Need cold lunch ideas

[puglogic]

Salads and wraps. And I make some mean salads - usually with great greens, a few mixed veggies, a protein source of some kind, a fruit, and a nut (example from today: greens, shredded carrot, peas, minced red pepper, shredded chicken, chopped pears, gorgonzola cheese, pecans) Mark Bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" has some amazing ideas about these kinds of salads.
I eat it as a salad, or wrap it up in a tortilla or pita. Endless variation and I never get bored with it.

[Jemima]

Here's a high protein bean salad I often took along for lunch:

Chickpea and Olive Salad

15 oz. can Chickpeas, drained
2.25 oz can Black olives, drained
1 rib Celery, shredded
10 Green olives, sliced
4 T Bleu cheese or feta, crumbled
1 T Olive oil
½ T Red wine vinegar
To taste Oregano
To taste Cayenne pepper

Dump everything above into a bowl and toss. Makes about three servings


That's my version. Here's the original, from Prevention Magazine if I remember right:

Chick Pea Salad

1 – 16 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 Cup chopped celery
2 carrots, chopped
½ Cup chopped roasted red pepper
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt

Again, mix all of the above in a bowl. Makes four servings.

[Miss Cellane]

Pasta salad is another option. Also, I bring cut-up vegetables to dip in hummus. Potato salad? Add some nuts or hard-boiled eggs to add protein. A lot of quiches are good cold, as well. Check out cookbooks for "substantial salads" or "cooked salads" for things like three bean salad and a lot of other salads based on cooked vegetables.

Here's a sandwich that takes a little time to assemble, but is very good. Sort of Americanized Middle Eastern.

sub roll
olive paste or chopped black olives
pimentos--thinly sliced
marinated artichoke hearts--slivered
tomato-sliced
feta--crumbled

Dressing:
1-2 tbs garlic-flavored olive oil
1/4 tsp mustard
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Whisk all together.

Cut the sub roll lengthwise, trying to leave a "hinge," and pull out most of the soft insides. Drizzle a bit of dressing on each half. Spread olive paste or chopped black olives on each half. Then layer the pimento, artichokes and tomato on one half. Put as much feta as you like on top. Drizzle with more dressing. Wrap tightly (foil or plastic wrap) and let sit at least 4 hours before eating.

Garlic olive oil. One cup olive oil, 4-5 cloves of garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Simmer on top of stove for about an hour.



Focaccia bread's another thing I take for work lunches. I make my own pizza dough, but you can buy fresh or frozen dough.

Sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal or flour. Spread the dough out thinly. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Then I put a bit of rosemary on the dough, and then I put a lot of stuff from the following list on:

thin sliced onions (red onions are good)
halved cherry tomatoes or thin sliced tomatoes
slivered marinated artichoke hearts
feta or goat cheese
sliced olives
any leftover cooked vegetables (green beans are surprisingly good)
capers

Bake in 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until dough is golden brown on the bottom and cheese is starting to turn brown on edges. If you want, sprinkle some good olive oil and coarse salt over the top. Good hot, but also very good cold.

[pinkytoe]

My current favorite is black bean and sweet potato salad. Peel, dice and steam one large sweet potato until just tender. Combine with one can black beans. Toss with diced green onions, chopped cilantro and lime vinaigrette. In addition, I squeezze fresh lime juice.

[RosieTR]

When I have to go to class as my "lunch" break, I bring basically trail mix: 1/3 each of dried cranberries, walnut chunks and dark chocolate chips. Often also some grapes or an apple, and maybe some pretzels or crackers (peeled carrots/celery would work instead for a lower carb diet). Almost anything you'd take on a hike could work too: beef jerky, pouches of chicken or tuna with crackers, any hard cheese plus apples, etc.

[Mrs-M]

Wow! So many awesome ideas and recipes!!!

[Packratona!]

Tabouli. Pasta salads. Egg salad. Potato salad. Make your own sushi roll-ups. Homemade soup in a thermos. Hot dogs in chili in a thermos. Cold rice pudding.