Out of the Bag

Written by Tom Xavier

Brown bag. Right away, you think: elementary school, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Wonder® bread with the crusts cut off, a carton of 2-percent milk, a baggie full of carrot sticks, a cookie, and maybe even a little note from Mom tucked in somewhere.

And if you didn’t like your sack lunch, you would be trading your goods for your buddy’s snack cakes or potato chips. You know exactly what I’m talking about.

At some point, we all decided it was easier, and, let’s face it, more mature, to buy our lunch or just bring leftovers in Tupperware.

Can you imagine “trading” lunch with a coworker, your boss, or your professor?

Still, taking our lunch to work can save us money and allow for healthier eating. Yet there seems to be the stigma of the brown bag that makes packing a lunch seem silly in the working world. Not so. We just need to adjust it to our more grown-up needs (and tastes).

So, while the brown paper bag might not be to your liking, especially if you have the tendency to write your name on the bag in marker, there’s always reusable tote bags and fashionable mini-coolers to bring your lunch to the office.

But we all know that it’s what’s inside that counts—and I’m not just saying that to be nice. You have to actually want to eat what you have in your lunchbox if you want to avoid the “I’ll just buy today” temptation. Remember, you’re packing your own lunch now (or at least I hope so), so you can control what you put in it. Here are some general ideas:

Leftovers. Probably the number one thing that “grown-ups” bring for lunch. Cook a little extra the night before or get a doggy bag at dinner and get two meals for the price of one. (Side note: If you are visiting your parents or any relatives for a meal, they are likely to ask you to take food home with you...don’t turn them down!)

Sandwiches. Easy to make, easy to take. You can move beyond peanut butter and jelly (though it’s great to have, at times) and try chicken breast, turkey, veggie burgers, tuna, portobello mushrooms, etc. Spice things up a bit by trying different mustards, breads/rolls, cheeses, and veggies to get away from the standard meat and cheese sandwich.

Soups. If you have access to a microwave, this is another great option, especially in those winter months. Gladware or Ziploc reusable containers (the round ones) are great for taking homemade soups. You can also just take a store-bought can. However, with the latter, if healthy is what you are looking for, check the sodium content of your can of soup. They can be outrageous!

Yogurt, cottage cheese. Easy to pack and healthy if you opt for the low fat or fat-free versions with lower sugar content. You can make them sweet by pairing them with fresh fruit and/or granola.

Then again, if you’re looking for some elegant and delicious recipes for your “mature” lunch, give some of these a try!

Grown-Up PB&J

Peanut Butter & Strawberry Chutney Sandwich

• Fresh-ground peanut butter (or any organic peanut butter)
• Ciabatta bread
• For Chutney
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
• 2 tbsp. raisins
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 tsp. grated orange peel
• 1/4 tsp. prepared mustard
• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

(the round ones) are great for taking homemade soups. You can also just take a store-bought can. However, with the latter, if healthy is what you are looking for, check the sodium content of your can of soup. They can be outrageous!

Yogurt, cottage cheese. Easy to pack and healthy if you opt for the low fat or fat-free versions with lower sugar content. You can make them sweet by pairing them with fresh fruit and/or granola.

Then again, if you’re looking for some elegant and delicious recipes for your “mature” lunch, give some of these a try!

Oven-baked Potato Chips

• 3 large potatoes (with skins)
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• Fresh rosemary • Salt
• Clove of garlic (optional)
• Mushrooms (optional)

Slice washed potatoes with skins on. Parboil until just tender; drain. Place on a baking tray. Drizzle with canola oil. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary and lightly salt. Bake at 375 degrees until crunchy. Add a whole garlic clove and/or whole mushrooms onto the tray while baking for added flavor. These also stay very well in an air-tight canister, so you can use them for a week’s worth of lunches. Serves 8.

Pan Bagnat

Total time: 20 minutes, plus overnight weighting time.

Note: Recipe works best with a crusty French baguette.

• 1 baguette
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup black olives
• 4 tbsp. capers
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 12 oz. Italian tuna in olive oil, drained and broken apart
• 2 small boiling potatoes, boiled, cooled, and sliced thinly
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 small vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup thinly-sliced red onion
• 1 cup arugula

Halve the baguette lengthwise and scoop out a little of the interior of both sides with your fingers. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until combined. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified and set aside. Coarsely chop the olives and capers, then combine in a small bowl with the minced garlic and set aside.

Fill the bottom part of the baguette with the olive mixture, spreading it evenly across the hollowed-out portion. Layer the tuna over the olives, then, in even layers, add the potatoes, eggs, and tomatoes. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the sandwich and then add the onions and the arugula, pressing down on the contents as you go. Top with the other baguette half and wrap the sandwich tightly with plastic. Refrigerate overnight, weighted with a cutting board or a plate topped with some cans or bottles.

The next morning, take the sandwich out of the refrigerator and cut into sixths. Wrap individually and pack for lunch. Tip: The sandwiches are best when they’ve been sitting at room temperature for a couple of hours. Serves 6.

Asian Chicken Salad

• 3 to 4 drops liquid crab boil
• 3 or 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 1/2 large head of cabbage, diced
• 2 or 3 large carrots, diced
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 to 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• Ground red pepper or red pepper flakes
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbps. chopped fresh mint
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup peanuts, plus more for garnish

In a large skillet, combine crab boil and water. Bring to a boil and add chicken breasts. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, or until a small cut into the interior of chicken no longer shows pink. Remove chicken breasts from water and let cool. Dice or shred meat. Refrigerate.

Combine cabbage, carrots, and green onions in a large bowl. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper flakes. Stir well. Taste for balance and adjust seasoning. Combine chicken, vegetables, and dressing in the large bowl.

Just before serving, toss salad with herbs and peanuts, so bring the herbs and peanuts in a separate baggy for your lunch. Serves 4.

Portobello Mushroom Sandwich

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2-4 portobello mushrooms, sliced to fit rolls
• 1 small onion, sliced in rings
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. margarine
• 2 French or pumpernickel rolls

Combine one tablespoon olive oil and two tablespoons lemon juice; marinate washed mushrooms in the mixture for a few minutes. Sauté onion rings and garlic in the remaining oil and lemon juice until clear. Add mushrooms and sauté for two additional minutes; add spinach during the last minute. Salt lightly. Spread margarine on both sides of the rolls. Assemble rolls with mushroom mixture and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, or place in a sealed container. Serves 2.

Grown-up Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. angel hair spaghetti, broken into 3-inch lengths
• 1 8-oz. bottle low-calorie Italian salad dressing
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• Red onion, sliced thinly
• 2 roasted chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 6-oz. can pitted black olives

Cook spaghetti al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Combine spaghetti, dressing, celery, green pepper, onion, and chicken. This recipe is great because you chill the whole salad overnight. Add tomatoes and olives just before tossing for lunch. Serves 8.

The most important thing to remember when bringing your Grown-Up Lunch to work is to think ahead. Don’t leave everything until morning or you will likely forgo making it and buy lunch “just this one time.” Pack it the night before and you can just grab it on your way out.

Brown baggin’ it is great. It saves you money, it allows you to control the quality and quantity of your food, it’s healthy (if you make it that way), and it can be fun because you can experiment with recipes. You won’t be alone when you sit down at the table with a lunch from home; it’s actually quite common. Enjoy it. Just don’t get too caught up in the nostalgia of it all—you don’t need to raise your hand to be excused, you can just get up and head back to your desk.

Article appeared in our 28-1 Issue - April 2011