What do you have for lunch during workdays? It can be hard to figure out what you’re going to eat while you’re in the office. It’s slightly easier if your office has a pantry, refrigerator, and microwave, but not all workplaces have these utilities. Many office workers prefer ordering food to save them the hassle, but constant fast food can get unhealthy fast. Still, there are ways you can easily get cheap and healthy work lunches. Here are a few tips to consider.
Avoid ordering out.
It’s tempting to just take your phone out and order something through a food delivery app. It’s easy, tasty, quick, and doesn’t require a lot of effort. But you’re often forced to choose between two options: would you rather eat something cheap yet unhealthy, or something pricey but nutritious? Restaurants that can serve affordable yet healthy meals are becoming fewer and farther between. It’s better to opt out of ordering entirely.
If you didn’t bring any food with you, consider going to a karinderya instead. They’re common enough that you can find one in almost every street, so you don’t have to walk very far from your office. Plus, since they normally serve home cooked Filipino food, you can certainly find something you like in one that’s both cheap and healthy.
Meal prep during the weekends.
A lot of people don’t consider bringing lunches to work because they don’t want to wake up early to cook. The solution? Take a couple hours out of your weekend to meal prep instead. Make a big batch of meals that you can put in five separate containers, lasting from Monday to Friday. Then, all you have to do throughout the week is to take a container from your fridge before you go to work. This is more convenient and gives you more control over what you eat throughout the week, allowing you to choose healthier options.
If you think eating the same thing five days in a row is boring, you can also experiment with variations of the same meal. For example, you could make a batch of pasta and smaller servings of different pasta sauces. Then, you’ll be able to try out different types of pasta throughout the week.
Invest in high-quality food containers.
If your office doesn’t have a refrigerator and/or microwave, getting high-quality food containers is a must. A good food container should be able to seal the freshness of the food and make sure it’s safe to eat even after hours of sitting at room temperature.
Insulated food containers can maintain the temperature of your food so that you don’t have to use a microwave at all. If your food is meant to be hot, make sure that you put it in your insulated container at 70°C. This can keep your food safe to eat for around 5-7 hours. If your food is meant to be cold, make sure to chill it before putting it in your container. Then, include at least two ice packs or freezer gel packs in your lunch bag to help your container maintain the correct temperature.
Choose what to bring carefully.
Some foods are just not meant to be taken out of the fridge. They may be so sensitive to temperature changes that they’ll go bad by the time your lunch hour rolls around. For example, it isn’t a good idea to bring leftovers to work. Your leftovers have already had their time to sit in the open before being placed in the fridge, which affects their freshness. Taking leftovers out of the fridge again and keeping them at room temperature for half a day puts them at risk of spoiling before you get to eat it. Don’t take the risk and instead, always bring fresh food with you to work.
Other foods have ingredients that can make it spoil much faster than usual. Salads, especially with dressing, are hard to bring to work because of their tendency to spoil. Tomato-based dishes, such as menudo or afritada, spoil very quickly because of its sensitivity to air and temperature changes. Draft your meal plan carefully so that you’re always bringing food that doesn’t expire easily.