Non-Refrigerated Lunch Ideas

NO REFRIGERATION

Why would you care about non-refrigerated lunch ideas? Maybe you are going camping or simply sending you child to school with a bagged lunch. Maybe you tried (like me) to defrost your refrigerator with a hammer, and it won't be frosting up again ever.

Even worse, maybe a storm has knocked out all your power, so you are without refrigeration or cooking appliances.

Now what are you going to do?

Some obvious ideas are canned fruit and canned tuna. Other ideas require more imagination.

MEAT

Let's start with meat. Canned meat of any sort is good for this situation. If you are unable to cook, some possible choices are canned tuna, salmon, or chicken; beef jerky or other jerky; and summer sausage. With canned chicken and fish, the sodium is not too high. Unfortunately, I have been craving beef lately, and canned beef products seem to be much higher in sodium. While beef jerky is also high in sodium, I found that Golden Valley Natural Organic Beef Jerky had about half the sodium of Hormel Less Sodium No Beans Chili. Summer sausage can last a long time also, but I'd rather eat one of the other options.

VEGGIES

For our situation, veggies fall into two categories, fresh and canned. Canned vegetables choices are just about anything you can stand to eat canned, which in my case, is a fairly short list, consisting of tomato sauce. Luckily, some raw vegetables can stay fresh for several days. The most obvious choice is carrots. Onions, cabbage, and broccoli are some others, but I don’t like to eat these raw. I do like fresh peppers, however, so I’m going to try those. Yellow squash will last, but it doesn’t always taste good raw.

FRUIT

Like vegetables, there are fresh and canned fruits that can stay fresh without refrigeration. Like vegetables, your choice of canned fruit depends on what you can stand. I have a strong preference for raw fruit over canned fruit. My favorite canned fruit is pineapple, but lots of options taste good if no raw fruit is available. Look for fruit in its own juice or in syrup, depending on your preference.

As far as raw fruit, two of the most durable choices are apples and oranges. Other possibilities are whole pineapples or melons, as long as don’t cut them until you are ready to eat them. Pears and bananas always go bad quickly, but they don’t require refrigeration, so these may work in some situations.

DAIRY

Some cheeses last a long time without refrigeration. I use to go camping for a week in ninety degree weather with Laughing Cow cheese in my backpack. I had a coworker that brought waxed cheese. I would only recommend this for individual portions of cheese. It might go bad once the wrapper is opened. Just so you know, Laughing Cow says their cheeses require refrigeration, but I am not the only one who disagrees with them.

Another dairy option is instant milk, which tastes better than I would have thought. It does not taste good by itself, but it tastes just fine in cereal, coffee, or with sweetened cocoa.

GRAINS

Grains are less perishable than some of the other categories. Crackers, tortillas, and bread are relatively durable, and they all taste fine cold. Cereal lasts a long time too.

FAT

Although peanut butter should ideally be refrigerated after opening, my mother never did that, and it worked out fine. A safer bet would be just peanuts or other nuts, either in a jar or wrapped in individual servings. Olive oil and other cooking oils do fine without refrigeration too.

CONDIMENTS

Many condiments other than oil and peanut butter are okay at room temperature. These include vinegar, mustard, garlic, Tabasco sauce, and ground spices.

BEVERAGES

Many bottled and canned juices have vitamin C added, so these can be good choices. Clearly powdered drinks, such as Kool Aid or Gatorade, will be okay until you mix them with water. Most types of liquor are fine at room temperature. Red wine is generally okay prior to opening and maybe even the next day.

DESSERT

For sweets, there are plenty of pre-packages cake-like items. I haven’t had a Twinkie in years, but I did buy Pop-Tarts from the vending machine at my last job. For something a little less processed, most cookies and candies do not require refrigeration.

GROCERY LIST

Well, now I’m ready to go shopping for my non-refrigerated meals. Here’s my list.

Canned chicken, tuna, and/or salmon

Beef Jerky if it’s not outrageously high in sodium

Canned beans

Carrots

Small can flavored tomato sauce

Bell peppers

Apples

Dried mango spears

Grape juice in 6 ounce serving size

Laughing Cow cheese

Baked corn tostadas

Whole wheat bread

Wasa rye crispbread

Sesame crackers

Oil and vinegar

Peanut butter

Mustard

Hot sauce, such as tabasco

Red wine – 187 ml bottle

POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS

Following are some meals I plan to make while waiting for a new refrigerator.

Baked tostada, fat free refried beans, Louisiana hot sauce, carrots

Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, apples

Rye crackers, canned salmon mixed with mustard and olive oil, bell peppers, grape juice

Clif nutrition bar, dried mango spears

Pears, cheese, sesame crackers, maybe ground cinnamon and ginger

Beef jerky (after I check the sodium content), apples

Bread, cheese, tomato sauce, yellow squash