As so many people are working from home now, there are a lot of pros and cons that come with that. One pro is that instead pulling out a crappy, soggy sandwich from your brown sack lunch, you can whip up something fast and fresh from home that you will look forward to to bring you some midday energy that is much needed.

These ideas are also great to whip up a yummy lunch for your kids if you are doing distance-learning at home like mine are. My kids are eating like kings this year for school lunches :)

You might already have some of your staples that you enjoy making for your work at home lunches, but here are a few fresh ideas for you.


Beefed Up Ramen Noodles

You can make some really delicious Mongolian beef for lunch that is quick by boiling and draining your Ramen noodles (or using a similar soup like Vietnamese pho noodles)— while those are boiling, chop up some steak and dip in cornstarch and fry up for a couple minutes on each side until it is browned. You can use what you have on hand for the rest, but here are some delicious ideas— season with fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil and sesame seeds, fresh grated ginger if you’ve got it, shredded carrots, chopped green onions, steamed broccoli, just to name a few.  This will make a big batch of these Mongolian beef Ramen noodles that you can use for the rest of your lunches this week, or share with your family.


BLT

You can make this classic sandwich any old time during the week and it will hit the spot. Adding fresh crunchy bacon to my afternoon is always a good thing.

An alternative take on the sandwich that is similar that I love and is just as delicious—if you have any rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken from last night's dinner, add a layer of that to your sandwich with a thick slice of cheddar cheese and tomato slices on toasted slices of bread with a good layer of mayo and mustard. Adding crispy bacon,  if you’ve got it, takes it to a whole new level. That’s what I call a sandwich!


Classic Soup and Bread

You might save some money by making this lunch time classic meal instead of eating out from a restaurant on your lunch break—head to your pantry or your freezer and heat up one of your favorite soups. Enjoy with buttered crusty baguette slices on the side and you will be one happy employee. It’s always a great idea to package individual servings of soup for the freezer if you have a ton of leftovers from a big batch of taco soup or minestrone. This is perfect to pull out for lunch on a busy afternoon. 

Some of my favorite soups from the pantry are the toasted poblano corn chowder, the roasted tomato soup, both of these from Trader Joe’s, and my favorite store-bought chili I can find is Stagg’s chili. Their label is very simple with ingredients I know and trust (no yucky preservatives) and it is really delicious to boot.


Mushroom Omelet

Omelets are such a quick and fast meal to fill you up for lunch. Lately I can’t get enough of sautéing some mushrooms and onions and adding those to an omelet. I’ve discovered that if I add in one or two cloves of minced garlic after the mushrooms are cooked all the way through, the flavor of the garlic is so fresh and really brings the omelet to life. Of course with the omelets you can add in whatever you have in the fridge—diced lunchmeat, bacon, tomatoes, spinach, whatever tickles your fancy that day.

Spinoffs from Dinner Leftovers

If you have any leftover chicken, salmon, or steak from last night's dinner, you can chop it up and add it to something like a salad or pasta. You can whip up a batch of your favorite vinaigrette in a Mason jar and use it for your salads all week.

If you have any leftover spaghetti noodles from dinner (or you can boil fresh ones really quick), you can do something as simple as adding butter or olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and voila—you’ve got yourself a lovely meal with a fancy name—spaghetti aglio e olio!

Do you have any easy fresh lunch ideas to add to this list? Please feel free to add your ideas in the comments below.