Taking own lunch to work challenge

[Junebug123]

Is anyone doing this? How are you getting on? I'm trying to and managed every day so far. It's to try and be healthier and also save some money. I actually prefer my own lunch as got so tired of m and s sandwiches etc. Used to spend £3-4 a day so should make a difference.
I just need motivated to make it night before. Got a brilliant bento style lunch box. Would love some lunch ideas. Currently making big salad with avocado, cheese and crackers. Satsumas, apple, yoghurt, dark chocolate rice cakes. Thinking a back up lunch I can have left at work is a good idea like soup.

@1Redacted1

That really doesn't look leak proof to me, plus it's really bulky (I have loads to carry and no set desk, so I have to lug everything in and out every day) and it's £28!! Plus I like to have three so I can do three lunches on a Sunday. I then do two in Wed (or have two fasting days which really helps cut down the lunch faffing!).
It's pretty though.

There must be a little bottle that is actually leakproof, what about a vanilla bottle or a whisky miniature?

How would I get balsamic vinegar into a vanilla food flavouring bottle?
I'm sure they are leak proof but I don't have either to hand. I did get a gin miniature for Christmas but I've not drunk it yet. Be funny to pull out a gin bottle at work! (it's too big really though, those weeny soy sauce bottles you get would be the right size, but impossible to fill up)

A tiny little funnel? (I am trying)

Lock n lock (stupid name, eh?) boxes don't leak, but they don't do one the right size for a salad for work. It needs to be reasonably flat to eat out of, not round as that is a silly shape for space-saving, and just not huge.

I have loads of them, but none are the right size. The Sistema ones I got in Debenhams a couple of weeks ago work size-wise, but leak. Take away containers work for size/shape (the slightly deeper ones, the shallow ones aren't much use) but also leak. I got a new laptop bag last weekend, used four times, reeks of vinegar already.

Cute, but round......doesn't work in a laptop bag unless I put it on the side (it ends up on its side on the train anyway, on the overhead shelf - this is why it has to be leakproof). Round is just impractical, takes up extra space in the fridge too.

There is a square one though, I might gave that a try.
I've taken lunches to work for many years, it's only recently I seem to be having this issue, I think it's the train and having so much else in my bag.

Those Systema pots don't leak at all. They're are great.

That's odd, because when I put salad with balsamic vinegar in a Sistema tub last week and took it to work, I ended up with a laptop bag full of balsamic vinegar. I wonder where it can have come from?

I have three. They all leak.

I just put my lunch in a glass Pyrex container with a plastic lid. Any sauces in a salad dressing container. I carry a couple of lunches in twice a week in a small carry bag so they're always upright.

I can't keep my bag upright, that's the problem. Plus as it's a rucksack which is stuffed with other things, the tubs can't sit flat.

It stays more or less upright (but moves around a lot) if I drive to work but on the days I get the train it can't be upright in the luggage rack and there is no room for it on the floor as the trains are so small.

That's tough. I get the northern line which is always packed, so I squeeze both my backpack and my lunch bag on my lap, or have one between my feet. They're both quite small though. Does gross me out a bit having my lunch bag on the tube floor, but I figure there's the bag and a solid and sealed glass container between floor and the food!

I only work 3 days a week but take my own lunch about 99% of the time. Some great ideas on here. I'm a community carer so eat in my car, no access to kettle, microwave, etc.

In the winter, I bulk cook various soups (favourites plus current offering are spicy butternut squash, leek and potato, cream of tomato, cream of chicken, carrot + coriander, curried butternut squash)

I sometimes also take lentil dhal or Chana dhal, black bean chilli or beef and vegetable stew.

In the summer, I have some form of salad (ham, egg, tuna, leftover chicken, cheese). The more colourful the salad, the better for me. Other options I like are tuna mayonnaise pasta salad, orzo salad, bulgar wheat with feta and roasted veg, tabboulah, falafel with crudités + hummus + pitta, mackerel pate with oatcakes or crackers.

I'm not the biggest lover of sandwiches but when I do have them, it's usually simple involving cheese (with cucumber, tomato, pickle or salad), sometimes tuna mayo and cucumber or onion. I also love wraps in the warmer months with chicken salad or, falafel/hummus/salad. Take a side salad in a separate container. Sometimes olives or steamed broccoli/green beans/sugar snaps.

I don't really enjoy leftovers for lunch (happy to freeze them for another meal) but prefer soup/salad/occasional sandwich or wrap. I also recommend the wide neck Thermos to keep food hot, or I take a freezer pack in the summer to keep food Cold.

I always take 2 pieces of fruit, whatever is in season, and a packet of crisps, though I don't always eat the latter. Sometimes home cake if I've made some.

Things I'm going to try based on this thread; samosas and DIY pot noodles!