When I went to college, I knew that in order to pay for my tuition and living expenses, I would have to work full-time. In order to get my work schedule to fit around my class schedule, I worked out a plan with my boss where I could eat lunch at my desk every day. With limited time in the morning, I learned a few simple recipes to make healthy, tasty, and easy to pack meals. To make menu planning simple, I planned to make just a few very different types of meals, then I altered the ingredients as I got bored.
My favorite lunch was a grilled chicken Caesar salad. The most complicated part of this was the grilled chicken breast. To make it, I would buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts (deboning chicken when you have roommates and spotty garbage service should be avoided) on sale. These would usually come in giant packages, but since I had very little time during the week I would cook all my chicken on Saturdays. I would use a frying pan (on a hot plate) or a small, indoor grill to cook the chicken. I would then cut five of the chicken breasts into small pieces and wrap each piece separately in plastic wrap. I would then place the packets into my freezer. To make a salad in the morning, I just cut up lettuce and tomatoes, added shredded cheese and croutons, and placed my frozen packet of chicken strips on top of the bowl. I carried dressing in a little cup with a lid, and by lunch time my chicken had thawed and was ready to eat. I was fortunate enough to sometimes have access to a microwave, so I would heat the chicken on the lid of the bowl for about 2 minutes. If I got bored with chicken, I could also use any kind of chopped cold cuts.
Sandwiches should be considered a staple of the American diet. Everyone knows how to make one. To make them healthier, use whole-grain bread (this is a little more expensive, but the taste and health benefits make it worth the extra money) low fat meat and cheese, and use condiments like mayonnaise and ranch dressing sparingly (or replace it with mustard). Assembling a sandwich takes very little time, and they can “keep” without a refrigerator for about five hours (if you need one to last longer, invest in a small, cooler-style lunch box with an ice pack). Pair the sandwich with a piece of fruit, cup of yogurt and/or vegetable slices with ranch dip.
On days when I knew I would be able to use that microwave, I would make pasta dishes. I would boil pasta the night before (this could also become dinner) and place it in a plastic bowl with a lid. I would carry pasta sauce in a small cup, and grab a chicken packet from the freezer. At lunch time I would heat the chicken and pasta sauce, and mix it with the noodles. If I felt really ambitious, I would add a little bit of shredded cheese. I could swap out the type of pasta (whole grain pasta costs about the same as “regular” pasta, and is much better for you) or the sauce (tomato based for cheese based; like Alfredo sauce) or the meat (ground hamburger instead of chicken).
