WORKING FROM HOME, as I do, requires weekday lunches at home. You’ll need the same if you live close enough to your workplace to walk home for lunch. Or if you freelance. Or are doing shift work. Or took a day off. Or are on parental leave. Or are retired. Or attend school. Weekday lunch at home feels playful, especially when it’s packable food presented outside a container or jar. But rest assured, there’s no short-order cooking; almost all of these recipes can be taken to go, so every member of the house has something to eat (or, if it’s just you, tomorrow you could be at work/away/driving/on a plane and need a packed lunch—I don’t know your life!).
Lunch at home also happens on the weekend. Weekend lunches at home, with the sunlight trickling into our kitchen, are something I look forward to all week long, and are made even better if the weather is warm enough to eat outside. The weekend is also a time for families to get together without having to rush off to after-school activities, do homework or, unlike dinner, worry about bedtime immediately after the dishes. When I was growing up, my parents would arrange deli meats, cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and mustard on a lazy Susan, along with halved Kaiser buns bought that morning, allowing us to build our own sandwiches. It taught us all to slow down, if only for 20 minutes, and try to make a Saturday or Sunday family meal materialize, at least one weekend afternoon a month.
In this section, you’ll find freshened up plates, balanced salads that will fill you up for the afternoon, and beautiful bowls. And, as I mentioned above, most of the following recipes here are designed to be packable, all without compromising taste, texture, or appearance. The helpful “packable” icon at the top of the page will indicate the recipe’s to-go status where appropriate, and my notes in the recipe’s method will instruct you on how to pack it up for the best flavor, texture, and durability. These meals are suitable for any and every day of the week, wherever you call home.