8 Great Lunch Hacks for the Office and School

“What to pack for lunch tomorrow?” – If this is the question that bothers you every day when it comes to your office and kids’ lunch, then you have come to the right place. We've compiled a few tips and tricks to help you or your kids enjoy your lunch. These techniques range from straightforward dishes to night-before prep ideas which will definitely ease your ‘food’ worry for yourself and your kids.

Staying organized

Being organized is the key when it comes to preparing and packing lunch. Having an entire week’s lunch planned and jotted down will help you fly through the week. Also, get some great lunch boxes that come with different compartments to keep your food organized. You can try different innovative tiffin sets from Kraft.

Repurpose your leftovers

Re-inventing your leftovers from the previous day is one of the quickest ways to save cooking time and also reduce food wastage. Dishes like roasted vegetables or mashed potatoes are nutritious and delicious. Leftover meat or vegetables can be re-heated and spooned into deseeded peppers. Top it with grated cheese and heat it in a microwave for 10 mins for a healthy lunch. There is almost always a little rice left. There are so many things you can do with leftover rice like fried rice, masala rice, chicken rice, etc.

Pack a Salad

Mason Jars are the best to carry salad. The trick to packing a salad is dressing strategically – place the dressing at the bottom! This prevents your veggies from getting soggy or overdressed. Place your vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and corn together on top of the dressing. Add lettuce / spinach on top and don’t mix it with other veggies until you sit to eat your lunch.

A little bit of everything

Include a bit of everything when packing lunch for yourself and your kids. Pack cut vegetables, hard-boiled egg, fresh fruits, and soup along with the main lunch dish. It makes you feel like you are eating a whole meal. On days where you don’t have time for actual prep or cooking, toss a little bit of everything, instead of labouring over an elaborate main lunch. Keep yogurt, fruit, and simple sandwich ingredients accessible and you only have to put together a little bit of everything to pack a lunch! This is where your compartmentalised lunch boxes come in handy.

Hot/Cold beverages

Do your kids love soups but feel they seems a bit cumbersome to carry it to school? Do you hate your office’s machine-made coffee and would love to be able to carry your very own delicious coffee to the office? People often think they cannot pack a beverage like soup, juice, or coffee for themselves or their kids. With innovative spill-proof and insulated bottles, it’s super easy to carry beverages. You can check out Vinod Classic Bottle. It keeps liquid hot for 18 hours and cold for 24 hours. Whether you are outside playing a sport, at school, or inside at work all day, you can have your hot/cold beverages anytime when hunger strikes.

Make Mondays a little less dreadful

If you went out on a Sunday, double your serving size, parcel the leftovers and save yourself from prepping the next day’s meal. This also works on any day that you go out for dinner. You can take home the leftovers and save a meal for the next day to cut down on some cooking time. Ingenious, isn’t it?

Ready -To-Assemble

Stock up your refrigerator with pre-cooked staples like beans, brown rice, quinoa, potatoes, and sweet potatoes; protein like chicken; and vegetables like carrots, peas, and broccoli. Then in order to make a meal, just combine different ingredients, add some seasoning and sauces, and pack! For example: combine precooked chicken breast, brown rice, some vegetables, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Sprinkle some seasoning like garlic and salt. Viola! Chicken rice is served.

Forget Not!

It would be infuriating to pack an awesome lunch and then forget to carry it altogether! It’s best to cultivate the habit of leaving something invaluable on the top of the lunch boxes to ensure you don’t forget it. Maybe place your keys on top of your lunch or place your kid’s lunch bag next to their school bag. It’s a sure way of never forgetting your food!

No doubt you would also have some tricks up your sleeves. Do let us know your lunch hacks in the comment section below.