Packing food for work is a love/hate relationship. Before I go to bed every night, I always intend to pack food for work the next morning. You know… to save time in the morning. However, I almost never do that. The few times I did pack my lunch the night before I was left with a soggy salad or a stale sandwich. Since I usually pack in the morning, I have to make sure I do it quickly! Now that we have Pete, the bulk of time in the morning is typically spent feeding the pup, making sure he goes to the bathroom, ironing my clothes, and doing my hair and makeup. I don’t have a lot of time to cook a four-course meal.

That being said, here are some of my favorite things to pack for my 8+ hours at work.

I’m typically at work from 8 am until 4:30 or 5 pm every day, so I pack something for breakfast, lunch and snacks. I’m not going to lie and tell you that I pack food every single day, because I don’t. Sometimes I like to get coffee at Starbucks (more often than not!) and lunch at Wawa or Panera. Since I’m trying to be better at saving money and packing my own food, I like grabbing things that are quick and easy.

First up is breakfast.

My favorite fruits to pack are berries. I can eat them with my hands and they don’t get squished in my lunch box. One time in college, I packed a banana for a long day of dance rehearsals, and the banana got squished and basically exploded all over my dance shoes and my schoolbooks. It was horrible. I usually eat my breakfast with a Starbucks Triple Grande Extra Hot Non-fat Vanilla Macchiato. It’s my current favorite right now.

Packing snacks for work can be tough because every day I crave something completely different. I currently keep a bag of Nature Valley Protein Granola in the flavor Oats and Honey in my desk. That way, if I have nothing else to eat, at least I can munch on that.

Another favorite snack of mine are Pure Protein bars. They are great for pre and post workouts but I eat them during the day at work when I need a boost of energy. Pure Protein bars are made to help maintain overall health, support lean muscle and strength, and help fuel your body. I tried three flavors: Dark Chocolate Coconut, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Salted Caramel. My favorite by far is the salted caramel, but that’s only because I’m not a big dark chocolate or peanut butter fan. Bryan, however, loved both of those!

From left: Dark Chocolate Coconut, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Salted Caramel 

For lunch, I love packing things that don’t need reheating. My favorite at the moment is the Betty Crocker Suddenly Classic Pasta Salad. I’ve been eating this for years, but I just recently rediscovered it. I make the pasta salad the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight. That way, the only thing I need to do in the morning is scoop it out into a plastic container! It’s so easy and really delicious.

The team at Pure Protein sent me the products to review. All opinions are my own. 

TALK TO ME

• What are your favorite foods to pack for work?
• How often do you pack your lunch?
• Have you ever tried Pure Protein bars? Thoughts?