Best cold lunches to take to work?

[booklover164]

I am avoiding using the microwave now and wondered what your best cold lunches are. So far I have:

Dahl ( don't mind it cold)
Pasta pesto
Baguettes
Pizza

Any other ideas?

The other day I took some Ryvita, cottage cheese, cucumber sticks and plum tomatoes and reallly enjoyed it

Cous cous with chickpeas, olives and roasted veg. A big batch does lunch for a week.

Tuna pasta salad
Oatcakes and cheese

There's a small flask thing I keep being seen advertised on insta, which you put your food into and microwave, and it continues to slow cook it gently until you eat it. This sounds a bit rank but it looked really good!

Following as start a new job where I will have to do this!! Ideas I've got is salads, with added extras like sweet potato cubes and cold chopped greens beans to make it more filling etc. Also mango cubes and prawn salad sounds odd but tastes really nice.

Pasta salad. Tuna salad baguette. Coronation chicken (salad or sarnie)

Why are you avoiding the microwave?

Fritata. Roast veg cous cous with some cooked salmon or grilled chicken.

I took some marinaded chicken skewers (you could make your own but mine was a little pack from M&S) with boiled egg, cherry tomatoes and peppers the other day and enjoyed it.

I sometimes take wrap with ham or bbq chicken and coleslaw, or a wrap made from leftover fajitas. Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and feta inspired by the M&S version. Jalapeño humous with strips of toasted pitta and cherry tomatoes is nice.

I have a couple of emergency pot noodles in my locker when I really can’t be bothered (posher versions are available but I’m partial to a chicken and mushroom pot noodle occasionally).

Take a flask of hot food. Pasta, soup, dahl, curry, anything really.

Why are you avoiding the microwave?

If it’s anything like my workplace there are a limited amount of staff allowed in the tea room at once, my dinner break would be over by the time I waited.

Ploughman's.
Tuna pasta

I also have a food flask which I take soup to work in and sometimes hot pasta

I sometimes take a pot of houmous (Moorish smoked houmous from Sainsbury's is lovely) and have it with chopped cucumber, carrot sticks and peppers. I usually have a couple of slices of ham and some of those multiseeded long crackers too.

my workplace are also banning us from using the microwave to prevent congregating in the kitchen areas. We've to bring in packed lunches or eat out. So I need lunch ideas too that don't involve a microwave.

Puy lentil salad with chili, corriander and lime dressing. Add whatever you like to it for crunch - chopped peppers, cucumber, celery etc. It's also lovely with some chickpeas.

Feta and watermelon also delicious. You could take some pita fingers or tortilla chips for scooping.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/watermelon-feta-salad/amp

Cous-cous with flaked tuna, smoked mackerel or flaked salmon, chopped chicken or ham added. You could use a pack of flavoured cous-cous for convenience.

Cold sliced quiche, sausage roll, mixed bean salad with tuna or chicken, frittata slice, caponata or ratatouille with flatbread, Chinese spiced duck with hoi-sin & cucumber in a wrap, are some more ideas.

Also chickpea salad with harissa paste to spice it up.

Tabouleh and some falafel in a pita.

Other than regular sandwiches, what about wraps or toasted sandwiches?

Crumbed chicken legs/thighs with coldslaw. Or chicken in a teriyaki/sticky dressing.

Sushi. Lots of videos online and not that difficult to make yourself.

Vietnamese summer rolls. Again, lots of videos online. I do a vegan version, but sometimes add chicken or prawns. Served with a simple, satay dipping sauce. Peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, sweet chilli sauce and add water to thin it out. I shake it all up in a jar and carry to work in the jar.

Sushi.
Quiche.
Cold meat and salad.
Hot smoked salmon salad, with baby new potatoes.

I’m enjoying a bulghar wheat salad, similar concept to cous cous but a chunkier texture (you need to properly cook it before though, not just add hot water). With roasted veg, Feta, Olives - yum!

Any type of salad:

• Beetroot, feta cheese & roasted pine nuts with a simple vinaigrette
• French beans, red onion (finely chopped) & vinaigrette
• Simply tomato & mozzarella with olive oil & balsamic vinegar
• Greek Salad: cucumber, red peppers, onions, olives, tomato & feta cheese with a lemon and herb dressing

I usually have these with a slice of butterd rye/ sourdough bread

Buttered Crispbreads or Ryvitas put together like sandwiches with any fillings.
Pot of peanut satay as a dip for chicken, carrot sticks , cucumber etc.

Wraps spread with hummus, then fill with goats cheese and salad vegetables. Or falafel.

Waldorf salad (blue cheese, celery, walnuts and apple with a yoghurt and mayo dressing - add cooked pasta for a bit more substance)

Cajun tuna and bean salad - soften chopped onion and celery in a little oil, add lime juice and cajun seasoning. Stir through a tin of drained mixed beans and add a tin of drained tuna once its thoroughly cooled.

There were some great ideas I screen shot from Tumblr earlier in the week. I'll try to post.