Looking for healthy non-perishable foods

[draggar]

Right now my office has Bowl Appetites, Healthy Choice fresh mixers, Hormel Compleats, and Ramen.

The salt doesn't bother me because I drink a lot of water but the food itself is mostly pasta, pasta, and pasta. But the price is right - ranging from $0.80 for the ramen and about $2 for the Hormels (I get them on sale) each.

Is there anything like these (add water and nuke, non perishable items) that is healthier (or at least much lss unhealthy) that I could use for lunch?

* I'm also looking for healthy snacks - I need to cut back on bags of chips etc. Maybe sealed bags of dried fruit?

[Lindsey]

* I'm also looking for healthy snacks - I need to cut back on bags of chips etc. Maybe sealed bags of dried fruit?

Wal-Mart has Great Value Tropical Trail Mix at $5 for a one-pound bag. The Tropical Mix is entirely dried fruit and nuts -- granted there is sugar added but still a healthier option than chips. I buy it and put it in smaller Zip-Loc bags for individual servings.

They also have Indulgence Trail Mix, but it's mostly chocolate and peanut butter chips with a few nuts and cranberries thrown in.

[Treasure]

make your own granola / trail mix
unccoked oat meal
honey (to completely coat) (optional - sub w/ maple syrup)
(can also add brown sugar, or any other "flavorings")
mix in bowl until oats are completely coated
put on cookie sheet and place in PreHeated oven of 300d F
cook for about 10 mins - then flip onto a flexible cutting board and slid back onto pan (yes you are turning over your granola)
turn oven down to about 275 and return cookie sheet to oven for about 5 mins
remove granola from pan - (flip back onto cutting board) and place cookie sheet on top of granola til it cools - this helps it get crunchy but does not over cook it -
add whatever dried fruits and/or nuts you desire (I used pecans, honey roasted peanuts, dried cranberries, and raisins) it was OMG! good.

package it into snack size baggies and limit your self to no more than 2 a day.

you have a mini fridge in your office yes? get things like yogurt (if you like it) and you can mix the trail mix in with it...

[Seshat]

If you have or can get a dehydrator, you can prepare just about anything and have healthy and tasty preserved food.

Quiches and fritattas are healthy and will store with or without refrigeration for a day or so, though a cold pack in with them is best if you don't have a fridge at work.

Sandwiches or wraps based on the sorts of salad materials that don't have a lot of liquid in them are good. (I find ones with tomato and cucumber and the like turn into a soggy mess by lunchtime.)

Look into pastry-wrapped anything. Pastry and bread wraps were the original fast-food.

Similarly, look into seaweed wrapped stuff, or rice paper wrapped recipes.

[draggar]

We have a nice dehydrator but fruit never did well in it.

I am planning on buying a ton of boneless chicken breast though to cut into strips and dehydrate (they make goof human treats as well as dog treats, too).

[Nyoibo]

Just keep in mind, if this is for waight loss or maintenance things like trail mix and granola and such, while having less preservatives and similar things in them, have a hell of a lot of energy in them so you can pack on wieght without realising it

[draggar]

Yeah, I know. Thank god for water, I drink a lot of it at work.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

nuts and dried fruit do go bad, but only after three or more months.
Stale walnuts are bad; dried apricots from Christmas and it's now June == mold. o__o otherwise, they're beautiful, if a bit spendy. If there's a local co-op or other 'hippy food place,' they might have stuff that's good-- or even MRE's, or camping food. Not sure on prices tho, and given the choice most sane people would go with 'food' rather than MREs. Can you fit a mini-fridge in your office, as an end-table or something?
EDIT: if you get tired of plain water, teas are good, as are herbal teas (tisanes), and there are plenty of hot water pots on the market, less than 25 bucks, and you could let it cool if it's hot... but isn't your office cold constantly? (good for computers, not good for people sometimes.)
EDIT: I know some people can/jar their own food, which is shelf-stable. You have a dehydrator... but maybe you can look into home-canning? (I know, huge time outlay, but you can eat food that you like and is healthier than god-knows-what in Hormel or what)

[BlaqueKatt]

I need to cut back on bags of chips etc. Maybe sealed bags of dried fruit?

Brothers fruit crisps, they sell them by the case-nothing but freeze dried fruits, and you can get mixed cases of different flavors.


Backpacker's pantry foods at REI-most of it is on clearance-red beans and rice is $3 for a two serving packet.

[Food Lady]

Are you opposed to bringing frozen meals in an insulated bag? I'm thinking maybe you want stuff you can just leave there? If so, I used to carry around those little packs of peanut butter crackers and granola bars. But, that's not really a meal....

[draggar]

Brothers fruit crisps, they sell them by the case-nothing but freeze dried fruits, and you can get mixed cases of different flavors.

I don't want to get into fratching but there is a lot of concern over where those are made and the quality / true healthiness of them - but I did see them on Amazon and thought about them (reviews are OK on them)

Of course, I'm sure a lot of the food I buy is not made locally..

[Cat]

Canned beans? Not the most exciting, but cheap.

Thanks for this thread, this is give me ideas as well

[draggar]

I don't like beans (and I'm assuming you mean like baked beans). The only ones I like are green and wax beans (and they're excellent raw - they're always in my "salads").

[Boozy]

Why do your lunch options need to be non-perishable? Or are you looking for snack stuff to leave there for whenever you're feeling peckish?

I'm assuming that your office doesn't have a refrigerator, but are you not allowed to bring something in for lunch on a daily basis?

I bring fresh salads to work for lunch almost every day. I pack them in an insulated lunch bag with a cooler pack.

[draggar]

I have a mini fridge in my office but the power is not 100% reliable, it can go out so I wouldn't want anything in there overnight (except water, etc.). Sadly I also have several cases of soda in my office now (big BOGOs a month or so ago).

I can bring a lunch with me every day BUT since I'm in IT and have a *very* large territory for all I know 8am I can be called to a location over an hour drive away, so whether I'm in the office for lunch or not will vary and be unpredictable. So, non perishable foods will be good so I can keep them in the office for when I am there.

I am also looking for snack stuff (my lunch habits over the past 3 years have been rather unhealthy and I'm trying to lose weight). Right now I have chips, Bugles, cheese curls, chocolate chip cookies (it'll be hard to give those up!), and baked pretzels (at least those are less unhealthy!).