Pack me a lunch for the urban jungle.

October 21, 2008 10:21 AM

What foods can I take with me to an all-day seminar? I have no access to a microwave or refrigerator. They have to comfortably fit in a backpack.

I'm going to a 3 day seminar that runs from 10 am to approximately midnight. We get one break to go eat at a restaurant. Aside from that, we're supposed to bring our own food. There is a convenience store nearby, but I don't want to eat candy and chips for 3 days. I already have trail mix but I get really bored of that after the first day. I am not vegetarian nor am I allergic to anything. I don't like raisins or dried apricots. Exotic is fine, but spicy is not. Seriously, no spicy stuff. I'm not concerned at all with my weight, so calorie count is unimportant.

Note that I will not be able to refrigerate anything between 8:30 am (when I leave the house) until I get home each night. I cannot run home to get anything. We have intermittent, unpredictable breaks throughout the day.

posted by desjardins to food & drink (28 comments total)

I love lunchinabox. Maybe you'll get some ideas there? (Her deal is that she makes lunches that last all day and don't need to be chilled or heated.)
posted by phunniemee at 10:25 AM on October 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

Beef jerky is perfect for situations like this. I basically live off trail mix, jerky, nuts, and wasabi peas (although you can skip the wasabi peas as they are spicy) at conferences.

I hate raisins and dried apricots but I loved dried cranberries (Brand name Craisin, but they can also be found in the Bulk Food section of grocery stores).
posted by muddgirl at 10:28 AM on October 21, 2008

Peanut butter and jelly (or honey) sandwhich. Granola bars. Fruit. Pasta salad (with no mayo).
posted by sulaine at 10:29 AM on October 21, 2008

A lot of fruit and veggies. I find them the most refreshing when I'm at an all day educational event that can get boring and boggy by midday. Carrot sticks, celery sticks, cut up pieces of apple/pear, oranges, whatever you can think of. They're easy to make and restock, too.
posted by Phire at 10:32 AM on October 21, 2008

My standbys are Zone Bars (even if you're a bar-hater you should try them), goldfish crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and lots of water.
posted by jrichards at 10:36 AM on October 21, 2008

Non-fishy sushi will last all day. Crackers and cheese are always good - cheese will last pretty nicely for at least the first half of the day. Bring different cheeses to keep it from getting boring. Hummus and carrots are great, and hummus is also good on crackers or with tortilla chips (you can also bring some salsa). Fruit is a great pick-me-up in the middle of the day. If you like oatmeal, bring some instant or some dehydrated soups that only require hot water and use tea water for that. I'm sure I'll think of more.....
posted by The Light Fantastic at 10:36 AM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

One of my favorite simple fall lunches is a sort of modified "ploughman's lunch" -- it doesn't need refrigeration (if you're concerned about freshness, just get one of those freezer packs to keep in the bag with it) and it couldn't be simpler. It's just an apple, a nice crusty roll, and a decent-sized hunk of cheese. You don't need silverware, you can get really good apples now that it's fall, and it's nice and down-to-earth.

I've actually been hankering for this lately.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:37 AM on October 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

Some hummus on a pita makes a good lunch or snack.
posted by amicamentis at 10:38 AM on October 21, 2008

Whole apples. Yum.

Also, an ice pack in the bottom of a tupperware box extends the lifespan of stuff that needs to be kept cold. (I say ice pack because I don't know what they are actually called, but they are small flattish sealed plastic packs full of water, just freeze them and throw one in the bottom of a box.)
posted by mandal at 10:38 AM on October 21, 2008

Here's what I bring when such situations arise: flour tortillas (even better if you add some peanut butter and roll or fold the tortillas), granola bars, apples, bananas, grapes, dry cereal, cookies and crackers. Bottled water is great and you can always get some Crystal Light packets if you need/want some flavor every once in a while.
posted by aceyprime at 10:53 AM on October 21, 2008

There are lots of insulated lunchboxes and lunchbox ice-packs available, but I bet you don't want to buy this gear just for a 3-day conference. So, to improvise, buy some juice boxes and freeze them. Put one in a bag with your lunch for the day. If you've got a smallish towel, wrap it around the lunch bag for insulation before sticking the whole thing in your backpack. By lunchtime you'll have a cold (but not frozen) juice box and still-chilled food.

A thermos of soup or chili is also great in these situations, if you happen to have a thermos or feel like springing for one.

That said, my personal preference is to just skip things that need to stay hot or cold in situations like these. Peanut butter and jelly/honey/brown sugar/banana sandwiches are really quite tasty, as are apples, pears, and bananas. Mixed nuts from the bulk bin of the grocery store make a good snack or side dish. Baby carrots or celery sticks will be fine in your bag for a day. Even salami or pepperoni plus cheese and crackers would be fine without refrigeration - I take this stuff on backpacking trips and eat it after 48+ hours with no trouble. Just make sure your slicing knife won't get you in trouble with security.
posted by vytae at 10:55 AM on October 21, 2008

I can keep a yogurt pleasantly cold in a lunch bag until mid-afternoon with an ice pack; your options are really only limited to not being able to heat anything up. Pack a wrap or sandwich if you like, or anything with mayo, it will be safe.

I stick to protein to keep from getting lecture lethargy so bad, though: pepperoni and cheese, hummus and carrots (and radishes and gherkins), low-sugar yogurt, nuts. Edamame (steam/boil/nuke, cool, then pack) is a nice treat. If you're needing to bring in breakfast, there's the yogurt, an egg sandwich if you don't mind it cold, and apparently some people like cold oatmeal.

There's dozens of bento sites like Lunch In A Box, and they have great ideas for all kinds of very portable food.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:56 AM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Clif bars, and Clif builder bars. They're granola bars for the 21st century.
posted by notsnot at 10:56 AM on October 21, 2008

Peanut butter crackers, cheese and crackers, whole fruit, cookies, brownies, cheese (Laughing Cow is portable and will be fine without refrigeration), sandwiches without mayo, granola bars, chips, mini carrots, danish.
posted by Fairchild at 11:30 AM on October 21, 2008

Don't bring an orange: you don't want to be the kid who Smells Like Oranges all afternoon.

PB&J on wheat bread, an apple, and some cookies. Also, PB on Ritz crackers holds some protein and a bit of sugar to wake you up and keep you going mid-morning. In the afternoon, if dinner seems too far off, I eat a Clif bar from my bag (and given all the calroies and nutrient, I sometimes don't want much for dinner!).

I like to bring in homemade pizza. I keep it in the fridge overnight, but it gets somewhere closer to room temp during the day. *shrug* This may not be for you.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:36 AM on October 21, 2008

Hie thee to a Whole Foods or other place with a good cheese selection and get a wedge of Saenkanter - it's a Gouda that's been aged at least three years. Divine. Nutty, salty, a little bit of a caramel aftertaste.

And/or (I'd go with "and"), a piece of aged Piave. It's kind of like a Parmigiano Reggiano, but a little fruitier.

Both of these do just fine out of refrigeration - bring a sharp knife or cut into bite-size pieces beforehand.
posted by rtha at 11:55 AM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

I don't know about you, but too many sweet snacks make me nauseous. If this is the case with you, be sure to bring something salty to snack on if you are going to load up on PB&J's and fruit. There's nothing worse (to me) than 12+ hours of sweets.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:00 PM on October 21, 2008

Hard boiled eggs, ants on a log, soup in a thermos, those little wheels of wax-covered Gouda.
posted by TungstenChef at 12:08 PM on October 21, 2008

ants on a log

I hope this is a euphemism for something. I don't know what it is, though.
posted by desjardins at 1:19 PM on October 21, 2008

>ants on a log

I hope this is a euphemism for something. I don't know what it is, though.

Celery sticks stuffed with peanut butter and then topped with raisins. Kind of a classic healthy-snack-for-kids.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:21 PM on October 21, 2008

Thank god. I thought someone was taking the jungle metaphor way too seriously.
posted by desjardins at 1:28 PM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

I would bring a liter of milk with me everyday. It will definitely no longer be cold by the end of the day, but there's no way it'll go bad, at least in my experience...unless it's on the verge of its expiration date. Recently my girlfriend was in the hospital for a week and I was there for long stretches of time, and I always had a liter or two of milk with me. I'm convinced that a body can live from milk for weeks at a time.
posted by creasy boy at 2:17 PM on October 21, 2008

Nuts!

almonds, cashews, etc.
posted by NikitaNikita at 2:47 PM on October 21, 2008

nuts - keep extremely well, high-protein, small, dense nutrition - very easy to carry. No problem if you spill them.

carrot sticks - also keep well, nutritious, crunchy, good counterpoint to the nuts.
posted by amtho at 2:50 PM on October 21, 2008

2nding NikitaNikita<>; nuts - dry roasted plain with no salt; plus fruit, dried (mango, peach, nectarine or other) or fresh. I'm an omnivore but really dislike jerky, and have to disagree with aceyprime - the best tortilla with peanut butter is corn, not flour. Corn tortillas, peanut butter and Olallieberry preserves - yum.
posted by X4ster at 10:35 PM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Please close the <> tag for me...
posted by X4ster at 10:37 PM on October 21, 2008

nuts - dry roasted plain with no salt;

Ew! No! Salt!
posted by The Light Fantastic at 11:16 PM on October 21, 2008

I so want a bento box. Thanks to phunniemee for the link.

So, gleaned from this thread, what sounds good to me is: dried cranberries and mango, PB&J, non-fishy sushi, big hunks of cheese, soup in a thermos, nuts, egg sandwiches, and Clif bars. Almost all of you get best answers!
posted by desjardins at 10:00 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]