Excellent Lunch Away From Home

My job sent me on a trip last week.  I was doing some testing out in the middle of nowhere, and it would have been a half-hour drive to get to anyplace that would sell me food.  I'm not kidding!  It was empty out there.  So I packed a lunch, and I thought this would be a good chance to talk about how to pack a lunch when you don't have a kitchen.

My method isn't terribly complicated.  I just buy whatever is at the grocery store that doesn't require any cooking or slicing.  

• Baby carrots and hummus
• Crackers and cheese
• I make an exception to the slicing rule for apples and peanut butter
• Yogurt cups -- I've got a grudge against low-fat yogurt, though, so I always have to hunt for the non-diet kind.  Trader Joe's Greek yogurt cups are often better for that.
• Bananas and other fruit
• Nuts! Or trail mix.
• If I weren't vegetarian I'd list cured meat here too, like beef jerky and Slim Jims.

 When I got back, my in-laws were visiting and I helped my mother-in-law fill the freezer with a giant stockpile of Gujarati food.  I expect that for the next few weeks I'll be packing samosas, pav bhaji, and rotli-shaak.  I do want to have a tamale-making party some afternoon, though.