I’ve been making lunches for my husband for the last 40 yrs & I’m really running out of ideas. Can anyone out there give ant suggestions? He’s in construction & doesn’t have much time for lunch. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mary Linn
Looking For Lunch Box Ideas
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Have you done wraps? They give a change from a sandwich and are still easy to pack and eat. Our favorite is a Turkey Bacon Wrap: Spread entire large tortilla with a thin coat of cream cheese. Add 2 slices bacon (I save a couple from a weekend breakfast) leftover shredded chicken or turkey (or turkey lunch meat) A little shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and grated cheese. (limit toppings to one half) Then drizzle with a little (about 1T) thousand island dressing. Roll as tightly as possible, cut in half, and wrap in saran.
My husband works in a factory at night, so he has several smaller breaks. I put in a thermos of each water and tea, a pop (grr, or he’ll just buy a bigger one at work!), whatever his main course is – usually something we’ve had left overs of lately – a roast and mayo sandwich, fried chicken or a roast chicken sandwich, whatever. Then I load him up with crunchy veggies – carrots and celery. He’s on a diet, so no veggie dip – but sometimes for fun I put in a little Italian dressing just on top of them in the bag. Then he gets some sort of fruit – an orange I pre peeled, a banana, grapes, whatever. Then I throw in some chips or nuts. Every so often he’ll get some sort of snacky thing, like cookies or a snack cake, but not usually. Oh, and always include a quick love note just to say you’re thinking of him. ; )
I like to make stromboli for my construction guy. Defrost a loaf of frozen bread dough, or make your own, roll it into a rectangle spread some dijon mustard down it. Then you add 3 meats and 2 chesses, fold it up and bake.
I forgot to add that this is great hot or cold and a great way to use up leftovers. The 3 meats 2 cheeses is just a guidline and can be adjusted to what you have on hand.
My husband gets bored with sandwiches so I will either make a chicken or tuna salad and include reduced fat Wheat Thins. I also include yogurt, fruit (usually blueberries, blackberries or strawberries since he likes to throw it in with his yogurt), almonds, and a granola bar. Or if we have leftover chicken, pork or beef, I will make a vegetable salad and throw that in with it too. Hope that helps!
Garbanzo beans (some people call them Chick peas- they are in the dried or canned bean aisle) are thing that my husband loves that is inexpensive for lunch especially if you cook them from dry. I mash them with a fork and add mayonnaise, pickle, onion and lemon juice if I have a lemon. It makes a really tasty spread for a sandwich. I also serve garbanzos just as a snack in a bowl on the table. The kids eat them like peanuts. In the summer I put them in pasta salad.
My husband has his own construction business. During the winter, the thermos comes out and I fix all types of soups/stews/chili. I warm the thermos w/ hot water while I microwave the soup. It stays hot till he eats. In the summer time, I have found that making pasta salad, taco salad, water chesnut pea salad, salmon spread (recipes that suggest being spread on crescent rolls seem to go over well and I use crackers) among others changes the variety, and aren’t as heavy as sandwiches. He also likes jerky, beef/venison sticks or summer sausage w/ cheese and crackers to go with. Most of the time he is either driving during lunch or only takes 10-15 mins. I hope these ideas help!!
When my husband was a construction worker he really appreciated the fact that I would package things seperately so that he never had a “soggy” lunch. If I made him a sandwich I would put the meat, cheese and lettuce on the sandwich. I packaged condiments and wet items (tomato & pickles) seperately. He added these items himself.
I also put shreded beef in a thermos and packed tortillas and salsa for burritos, or pulled BBQ pork in the thermos and a couple of potato rolls on the side. I packed baked potatoes wrapped in foil and then in newspaper. It holds heat for hours in an insulated lunch bag.
Don’t forget spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, potato soup, sloppy joes…..
He’s working hard for his family – give him great lunches!