To-go lunch ideas?

Michael eats lunch at work every week day and it is proving difficult trying to think of what to feed him. He's been living off of sandwiches, chips, and fruits. Which isn't a bad thing, I was just wondering if there were other meal options.

He has access to a microwave, but I don't think a freezer/fridge. So food has to stay in a cooler in his car. I would say leftovers would be great, but he eats so much we normally don't *have* leftovers. Lol

Any easy prep meals I could do the night before? Bonus points if it is something I can just prep once and then use multiple days!

Pasta salad? I can't stand mayo (and you wouldn't want it without a fridge), but I love pasta salad with Italian dressing. I throw in carrots, snap peas, cubes of cheese, pepperoni. I make a big thing of it and it lasts me most of a week.

Cold chicken? You can cook a whole one (or go lazy and buy a cooked one like I prefer!) and cut it all up, so you just have to grab and go.

I know it's not that different from sandwiches but I like wraps. You can do them so many different ways it might keep things interesting and you can stuff a ton in them easier than sandwiches.

Get some ramekins and do some mini shepherds pies. Layer browned ground beef then veggies (whatever you like, peas and carrots and corn or sautéed peppers and onions and mushrooms) then put mashed potatoes on top with Parmesan cheese and bake until golden. When cooled throw some Saran over top and then into the lunch otherwise you can freeze the spares and pull out and reheat as needed.

All amazing ideas! Thanks!

Check Pinterest - I've found some really good ideas there!

Put chicken, a jar of salsa, and a taco seasoning packet in crock pot. Low for 6-8 hours or high 4-5.

Send with lettuce and/or tomatoes in baggies, and a tortilla.

Easiest dish ever. I could live on it. I do live on it...

This is another sandwich idea, bit a bout different from your average turkey or ham. Ready to go blts are easy. Make the bacon and freeze it ( cooked) in baggies. Thaw a baggie at a time and send a BLT for lunch! Mayo packets are a must!

Freezing bacon is GENIUS. I didn't know you could do that! But the precooked bacon is expensive compared to uncooked, and bacon itself isn't cheap anyway.

That also sounds amazing. How much chicken do you normally put in? (And canned, or thawed frozen cut up breasts?)

Also, anybody have any thick/hearty soup recipes that could be made and then frozen? I have some jars that would make wonderful soup storage devices.

ETA: Normally I wouldn't have a huge issue with just sandwiches, because you can make a sandwich a lot of different ways due to condiments and such but he is PICKY. I think the only thing he would ever put on any kind of anything is ketchup, lettuce, tomatos, and bacon. He doesn't like onions or peppers. Can't stand cheese (although he doesn't mind mozzarella and parmesan). No mayo of any kind. He won't even eat a baked potato, even if the only thing you do to it is season it, butter it, and load it up with bacon. (I mean, really? ) I feel so sorry for his taste buds, sometimes, because they can not be experiencing life to their fullest with the way he eats.

Chicken pot pie - tbh I just cook up the chicken breast, shred or dice, and frozen veggies and some cream of chicken or cream of mushroom canned soup, toss some pillsbury buttermilk biscuits on top and bake it. But it's way easy to pop a serving in a Tupperware, microwave it, and do that all week.

Or, if he likes eggs, frittata?

Frittatas and a salad, salads, crepes, bagels, make bigger dinners so he can bring leftovers, or make some soup and take a thermos... I'm assuming his cooler in the car keeps the food cold enough until lunch though.

That chicken 'pot pie' sounds delicious.

OH MY GOD. That's the best idea ever!

We do all sorts of different things.

Usually some kind of protein like parmesan tilapia plus a side like mashed yams, and some veggie stuff, usually salad. The proteins we've done meatloaf, chicken skewers, roast beef, grilled lamb, dijon salmon, etc. Sides we do creamed corn, quinoa salad, potatoes, black beans, etc. Sometimes things like shepherd's pie, or chicken pot pie as well, it's usually easy to eat at the office. Well in my house I actually spend about a day a week to make a week's worth of lunch food for the family to break to work. Not stuff left from dinner, just a dedicated 2 proteins and usually 1-2 sides and the entire week we just take some for each lunch.

Uh, some? LOL I think I put like...maybe 1.5-2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts (I buy the frozen and just thaw them) in with a 16oz jar of salsa and the seasoning packet. I also like throwing in a can of black beans or corn if I have it.

And you can switch up the salsa type for different tastes. I love Archer Farms (Target) salsa, and next I'm going to try the mango peach salsa and see how that tastes!