That's sweet of you. I would ask them to list their favorite lunches. Some people actually like eating the same thing every day!

Robert loves it when I pack leftovers and much of what I fix for supper is planned for that. He will prepare his lunch containers when we're cleaning up after supper. Find the right containers....large enough and safe to microwave. He also keeps a bowl and plate at work for easy microwaving of soups and stews. I visited his office one day and saw his little stash of Chef Boyardee ravioli and Progresso soups! How cute is that?

I'll make egg or tuna salad and pack the lettuce and tomato separately. Also wrap the bread separately. Those are his favorite sandwiches.

My mother in law always made the most fantastic lunches for her hubby, Always included a small container of nuts and sweet pickles along with a too die for sandwich and a thermos of coffee. I was amazed as my mom never fixed anyone a lunch like that. She made us carrot and celery sticks and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If we were lucky chips on the side. I always made my boys a lunch meat sandwich of some sort. Tuna salad is nice or left overs that can be reheated
Mary

we're big on leftovers and I actually plan enough for dh's the next day...he too has access to microwave and fridge...made chicken soup last week, and sent that in a container with sc..rew on lid (check the stores) he's enjoyed that..then I have flour tortillas, add tiny baggies of shredded lettuce, cheese, salsa, and leftover chili...I also vary the bread...we have these really good Kaiser rolls from sams..btw I always keep "wet" separated from the bread...Fridays are subway for 3-4 of the office...check for coupons for days to eat out...

Try some raw vegetables and maybe some ranch dressing to dip. Add a piece of fruit such as grapes, apple, orange, tangerine, cherries. I avoid pears because they bruise too much. I love tuna and egg salad with Wheat Thin crackers to dip into it. Yogurt. Cottage cheese with sliced peaches and raisins or with pineapple chunks and shredded cheddar. A big handful of nuts.

See if you can find one of those Cook Once a Week cookbooks or whatever they're called. They're the ones that help busy people cook a large batch of something in advance. You freeze the food in (microwaveable) portion size containers to eat at a later date.

Along that line, stuff like stews of various kinds, chili, enchiladas with beans or rice, hearty soups, etc., work well when frozen. They'll stay cold till lunchtime in all but the hottest weather.

When my son was in middle school, he said the teachers used to come by to see what he had for lunch every day.

Salads - I put little (separate) packets of grilled chicken or steak, croutons, cheese, dressing, etc. for him to put on his salad so it wouldn't get all gunky and the texture would stay nice.

Wraps.

Soups. Chili. Packets of cheese/croutons, etc. on the side.

Pita pockets with yogurt/dill dressing to pour over it.

My son liked grilled sandwiches and would eat them cold. Instead of chips, put a mixed fruit salad in with it.

Hamburgers, hot dogs.

Make Italian beef in the crockpot, freeze it in small portions, send the ones with microwave access some Italian beef, hoagie bun, provolone cheese and they can make a great sandwich themselves.

If you're sending your regular sandwich, send something different than chips and jello. The possibilities are endless. A big dill pickle. Fruit. Vegetables and dip. Apple slices and peanut butter. Celery and peanut butter. Potato salad or cole slaw.

Good luck!

Now I have to make egg salad for my lunch at home....sounds like just what I need today

These are some great ideas!!!! I can use them all on Molly & Sam, but I should have stated that Tony has this thing about "white stuff" especially mayonnaise.The only "white stuff" he will eat is Kool Whip, vanilla ice cream and sometimes vanilla pudding oh and the whites of eggs .... the kids will eat anything...but he is gets physically ill if you force anything like mayonnaise down him,,,,

I pack mine a lunch every day. I joke that as a Marine Veteran, he will eat just about anything - without complaint- that i put in front of him.
I usually make a sandwich for him, but sometimes mix it up and make it a wrap.(crazy creative, right ?!?!)
Quite often I make cole slaw or macaroni salad on Sunday and portion out in 5 containers.
I also make jello or pudding.

If he gets fruit it is usually a banana or a peeled orange.
Almost always you will find a pack of peanut butter crackers, tastycakes, oreos, or pringles in his lunch box. He doesn't always eat those, but has them in the event he gets hungry.

I, on the other hand, eat whatever is easy..leftovers in fridge or anything handy. Today I had a banana, some grapes, pretzel nuggets, cheese stick and jello. I graze all day at my desk...
But thanks to dasiyinga, I reallly, really want a dill pickle!

Laura, just for fun, have you ever tried making a pasta salad with avacado instead of mayo? Not the best to look at, but really tasty!

When I was working, I packed a lunch each day. Most days it was planned leftovers, to the point that co-workers came by to see what I had and half joked I should bring them lunch too! If no leftovers, than I made a salad with the all the toppings, chicken or tuna salads and only made a sandwich if I was craving one.

We had a cafeteria but the cost was a bit high and the food was not all that great or even good. Then they remodeled and brought in a dietician to make the menu "healthier". All she did was make it boring and tasteless at a higher cost still! At least the remodel included over a dozen microwaves and they were always busy. Kitchen staff just didn't get it!

Pack my own lunches, and food is a popular item. If you cook, there is always plenty. Leftovers are the best, but toss in whatever is handy that day. A jar of pickles is to munch while the micro is heating up lunch. Snacks for break are usually gobbled up before 8am. Today had 2 snack cracker paks and a stale donut.

I pack my husbands "lunchbox" the night before. He eats at his morning break, so he can play basketball at his lunch hour.

He's boring has the same thing everyday.. Homemade English muffin with Sausage, egg, cheese.
Fruit bowl: pineapple always, berries and grapes often added.
Snack for afternoon break.
Dish of Kettle Chips and baked goodie. This week it's Snickerdoodle Bar.

My boys eat Peanut Butter and homemade Strawberry Jam sandwich for one, PB and Nutella for the other. Kettle Chips or Cheetos. Clif bar, Clif Fruit Rope, chopped fruit/berries and a tooth pick. Something from the cookie jar or a cookie bar.
Kellan takes a divided reusable lunch box. Kamren uses a paper bag.

I come home for lunch. :)

When my precious Finn, 3 yr old, will be here for lunch, his daddy packs him yummy lunches in an insulated bag with an ice pack. Sometimes cold pasta salad, sometimes pasta to be heated up, Greek yogurt, maybe a hard boiled egg, grapes, kiwi, clementine, sandwich of hummus with avocado slices, etc. They are vegetarians and so am I.

Hubby and I work together. I pack us both breakfast and lunch along with snacks. For breakfast I will do breads/muffins etc. Egg casseroles cut into squares and put on biscuits is good. Always a piece of fruit as well and we both drink orange juice or grapefruit juice. For lunch hubby likes sandwiches so I do that for him twice a week and the remainder of the week we will do leftovers packed and prepared the day I orignally cooked. Burritos are easy enough. Prepare the filling, any kind you choose works, we do it for both breakfast and lunch. I will freeze them and when ready for use I will put them in the fridge the night before so they thaw out and are easily microwaved.
Pita pockets are always good. I put the filling in a small container so that it can be added at lunch time. Meatloaf gyros are always good. They can be packed seperately and combined at lunch. We eat allot of pickles with our lunches as well. When the gardens are producing we eat lots of veggies with a small bit of dressing. Cold pasta salads are also very good and easily packed. I'll put fresh veggies in a seperate container to add to the salad when we eat. We also keep a salt and pepper shaker at the office and I'm leaning towards keeping some flatware there as well, it never fails that when unpacking the lunch bags some of the flatware gets thrown out.

* Bumps on a log: celery with peanutbutter & raisins stuck in rows on top

* A container of meatballs & red sauce, with a roll on the side to open up, makes a sandwhich

*Hoagie with several kinds of meat, green pepper slices, onions, Italian dressing or ranch, spinach leaves(I use a loaf of french bread & slice it into 4 sections)

* Humus & pita chips or french onion dip & potato chips or salsa & tortilla chips

* A slice of pie in a tupperware container or banana bread or cranberry bread

* Blueberry Muffin or bran or choc. chip

* Baby carrots or cucumber slices or berries

A lot of roasted chicken breast seems to find its way into my husband's lunch. I will send whole wheat bread (packed separately), tomatoes, cooked vegetables (all in small containers), fruit, yogourt,couscous with vegetables, sometimes chickpeas to have with tomatoes and occasionally some cheese. I have sent frittata on occasion and tuna (but in the cans). He has small bottles of balsamic vinegar and olive oil that I refill from my stash.

I am very careful about items that might stink up the office kitchen or his office. When I was working the company finally removed the microwave - and the clients thanked my boss - we had a lot of strong smelling food being reheated in the microwave and the smells lingered. When I was in grade 7 at a Catholic school, the teacher would not allow anyone to bring oranges to the classroom to eat post communion because she did not care for the lingering smell.

I recently started making the mason jar salads. I can make a few on Sunday and they stay good all week for lunches. Amazing!

Today, I have a salad, a cooked hamburger patty with grilled onions, and some raw veggies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mason Jar Salads

-Taco salad
-Mission tortilla rolls with deli meat, cheese-sliced or shredded, and lettuce wrapped tightly in aluminum foil
-a container of crackers and another container with sliced cheese
-A yogurt parfait--fat-free vailla yogurt (is that ok or too white-maybe strawberry) layered with cut up fresh fresh and optional topped with granola or nuts
-dry cereal, a banana and a plastic knife, milk in a thermos with a bowl packed too
-deviled eggs or hardboiled
-ramen soup
-home-made soup
-leftover chinese food
-fluffernutter sandwich
-home-made fruit salad
-pasta salad made with itailian dressing and whatever you like
-coleslaw made with vinegar and oil
-salad with leftover chicken, tomatoes, shaded cheese-bed bath & beyond sells lunch size salad dressing holders
-pulled pork plus a roll
-bagel bites
-cups of applesauce
-chips and some chip dip in a container-or cut up celery and carrots and dip
-chips & salasa

We go strictly left overs here. Anytime there is one/two portions left after dinner into reusable "take to work containers" it goes. I attempt to be sure there is meat/vegis/starch in every container. The freezer always has 2-10 "meals" ready for DH to pack in his lunch. Every morning he grabs a container some fruit and off he goes. He has no idea what might be for lunch until it defrosts. He goes by weight on how many pieces of fruit he may need to round out his meal. As a kid my mom would occasionally pack our lunches. Fruit cups/ding dongs, chips; all that adds up to a lot of paper garbage and empty calories. No thank you. Interestingly my own children always were told they would eat hot lunch at school. You can't pack a lunch cheaper. Now my son an Electrical Engineer just starting out is packing lunches for himself from food he cooks for his dinner the night before. He is too cheap and too nutrition minded to go with the other guys out for lunch each day.

These have long been my go-to lunch items:
Chicken or tuna salad
Chef salad
Soup/stew/chili
Grilled chicken salad (package chicken separately so it can be reheated)
Sandwiches
Pasta salad with chicken and lots of added veggies
Leftovers of any kind

Sides/snacks:
Salad
Mandarin oranges
Hummus, guacamole or dip with veggies
Apples (fresh or dried)
Nuts
Greek yogurt with fresh fruit
Fruit salad
Boiled egg
Grapes
Cheese

I like to make lots of variations on my chicken and tuna salad and also my green salads to add variety.