Ask Mess Hall: How to Avoid the Sad Desk Lunch

(And eat your vegetables too)

Welcome to the latest edition of ASK MESS HALL, our mailbag advice column. Please submit your cooking/kitchen/eating-related questions HERE!

Q: What should I pack for lunch at the office that is veggie-forward but keeps me full?

A: While it’s been over 4 years since I’ve worked in one, I hear that people are returning to offices. This means a return of the desk lunch, a topic so dear to my heart and in line with my neuroses that I used to edit a column about it. You’ll have to humor me, then, as I go hard on this one.

Regularly eating a satisfying lunch at work without purchasing it requires not just work, but a mindset shift. Just as cooking weeknight dinners requires both planning and introspection—what do I want and how do I get it without going insane or broke?—prepping lunch for work requires more than just mixing yourself some salad dressing.