searching for a cheap lunch

[to_love_a_rose]

I'm trying to bring my lunch to work every day, to save money. I'm looking for recipe ideas that

a) can be served cold since I don't have access to a way to heat up my food.
b) don't have processed meats in them. (Ideas for how to use left over chicken, pork, etc. would be great, but I don't eat commercial lunch meat.)
c) are quick to prepare.
d) have veggies in them.
e) can be transported easily. (I take public transit to work, so things that pack light and small are important.)

I like healthy foods, and love tofu, and I try to avoid processed foods when I can.

Ideas? As a thank you, I offer up one idea that I came up with the other day.



Ingredients:
- large tortillas
- hummus
- assorted veggies (lettuce, shredded carrots, diced tomatoes, shredded cabbage, cucumber slices, bean sprouts, etc.)

Toss the tortilla onto a large cast iron skillet or microwave it for about 10 seconds to soften it up. Spread some hummus onto the wrap. Add your veggies. Wrap it up. Enjoy.

Comments

[pennyplainknits]

Absolutely, I just wondered if I had needlessly been throwing away rice all this time

[via_ostiense]

Upon some more reading...it looks like rice-related food poisoning happened mostly in the '80s at Chinese restaurants that would make enormous batches of rice and let them sit overnight for making fried rice the next day. Maybe it had to do with the quantity of the rice they were using? Restaurant-size rice batches are so large that they'd retain heat for much longer than home-size batches, providing ample heat and time for bacterial growth.

Incidentally, refrigerated rice is perfect for making fried rice, so if you have leftovers, they can go in the fridge or freezer.

[shesews]

I like to take my leftover rice, chicken, and veggies, and stir-fry everything in the morning, then pack it into bentos. If everything is bite-sized when put away the night before, it's a 5-minute process in the morning, and makes for an amazing lunch, with none of the icky-leftover-rice taste or mouthfeel. And, personally, I like fried rice hot, warm, cold, however I can get it, so it's fine right away or after a couple of hours for lunch.

[via_ostiense]

I love fried rice!