Salad lunch pack
I should’ve written this one earlier, but I just didn’t have the time. Last year I started to make some more comprehensive lunch packs, compared to the Norwegian traditional lunch pack with a couple of slices of bread.
I was just tired of eating dry, tasteless bread, and wanted to try something else. I have two variants I use now, one of which is pictured above.
The salad lunch pack is easy, and takes from 5-20 minutes to make, depending on what you put in it. My favorite is the one on the picture, with chicken and pasta.
Recipe #1 – Chicken salad lunch pack
- Pasta (I use Macaroni or Fusilli, but any pasta will do)
- Lettuce (I use iceberg or crispi)
- Red pepper
- Grilled or cooked chicken meat (you can often buy salad-specific chicken meat. If not, a whole grilled chicken works too)
- Onion
- Maize
- Spices and/or dressing (I use salt and ground pepper, sometimes a little bit of garlic powder)
Cook the pasta. Cut the chicken, red pepper and onion into pieces. Rip the lettuce into pieces (this way it stays fresh longer, compared to cutting it). Mix all ingredients in a airtight lunch box, and add spices. If you use dressing, you can put that in a separate box to preserve the salad better. Remember to bring a fork.
Tip: If you make the salad the night before, make sure to put the driest ingredients on top, and don’t blend them until you are ready to eat. Store the lunch box in the fridge. That way you will have the freshest possible salad.
Recipe #2 – Home-made baguette with ham and cheese
This one requires a bit more preparation, but it tastes great and is really cheap. You can bake baguettes twice a week and have one for lunch every day.
Baguette:
- 3/4 white wheat flour
- 1/4 coarse wheat flour
- yeast (50g per liter of flour)
- milk
- salt
- whole grain and seeds (optional)
If you use fresh yeast, mix it with lukewarm milk. If you use dried yeast, mix it with the flour. Mix together the ingredients until the dough lets go of the bowl. Let the dough raise for about an hour. Roll into sausage-shapes in the size you want. Remember that it will raise. Let it raise for another hour. Put on some whole grain and seeds if you like. Wet them slightly with water before you put them in the owen at 220C. They are ready when they are crispy and brown. Let them cool down before eating. Put them in a plastic bag if you want to use them later.
- Lettuce
- Red pepper
- Ham
- Cheese
- mayonnaise (optional)
Cut a baguette in half. Add ripped lettuce, slices of red pepper, ham and cheese. Add mayonnaise if you like. Wrap in plastic and bring as a lunch pack.
Both of these are great options to paying for expensive lunch in the cafeteria or bringing plain old dry bread.
