In these infected times when it’s not safe to get food from a public place and most of such services are closed anyway, what to pack day to day?

The simplest and the best “lunch break food” is fruit. It’s as nutritious as it gets and only requires little energy for digestion which doesn’t make one tired after the meal.

I usually take a monomeal of seasonal fruits, but most often it’s apples, pears or bananas. Other times there can be manadrins, mango, khaki, cherries, peaches, apricots, grapes, etc.

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Now that we have to treat every public surface as potentially contaminated, it’s not good and safe to eat food we have to hold in our hands, so we have to put some thought into how we eat our work meals.

I would avoid mandarins and oranges, because you have to peel the fruits and grab every piece to eat. There’s a possibility of peeling them prior, packing them in an air-sealed box so they don’t dehydrate and oxydise and then eat with a fork.

In my example I prefer to take apples and the like. How to address this?

Cut 3 to 5 apples into quaters or smaller pieces and put them in a box. To avoid oxidation (apple slices become brown and less nutritious) pour over some lemon juice, ½ a lemon will do. Ascorbic acid prevents oxidation (that’s why it’s also called »antioxidant«).

Close the box well, so there’s not air circulation. If you do this the night before, put the box in a refrigerator. In the morning just pack it safely in your lunch bag, grab a fork, and you’re good to go!

If you take pears, do the exact same thing.

On some longer or more stressful days this may not suffice, so for »dessert« and some extra energy, make chia pudding (find the recipe here) and pack it with your lunch.

Simple, safe, nutritious, healthy, effective, delicious.