Can you make some suggestions for lunch besides peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches?

Jerky and an apple

Nuts, fruit and pretzels.

Coldcuts and cheese on properly fresh-baked sliced baguette.

Tuna sandwiches of various descriptions (tuna melts with a bit of paprika on good bread, can be really good).

Soup (with or without a sandwich).

Sliced pepperoni, cheese stick and a pear.

Fruit: grapes, apple, pear, banana.

Can it start out refrigerated and just be ok 4 hours later in an insulated lunch bag? Like a salami sandwich or chicken tenders?

Pasta salad: tricolor rigatoni, tomato, cucumber, zesty italian dressing, and McCormick perfect pinch salad supreme. Keep it in your fridge, but it will be fine for lunch if it loses it’s cold temp.

Hummus and pita chips.

Guys…she specified it has to not need refrigeration.

Sunflower seeds.if

I have taken, lately, to having Kind bars for lunch. Usually one, sometimes two if needed. The convenience is great, and they really do satisfy.

Hard boiled eggs. Salad (green salad).

If you’re into sandwiches, cold cuts will do ok without refrigeration for a few hours.

@canidmajor is right – Kind bars are great. I like the kind without chocolate, but if you’re into chocolate, they have it with chocolate, too. I like the cranberry almond one and the coconut almond one.

Anything will be ok in an office environment without refrigeration for a few hours. As long as it’s not “outside” temps, meaning 80 and above in summertime, and doesn’t have mayo on it, cold cuts, pasta salad with Italian dressing, hard boiled eggs, etc. will all be ok from morning to lunch time if kept on your desk.

I was saying the same as @jca2 regarding refrigeration. We need a little more info about the situation for the lunch to be able to suggest more. My husband used to take dinner leftovers, pork chops and rice, pasta, pizza, meatloaf, and didn’t need a fridge. He sometimes used the microwave to heat it up, sometimes not, depending on the food.

I need to try the Kind bars. Good story behind the founder and why he named it Kind. He was raised always to be kind to others, because so many people were kind to his father making a huge impact on his father’s life. Also, healthy ingredients to be kind to your body.

Humus and veggies

I’m working a couple days a week for a company that gets homes ready for estate sales. So far, the homes I’ve been in do not have refrigerators or microwaves.
Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate the help!

Bring an insulated bag or styrofoam container and put some ice or cool packs in it. It will stay cool in your car trunk. In FL we do it all of the time for obvious reasons and food stays cold for hours.

Here’s a true story About ten years ago, I had Chinese food at work for lunch. It was a Friday. I couldn’t eat the egg roll because I was too full, so I left it on my desk and forgot to take it home. When I came to work Monday, I was jokingly telling my coworkers that I left the egg roll on my desk and I was going to eat it. They were saying “no, don’t eat it, don’t eat it!” I said “I’m eating it.” They said jokingly, “she’s eating it!” I ate it and I was fine. I’m pretty brave about eating food that’s been left out. As long as it’s not a sweltering summer where it’s left in the car or something like that, most things should be ok, at least for a few hours. Chicken, I wouldn’t have eaten if it was left on the desk all weekend, anything with mayo I wouldn’t have eaten if it was left on the desk all weekend, but if you bring a sandwich or something else and it’s indoors but not sweltering heat, it should be ok for a few hours.

BTW a company that does estate sales sounds like a great job! You will probably be seeing so much interesting stuff.

^^^ Rick is the same way. But in college I got food poisoning from a vending machine burrito. I ate it right away and OMG Talk about SICK.

@Dutchess_III When I was 15, I came home from school and made myself a tuna fish sandwich (with mayo, of course). I am guessing the mayo was bad. I was so, so sick, it really felt awful for a few hours. Then I threw up. My parents went to a party after work so they didn’t come home until 8 or 9 that night, and by then, I was feeling a bit better. They said “the bathroom smells like throwup.” I didn’t eat tuna for about ten years after that, and to this day, I am very cautious about mayo. I don’t buy a big jar, I buy the small one, even though it costs more per ounce, and I put the date on it when I open it. If it’s more than a few weeks after I open it, I throw it out. That may be overly cautious but I don’t care. I am not going to go through that again.

Sure. Anything you want may be eaten at the midday meal. I don’t eat until the evening meal usually. Same rule applies as there is not one.

Yeah.@jca2. Mine was coming put both ends! It was bad. I walked across campus in the middle of night, in the dark, clutching a steak knife,to get to the nurse…

Oh! Canned soups @chyna!

Bean with Bacon straight from the can is good.

Veggie wraps (think Thai clear rice wraps) and peanut sauce. So yummy!!

Protein powder (add milk or water from store) , bone broth, dry cereal, a snack tacklebox with fruits, nuts, dried meats, crackers, etc…

Personally I’d go with protein shakes and a tumbler and stop for a quick milk or water at a convenience store. PB & J has sooo much sugar and preservatives plus tge bread carbs, yikes.

Sardines in a can and saltines. Canned fish is a good choice, smoked oysters, octopus, herring too.

Any room temperature protein like hummus, lunch meat and cottage cheese should NOT be eaten after being at room temp (or over 40* F) for 4 hours.

Ramen noodles.

Do you have a microwave?

I generally don’t have a microwave or fridge.

And most potentially not OK foods won’t last many hours in a hot car.

Butter and Marmite.

Tuna, chicken, sardines, and other protein products are available in cans or factory sealed packaging which requires no refrigeration before opening. If desired you could add condiments that come in individual servings, such as Mustard, mayo, relish, etc. Then spread on crackers or dip with chips.

@Strauss that’s a great idea! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.

Ya. Just carry a can opener and eat canned foods. You can eat tuna by itself. You don’t have to make a whole sandwich.
In fact, it’s probably less calories to eat a whole can of tuna fish than to make one sandwich.
I love canned asparagus!

I think canned asparagus is the most vile thing.

@Dutchess_III you’re correct about the calories in a tuna fish sandwich being more than a can of tuna, although the OP didn’t mention watching her calories.

Just saying she could eat an entire can of tuna for lunch in lieu of a sandwich @jca2.

^That would be too bland for me. I’d need a little mayo packet and good bread.

@Dutchess_III Yes but a can of tuna may be unappealing to many, otherwise more would do it.

It reminds me of the years we spent primitive camping. No electricity. I rigged up our ice cooler to support a metal grill, like a refrigerator grill, above the ice. Worked like a charm for a little fridge for a few days. We even kept meat in it until we were ready to cook it. Of course we spent over $100 for a high quality cooler. You’d only need a regular personal cooler for a day, then jerry rig it.
Don’t suppose they’d let you build a campfire in the living rooms so you can cook stuff. ;D

Re the calorie comment. Calories are at the forefront of my mind since 1990 when I was on a mission to lose 30 post baby pounds. It took a year but I succeeded. Didn’t ever quit counting calories but it became subconscious for the next 30 years and I maintained my preferred weight..until recently. Now I’m on a mission to gain 20 pounds so counting is on again..and it’s HARD! Counting to lose is so ingrained in me.

@Durchess_III I’m pretty sure I signed a document saying I wouldn’t build fires in the living rooms of homes I’m working on. :-)

^^^ LOLL!!!

By coincidence amazon just delivered a package of Freeze dried blueberries. I was thinking of adding some to my banana bread, but apparently it’s a snack as is. (Whole packet is 80 calories.)
Don’t want crunchy stuff in my banana bread.
Any clues as to how to rehydrate them? And will they make juice if you mix them with sugar, like strawberries do?

Maybe something like this would work.
If the link is fubarred do an Amazon search for back pack coolers. It looks like the ice goes in separate compartments so keeps water away from food.

Just a thought….use several of those nasty plastic water bottles and freeze water in them, in lieu of loose ice. When you get home just stick them back in the freezer.
Also they make small, portable propane grills so you can cook stuff. You can charge your coworkers for lunch!

I used to go through a lot of pita bread. It was a really fast fix when I was rushing for work. Usually I just packed along some sliced Swiss cheese and slipped it in at lunchtime. Add an apple and/or some little carrots or other raw vegetable and it’s a meal.

Hard-boiled eggs are also a good staple and very portable. Little packets of salt are easy to take along.

Oh, and I loved the little jars of Cara Mia marinated artichoke hearts or hearts of palm. I’d go through a whole one at a sitting. Not worrying about my weight in those days. You do need a fork or other tool.

I don’t know that I’d trust hard boiled eggs that have been at room temp for 4 hours…

Also, FYI @chyna… peanut butter and honey is super yum.

Ham and cheese.

Bean and cheese burrito.