lunch Box (Amazon, $14.99)

Bento boxes that come with carrying cases:

Pack To Go Leakproof Bento Lunch Box Container Set w/Insulated Lunch Bag (Amazon, $23.95)

Insulated Containers for Adults: Keep Hot Foods Hot and Cold Foods Cold

Insulated containers have come a long way since you were bringing your own cold milk or hot soup to elementary school, but the basic principle is still there: maintain the temperature of whatever is inside. (Hint: Search in sports & outdoors for more options.)

Thermos Stainless King 16-Ounce Food Jar with Folding Spoon (Amazon, $24.99)

MIRA Lunch Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Thermos, 13.5 Ounce (Amazon, $15.50)

Mr. Bento Lunch Jar Set (Target, $35.49)

Ice Packs To Keep Cool

Whether you have a long commute, don't trust your coworkers when it comes to the office fridge, or if there simply isn't room for your stylish lunch bag without having to take out all your perishables when you get to work, here are a couple ice pack options –both a smaller one and a larger one — with good reviews.

Cool Pack Slim Long-Lasting Ice Packs (pack of four, 7 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches) (Amazon, $12.99)

LunchFox Chill Pack Reusable Thin Ice Packs (set of two, 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.75 inches) (Amazon, $11.97)

Reusable Snack Bags and Food Wraps

If you find yourself using too many plastic baggies and don't really want to rinse and clean something that's already fairly flimsy and meant for a single use, check out these reusable baggies and food wraps.

Blue Avocado Reusable Zip Bag 5 Piece, made from FDA-grade PEVA material (which is also PVC-, BPA- and lead-free) ($16.99)

Bee’s Wrap Assorted 3 Pack, Eco Friendly Reusable Food Wraps, made of organic cotton, sustainably harvested beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin. (Amazon, $18)

Organic Reusable Food Wraps by Etee, Pack of 3 Wraps are made of hemp and Certified Organic cotton fabric infused with USDA Certified Organic Beeswax, coniferous tree resins, a touch of non-GMO soy wax, organic jojoba oil, organic cinnamon essential oil, and organic clove essential oil. (Amazon, $17.95)

Other Ways to be Ecofriendly at Lunchtime At Work:

Many restaurants, including office cafeterias, obviously offer reusable plates, cups, and silverware if you’re dining in, but if you live in one of the markets with Just Salad — Chicago, New York, Philadephia — note that they have reusable bowls for all orders, even takeout.

Other restaurants in Durham, N.C., San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and Brooklyn are starting to promote reusable take-out containers, as well. In April 2018, the City of Berkeley even proposed a tax on disposable take-out containers.

Finally, if you need to use a straw, consider bringing your own. Many options for stainless steel, silicone, glass, and other reusable materials can be found on Amazon.

If you already use or decide to buy any of these stylish office lunch containers, or if you have other suggestions on what you already use — or if it even matters to you if you lunch bag looks professional or whether you're still rocking a Fraggle Rock lunchbox you found at a thrift store — let us know what works for you!

The post Bring Your Lunch With These Environmentally Friendly and Stylish Office Lunch Containers appeared first on Corporette.com.

It's been ages since we talked about healthy snacks for the office — let's hear about your favorite snack ideas for work, ladies! During my legal eagle days I spent so much time at the office that snacking was par for the course — I used to keep a banker's box on my window filled with random snacks (mostly 100-calorie pouches and things like Fruit Gushers).

I also splurged on a teeny fridge so I could keep cold water, a Diet Coke, a string cheese or two, and possibly sandwich fixings or yogurt nearby. I tried to avoid the office fridge where possible (things tended to… disappear in there…) but I kept a few things in the freezer on our floor, also. (My office weirdly kept the microwave on another floor entirely so I didn't keep as much in there as I might have otherwise!)

These are some of the best snacks I'd recommend you look into keeping at the office, both to keep your energy up for long-haul days, as well as to keep you from wandering to the local Starbucks (bad for your budget and your waistline)… I've never been much for packing a lunch daily, but I would bring several things in at the beginning of each week (yogurt, sliced cheese to add to bagels, etc).

How about you, ladies — what are your favorite snacks to bring to work? What do you pack each day, each week — and what do you keep at the office? Do you pack a lunch regularly, or try to cut costs by bringing the “expensive” part of a lunch (e.g., meat, cheese, a more exotic ingredient like artichoke hearts, etc. to add to an affordable plain salad or bagel)? 

Psst: hunting for stylish office lunch containers that are also eco-friendly? Some of our favorites (Sistema containers, Thermos food jars, and this classic bento) are pictured below — also check for cute lunch bags from Modern Picnic, Artelaris, Kate Spade, and Built NY! (If you're working from home, we love glass containers from Snapware and Anchor Hocking.)

Shelf-Stable Snack Ideas for Work

Even if you have access to a fridge, sometimes it's easiest just to keep a few things in your desk drawer.

• Peanut butter or powdered peanut butter like PB2 – I'm a fan of the powdered peanut butter for portion/calorie reasons (I add it to greek yogurt, oatmeal, and sometimes just mix it with water to eat with apples) but it's hard to beat a jar of peanut butter and some crackers in your office for an “I have no time to go get lunch today!” lunch.
• Yogurt or applesauce pouches like GoGo Squeez – (sure, your toddler loves them, but they're also a relatively healthy choice for you too — and they're shelf stable!)
• Premier Protein or other muscle drinks — these can fill you up for those days where you really “can't leave your desk” but need to drink something — I like to add a splash to coffee or tea for a teensy midday snack, but once opened do note that you have to refrigerate. Some people on Weight Watchers LOVE to take Premier Protein and add an entire container to a shot or two of espresso for a DIY Frappuccino.
• Oatmeal – oatmeal packets are the easiest, but I have a friend who keeps a cup of old-fashioned oats in a baggie in her purse and just asks for hot water when she needs a quick snack. I like to add powdered peanut butter to plain oatmeal, maybe with a splash of Premier Protein… you can also add dried or freeze-dried fruit,
• Jerky – an important note, though: once you open a jerky packet it has to be refrigerated. (This was recent news to me and I've been eating jerky as a main snack for a thousand years!) For portion control/no refrigeration requirements I'm a fan of the Pacific Gold packets of beef jerky.
• Fruit – All uncut fruit is shelf stable in that you don't HAVE to refrigerate it, and I'm a big fan of grabbing an apple or banana for a quick snack. Both are great to mix into oatmeal, or to eat with a bit of peanut butter. You can also keep prepackaged fruit cups (I just saw some with chia added…)
• Protein Bars – I just saw that Labdoor proclaimed Quest bars to be the best in terms of nutrition and price; I've also been a fan of RX Bars, Good Greens, Luna, KIND bars, and Oh Yeah bars.
• Tuna or other canned/pouched seafood – They make a lot of flavored tuna pouches now, but I'm a big fan of mixing tuna with wing sauce (also shelf stable) — it's weird but it's so good! You can add these to salads or sandwiches, or eat by themselves. A tip: be verrrrry careful if you're opening a can; you don't want it to spill on you or (gasp) the office carpet near your desk. Also be wise in finding a place to dispose of the can or pouch.
• I wouldn't call them healthy, but there are obviously a ton of portion-controlled snacks to consider, like my 100-calorie pouches, Fruit Gushers, or more. If you prefer to make your own portion-controlled snacks or otherwise want reusable lunch containers, we've discussed this a bit at the moms' site — these snack bags are great for dry snacks, as are these Bento boxes (I tend to fill them with popcorn for my son at school).

Snacks To Keep in the Office Fridge

Whether you've got a mini fridge at your desk or you just make good use of the office fridge, there are a lot more snack ideas for work once you can refrigerate. A lot of these can also be brought in with an ice pack for lunch — but then you have to generally eat them that day.

• Yogurt – I eat a lot of yogurt, what can I say?
• Cottage cheese
• Cheese Slices, String Cheese, Babybel Cheese – years ago when I just started and was on a crazy budget, I used to buy a bagel at the deli for $.50 and add my own cheese or meat from home to make a really cheap sandwich.
• Hummus (I've even seen hummus in single portion containers)…
• Overnight oats
• Turkey pepperoni, rotisserie chicken, or other meats — add to salads, eat plain
• hardboiled eggs (but watch out for the smell factor if you store them in a public fridge)
• egg frittatas/egg muffins you make at home – I love eggs but just can't get into these, but if you can they're great.
• Salad fixings – If you feel comfortable leaving things in the office fridge for multiple days, this is a great way to save on salads and sandwiches for lunch — you can keep artichoke hearts, olives/pickles/pepperoncini/jalapeños, shredded cheese, salad dressings, and more.

Great Snacks for the Office Freezer

If you have access to a microwave or toaster oven your world opens up substantially — keep bags of broccoli or green beans to bulk up frozen meals, keep frozen meals, bring canned foods that are better heated (green beans, soup, beans). If you DON'T have

• Vitatops – If you like a carby snack, these are great — portion controlled and full of fiber. (You can also make your own!) They're frozen, but if you don't want to use a microwave you can just get some hot tea and put the Vitatop on top to defrost.
• Frozen fruit, like grapes or bananas – I'm a big fan of freezing bananas once they get too ripe. You can freeze them whole if you're going to be using them for baking, but for office purposes I'd break it into pieces before freezing. These are great to add to oatmeal for a nice hit of sweetness. Frozen grapes make a great snack by themselves, particularly in summer months.
• This can be a bit messy, but you can also make smoothies at home, freeze them into ice cube trays, and then bring them in to keep in the office freezer, too…

How about you guys — what are your best snack ideas for work?

Photo credit for some social media (apple against keyboard): Shutterstock / Falko Matte. 

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