Lunches - no fridge

[FFSgetagripoldlady]

I'm about to start working in a new school. Current one has a fridge we can use. New one doesn't. I'm looking for ideas for lunches I can take. I usually have leftovers so harissa chicken and couscous, chicken fajitas to have cold, veggie soups etc. Nothing exciting at all. I don't eat red meat or fish. Any ideas for something that won't be a sweaty cheese sandwich come lunch time? I've asked about a fridge. Apparently there's only a small one in the staff room - this just feels strange. Anyway. This new place has no microwave so tins of soup won't cut it.
Thanks.

Would a thermos keep soup or leftovers warm until lunchtime?

I leave for work at 7am and don’t get lunch until 1 or slightly after. My lunches (sandwiches/salads and yogurt) are all fine in a little lunch cool bag with an ice pack each day.

Take a lunch box with a cool pack in it - your sandwiches will be fine, of make plated lunches that are fine without reheating (salad, pasta, pizza etc). Having worked for years "mobile", it's not ideal but easy enough.
Tho it's odd there's no fridge tbh, I dunno anything about whether that should be provided given it's a fixed base.

I'd take cold food in a cool bag with ice packs or hot food in a flask. My kids like the SHO flasks and take food in them to school/uni

Take frozen food? If you leave it in your bag/locker it should be about right by lunchtime. Why can't you use the staff room fridge if you'll be on the staff though? If it ends up too full they'll have to get a bigger one, which will solve your problem :)

Sandwiches, or most things, will be fine at room temperature for the morning, but it you’re worried, get a cool pack.

Same here thats what I use.

And personally I love a sweaty cheese sandwich, or even better a cheese roll. I like it when the cucumber and tomato go all funny within the cheese.

No fridge? A small one only costs about £100. How tight are they?

Is there a shop/cafe within walking distance on your break that sells food?

A few salads that last for several hours out of the fridge:
Lentil pasta https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/salsa_chickpea_and_16068
Chickpea couscous https://www.bosh.tv/recipes/lentil-pasta-salad
Thai tofu https://cupfulofkale.com/thai-tofu-noodle-salad/

Thanks! I will dig out the kids' thermos things. They kept past hot enough. Not soup. Cool bag/ ice pack mix sounds good too. I'm just a bit thrown at how limited the staff stuff is at the new place.
I really appreciate the ideas! Keep on suggesting stuff

Some things are nicer at room temp! A caprese salad with a crusty brown roll would work well in a cool bag (take a little pot of balsamic and oil to sprinkle over).

Insulated lunch bag with cool pack

Put chick pea salad etc in a wide necked food vacuum flask to keep it cold

Put very hot last night leftovers in it to eat hot

Tin of dolmades from your local Greek shop or Lidl Greek Week

Samosas, felafel keep well for a few hours at room temperature

Food flask is definitely the way to go. But remember quality is everything. (I’ve got a Black & Blum I’ve used every weekday for 2 years - keeps things (too) hot till lunch!)

Biggest tip is to fill it with hot water from the kettle to warm the whole flask before putting food in it.

Second tip is that liquid will hold the heat better than dry food.

Almost any leftovers will work in a food flask, you just need to be a little creative sometimes.

Freeze extra pasta sauce in one portion blocks, then on the days when there are no leftovers you can cook pasta in the flask when you put the hot water in to warm it (leave it while you have breakfast), then add your sauce.

I worked in a school and for the last few years we’ve only had 20 min breaks, so doing this meant I could use the loo AND eat rather than wasting time queuing for the microwave.

That and you end up eating much healthier when you’re eating home made meals and not the beige buffet in school

You do realize that all the kids who bring packed lunches have no fridge to keep theirs in? And they all survive.

I'd see how it goes, if you say they have a small fridge in the staff room, it might not be too bad. But like above, we used to survive with lunches in the school bags with no fridge until lunchtime.

Insulated lunch bag with freezer block in it.

No fridge and no microwave sounds pretty pathetic for a professional work environment. Dh’s employees work out of a barn, but they still have a microwave.

I wouldn’t be too bothered about keeping things out of the fridge, especially if you don’t really eat meat. Pasta salad, anything in wraps, big hearty salads with chickpeas and nuts and roasted veg, cold sesame noodles with veg, banh mi, it’s mostly just stuff you can have cold because nearly everything will be fine to eat after a few hours at room temperature.

Stick a carton of juice/milk or a pot of yogurt in frozen. It keeps the sandwich or salad from getting too sweaty, & is nice slushy!

I freeze small tubs of yogurt with fruit & honey for this eventuality - I do have access to a fridge, but it's often full of everyone's shopping, so easier to have a lunchbox that works sat on my desk.

I never put my lunch in the fridge at work. Have a really well insulated cool bag from Baggu and a large frozen ice block and it’s fine.

https://plasticfreedom.co.uk/products/baggu-insulated-lunch-bag-recycledBAGGU Insulated Lunch Bag - Recycled - Plastic Freedom