What's the best shelf-stable "I'm stuck at my desk but need lunch" food?

May 30, 2019 3:43 PM

I'm pretty busy at work and tend to like to stay focused when I'm in a groove - this means that I end up eating the Cliff bars that I have stashed in my desk for lunch on many days. Putting aside whether I should really go outside and stretch my legs and take a break (I know I should, I also know I won't on many days) what are your best recommendations for food that I can keep stashed in a drawer for a fast lunch that is relatively decent for me nutritionally?

As mentioned, my go-to is Cliff bars (the nut-butter-filled ones are delicious) but I'd like to switch it up a bit. I don't like most fruit so dried fruit is a no-go. Hot water is easily available and it wouldn't disrupt my groove to quickly grab it. Things that can be ordered online are preferred (but not necessarily required). I don't want anything I have to do any prep for at home. Thanks for your thoughts and recs, hivemind!

posted by wuzandfuzz to Food & Drink (41 answers total)

Star*Kist has a line of shelf-stable tuna pouches, in various flavors. Those, a box of tasty crackers, and maybe a baggie full of sliced cheddar cheese would keep you pretty well.
posted by hanov3r at 3:49 PM on May 30, 2019 [10 favorites]

Pop top single serving cans of tuna
Moon cheese (this might depend on your ability to control portions; i tend to pour the whole bag directly into my face)
Chocolate covered almonds
Crackers
posted by janepanic at 3:53 PM on May 30, 2019 [5 favorites]

Trail mix.
posted by kerf at 3:55 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Trader Joe's beef jerky in the green bag is great. Macadamia nuts and dates (Costco has the best prices for both, as far as I've found). Neither is as satisfying as a meal, but they'll get you through for several hours.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:59 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

St Dalfour has some canned meals you can order online; I like their salmon and vegetables and it's decent health-wise.
posted by EmilyClimbs at 3:59 PM on May 30, 2019

This is why God created cup noodles. I buy as many different brands and varieties as possible to give me at least the illusion of variety.
posted by ouke at 4:00 PM on May 30, 2019 [6 favorites]

Halved avocado with salt, pepper, olive oil. Foil curry packs you can heat in the microwave. Tinned fish.
posted by aw jeez at 4:09 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

I love this brand and flavor of instant oatmeal that comes with a little granola topping, but they also make other flavors that don't include dried fruit. Depending on your caloric needs you can stir in a spoonful of almond butter too!
posted by stellaluna at 4:22 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

They're greasy to eat with your fingers but canned dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) is nice snack that feels more decadent than dry crackers/nuts/et.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:23 PM on May 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

Peanuts (assuming it doesn’t raise an issue to have them in your office)
posted by sallybrown at 4:41 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Soylent
posted by yclipse at 5:04 PM on May 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

Almonds, sardines, olives, triscuits. You can almost live off those, no prep required.

Ramen, hot water and some TVP will also go a long way if you have a few minutes and hot water, add dried fish or jerky products for extra fun.

If 2-3 weeks at room temp in a dark closet is ‘shelf stable’ enough you can do carrot, celery, onion, potato etc. Add evaporated milk and again you get to near compete nutrition.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:04 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you go to the “ethnic” (I hate that term) of the grocery store there will be some options that are basically the upgraded version of cup of noodles. I seem to recall various pan east Asia flavors and also some heat in pack daal/curry potato packs as well. They are either microwaveable or pour in boiling water variety. Sorry I can’t offer exact brands off the top of my head.

If you wanted something heartier you could also look at mountain house camping meals. I found them to be pretty dang good (though it was my Peace Corps service so my tastebuds weren’t that delicate). They are of the “put in boiling water, store and let sit for X minutes variety.”
posted by raccoon409 at 5:11 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Peanut butter and crackers. Indian pouches like these (cheaper at grocery stores; there are various brands); can eat with shelf stable rice.
posted by metasarah at 5:21 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

If you’re sitting at a desk for that long I don’t think Clif bars are great for you.

Came here to say Soylent. Better cold, but doable room-temp, and works over ice. Quick, inoffensive, lots of vitamins and protein and stuff, and reasonable glycemic index.

Many things here sound almost poisonous, sodium-wise, if you eat them more than... once a week?
posted by supercres at 5:22 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have a box cereal and shelf stable milk that I keep for days like this. I also have oatmeal packets. In the past when I had a mini fridge, I cranked it up to it's coldest setting, and it worked like a freezer. I would go to Trader Joes and buy a variety of frozen meals and eat them as needed.
posted by momochan at 5:31 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

There are some really good microwave rices that are shelf stable. Do you have a microwave available?
posted by soelo at 5:34 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Campbell sells soup in microwaveable packaging, i.e. bowls. Servings are generous.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:40 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Seconding canned dolmas. They also mostly satisfy a “fresh” greens craving for me, which is tough to find in a shelf-stable product
posted by horizons at 5:49 PM on May 30, 2019

Those little wax covered cheeses will stay good for at least a day at room temp. You could bring a couple of them daily.
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:00 PM on May 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

If you have a microwave, Whole Foods has 3 varieties of these pouches that heat up in 90 seconds, and provide a good source of fiber and protein.
posted by invisible ink at 6:07 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Perhaps go easy on fish and other more pungent suggestions if you’re eating at your desk. Oats work well. Whole apples keep for ages at room temperature before they spoil. You could also just get into the habit of chopping up some peppers, carrots etc and prepare vegetable snack bags for a few days. Keep in fridge and grab one in the morning. They’ll be fine at room temperature until lunch time. As would most hard cheese. A portion of hummus and you have nice finger food.
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:41 PM on May 30, 2019 [4 favorites]

Whole Foods has 3 varieties of these pouches

The search term you want is "retort packaging", "retort pouch", (or "microwavable retort"). Tasty Bite is another brand that has microwave-ready meals and they're pretty good. Campbell's also makes Ready Meals, same idea.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:09 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks all! Just some further info for any future answers: assume no microwave (microwave is on another floor and I inevitably run into coworkers and chat so lose my concentration on whatever it is I'm working on which what I'm trying to avoid) and pungent foods are okay as I can keep my office door closed. Not a huge fish fan but bring on the stinky garlic.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 7:14 PM on May 30, 2019

My desk go tos - Apples / pb - I'll often slice up apples and dip them into a tiny tupperware of pb. Hard boiled eggs can be bought pre boiled and will be fine out of the fridge for a day. I find RX and kind bars are a bit less sugary and better for satiety than Clif bars.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:24 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Sometimes instant mashed potatoes hit that spot for me, that’s an easy “just add water”. You could do a nice chicken salad with packets of mayo and canned chicken.
posted by firei at 7:31 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

assume no microwave

Retort meals + flameless heaters = MREs!
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:42 PM on May 30, 2019

I work onsite a lot, like plane flights away, and I never take a lunch. It can be very physical work. I need to get stuff done ASAP. I need to get it done in time for my next flight home. Lunch can be skipped. I do not care really.

I usually carry a couple bags of trail mix. Market Pantry from Target is decent and has many options. There are literally dozens of options, I choose the lowest sugar ones. I can take a 5 minute break and chow a bit of that while my equipment does it's thing, and I'm good.
posted by sanka at 7:53 PM on May 30, 2019

I keep instant Indian food in a bag (eg Tasty Bites) around for that purpose. High in protein, shelf stable, and pretty tasty. Though also high in salt.
posted by Candleman at 7:55 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Starkist Selects Yellowfin tuna in EVOO is my favorite. Actually, the variety with peppers and sun dried tomatoes is better than the plain tuna in olive oil. I get them for about $1.68 a packet at Walmart. Perfect with crackers or potato chips for lunch.
posted by lhauser at 8:21 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Can you get a small bar fridge for under your desk? This would expand your options significantly!
Then you could have yogurt, hummus...

Also I’m surprised no one mentioned bananas or apples, those can sit at your desk for a week easy.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:36 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

+1 for apples and peanut butter. Also, yogurt will be fine for half a day at room temperature.

Look into backpacking meals. These are shelf-stable meals that are meant to be prepared en masse, stored at room temperature for weeks, and then rehydrated with boiling water. They can get surprisingly tasty and many recipes don't need specialty freeze-dried ingredients.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 9:45 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Peanuts. I find a small handful will stop any cravings. Some people swear by apples, something to do with fiber staying in your system for a while making you feel full.
posted by xammerboy at 9:55 PM on May 30, 2019

Unsweetened applesauce in singe-serving pots
A can of garbanzo beans and a can opener
A can of asparagus spears
A can of unsweetened mandarin orange segments
Almonds or walnuts
Brown rice cakes, with none of that sugar and grease topping
A small pot of plum preserves with no sugar added, of the kind they sell to go on brie to go on those rice cakes. It will have to be taken home a week or so after it is opened as it won't keep long after that.
Peanut butter for the rice cakes
Olives
Oatcakes - the kind that don't contain sugar etc.
Breakfast cereal and a carton of shelf-stable milk.
Canned smoked oysters

You can get single serving pats of butter or margarine that are meant to be refrigerated but are quite shelf stable and don't have to be. If you can lay your hands on some of these they can be extremely helpful.

Chances are you need a source of carbs to cope with brain sugar crashes, and a source of protein to stabilize your blood sugar, and a source of calories, which means fat. By the time you realise you have to eat, at your desk, right now, your brain has sucked all the blood sugar out of your body. If you can manage to eat a rice cake and some canned tuna, or garbanzo beans and olives you won't be getting just protein or just carbs or not enough fat for the food to take.

Don't forge that hydration makes a huge difference. Sometimes when we sit down for a cuppa it's not so much the sitting down or the break that makes the difference; it's just the fluid. Running into the washroom and sticking your mouth under the cold water tap might work as well but only take half a minute. So keep in mind that you need to have fluid, not just food.

If you invest in an immersion heater or a plug in electric kettle your options will be much greater as you can use boiling water to heat up different types of food that come in packets. You can get single serve brown rice packets meant to be heated in the microwave and heat them up in boiling water instead. Increasingly food is coming in plastic pouches so when shopping look at the type of container first to see if it holds shelf stable food and then if you might want to eat it.

Hard apples like Granny Smith will keep awhile, like six weeks, unless you have a dismally warm office. The trick is to have a schedule - say when you are packing up to leave on Monday every week to look at your food stash and evaluate. If the apples are going soft they can get dragged home and chopped and thrown in the slow cooker with some pulled pork. At the same time you can take notes of what you need to replenish for your grocery run in the middle of the week.
posted by Jane the Brown at 3:58 AM on May 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

In the U.S. "summer sausage" is a term for sausages intended to be kept at room temperature. I've never tried it but I wonder if you could put one in a bun, dress it with fancy relish, and eat it like a hot dog. Even besides that it might serve as an accompaniment to some of the other hors d'oeuvre type items mentioned here. (Admittedly, on the less-decent end of the spectrum nutritionally, so probably best to pair with as much fruit and vegetables as possible.)
posted by XMLicious at 6:09 AM on May 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

In the U.S. "summer sausage" is a term for sausages intended to be kept at room temperature. I've never tried it but I wonder if you could put one in a bun, dress it with fancy relish, and eat it like a hot dog.

Summer sausage is delicious. Growing up we always just ate it sliced. You could have some crackers at your desk and put it on that, but I wouldn’t eat it like a hot dog - it’s closer to hard salami.
posted by sallybrown at 7:23 AM on May 31, 2019 [3 favorites]

oh yeah summer sausage sliced, cheese and crackers, maybe some fruit is a full on meal. however, they might need to go in the frig once opened and come in logs usually too big to eat at one time. they will be fine like any cured meat from leavning your house until you eat them at lunch though.
posted by domino at 8:14 AM on May 31, 2019

Costco recently had a great three-pack of "mini salami-bites" that have been helping me
Shelled nuts
posted by lafemma at 8:16 AM on May 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

Various almonds and mixed nuts of the many honey roasted/habarnero/salt and vinegar/coconut etc. varieties. Having a bunch of different kinds around allows you to have a mood as opposed to just hoovering up whatever is in the drawer.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:48 AM on May 31, 2019

You can make couscous or bulger by pouring boiling water over them in a heatproof bowl. It turns out that you can also make them with a long soak in cold water. There's also dried refried beans that are prepared similarly, with boiling water and a bowl. A grain and beans might be good with shelf-stable Laughing Cow cheese wedges and a hot sauce, like Tabasco.
posted by SandiBeech at 10:17 AM on May 31, 2019

You didn't specify whether or not it needed to be healthy.

Healthy
Almonds
Some granola bars

Perhaps less healthy
I keep bags of frozen chicken strips and packets of 90 second rice. You would need a microwave for this, but it is a meal in a couple of minutes...
posted by kbbbo at 10:18 AM on May 31, 2019