Califia Suntree, author of Bring Your Lunch gives us tips and tricks on how to lower your expenses and improve your health by bringing your own lunch (BYOL!). As a bonus, try Califia’s delicious recipe for Prosciutto & Provolone Sandwich with Fig Jam!
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Take advantage of your new BlueAvocado lunch set with these tips from author Califia Suntree!
1. What are the biggest benefits to bringing your lunch to school or work?
Health, money, flavor, quality–the benefits of making your own lunch touch on all of these. As with all home cooking, you have complete control over what you are eating, which in almost all cases means you will eat dishes that contain less sodium, sugar and fat (the three ingredients that bedevil the American diet) than you would at a typical restaurant. And eating healthily from home is so much cheaper, you can easily cut your weekly lunch tab in half, or more, even if you don’t bring it every day. Lunch is a super important meal for working people–you have to reenergize and fortify and keep your brain and body going for several more hours, and it’s dispiriting to eat a meal that is flavorless or makes you feel overly full or unhealthy. By bringing your own lunch, you take command of your budget and your diet, and always get the flavors you like and the ingredients that make you feel good.
And, if you are like me, you love all the cute bags and boxes and accessories. It’s like a little picnic all for yourself!
2. What inspired you to write Bring Your Lunch?
Well, I’ve been packing my own lunch since I was 8 years old, so I’m a bit of an expert at this point! But the book idea came about over a decade ago, in 2003, when I started by career and was a worker bee in Manhattan, in a big office in Midtown, and doing the whole lunch-grind: making the rounds of delis and pizza and salad bars and food carts. It was before there was such a proliferation of food content online, so it really felt like there was nowhere to turn to get guidance and recipes that were lunch-specific. There was no help for us! I finally decided to write that book myself, to bring everything I knew about lunch into one user-friendly guide. The most important aspect, for me, was to have recipes that were realistic time-wise and ingredient-wise, and that a structure that reflects how people actually approach lunch-making. So you have chapters like Last-Minute Lunches and the Freezer is Your Friend, for example, which address those different scheduling and lunch needs.
3. What is your favorite lunch to bring if you’re in a rush? And your favorite if you have extra time to prepare?
When I’m in a rush, I pretty much always throw a sandwich together. To me, it’s the ideal portable meal, and you can get everything in there–your carbs, protein, veggies and even fruit. And my favorite sandwich is probably the Prosciutto & Provolone Sandwich with Fig Jam–it has arugula, a bit of lemon zest and a nice creamy-salty thing going on. It doesn’t sog, and feel gourmet even though it takes a minute to make. I also love tuna salad sandwiches–the Nicoise Sandwich in Bring Your Lunch! has olives and tomatoes and other goodies, and is really bursting with flavor.
When I have extra time, I make soup and freeze it. I think there’s no better lunch on a chilly day, and the recipes I include in the book are all really hearty and satisfying. It would be hard to pick a favorite soup, but I adore Thom Kha Gai (Thai chicken-coconut soup) as well as French Onion. Just pack some fruit alongside and perhaps a snack, and you’re set.
4. What are a few staple items we should have around our kitchens to ready ourselves to pack lunch on the fly?
It’s very important to shop with lunch in mind, not just have it be an afterthought to be pieced together from what you bought for dinner and breakfast! The must-haves really vary by the lunch-eater–are you a yogurt person, for instance, or do you love to eat salads? I dedicate a whole chapter to grocery shopping, because you really can’t be successful with lunch unless you’ve stocked your fridge and pantry accordingly! To my mind, though, there are a few must-haves. Grains are so multipurpose, sturdy and filling (and they can be cooked in bulk and frozen in small portions–no one wants to be cooking rice during the morning rush!), sturdy veggies like carrots and beets, hearty greens (fennel, kale, spinach) are terrific for wilt-proof salads, and seasonal fruits are lunchbox must-haves, and I like to keep a broad range of cheeses, nut butters, and condiments on hand. A vast condiment selection is really valuable for keeping yourself out of ruts and adding flavor to anything quickly! Also, a pantry full of jarred goodies (think roasted red peppers, stuffed olives, tapanades) can gourmet-up a last-minute lunch, or can be thrown together with a bit of cheese and some nuts for what I call the Pantry Mezze!
5. How do you carry your lunch? Recommendations on how to pack it effectively?
Having the right equipment is extremely important–if you don’t have proper transport, you won’t bring your lunch. It’s that simple! You need to make sure that your lunch arrives not smooshed or at the wrong temperature or all jumbled or leaking, but also that your lunch bag and equipment reflects your personal aesthetic. All of those things keep people from bringing their lunch, but there is such a vast array of equipment out there, all of these obstacles are easily overcome! I keep a bunch of snap-lock glass containers (I like Pyrex and Glasslock brands) on hand for soup and hot dishes, as they are leakproof and microwave safe. I buy stainless steel snap-lock containers at the Korean market for salads (as light as plastic, but so durable), and I keep a ridiculous array of Ball jars on hand too–from 4 ounce up to 32 ounce–for everything from soups to dips and smoothies. Because I like to carry glass, I use an insulated lunch bag. None of the insulated lunch bags I tested actually kept food cold longer than non-insulated, but they are great for buffering my glass containers and keeping my lunch cushioned. I love my polka dotted Blue Avocado Lunch Case as well as my Built NY Tote.
Again, there are so many aspects to packing your lunch properly, based on what your lunch contains, your work-kitchen set-up, your commute, and your personal style. That’s why I dedicate an entire chapter to the Mess Kit–there’s a lot to consider, and today, thankfully, a lot to choose from too! To pack effectively, as above, make sure that you have containers that don’t leak and that are suited to what you like to take to work. For soup and hot dishes, they need to be insulated to keep it hot, or microwave safe for reheating. If you don’t have a fridge, you’ll need a proper cooler (I recommend some really nice ones in the book). Portability and washability are other considerations, as is your personal style. Even manly men and fashion hounds can find lunch gear that suits them today–we don’t have to walk around looking like elementary school students any longer!
BUY THE EBOOK:
With over 60 delicious, healthful, unexpected recipes, Bring Your Lunch ensures DIY lunchtime success—and significant weekly savings—while keeping the brown-bag doldrums away.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re a make-ahead food planner or a harried last-minute type—with its innovative, doable strategies, cooks of all kinds can learn to overcome the obstacles that keep them hooked on expensive takeout or boring PB&Js.
GET THE BOOK: Amazon | B&N | ebooks.com | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo
