Guacabowlie

For anyone like me who hauls ass to and from work each day, it can be a pain in the nalgas to pack a lunch every night prior (plus breakfast and a snack, in my case...I eat about every 2-3 hours!). That's why freezing leftovers from dinner in single-serving portions can be a lifesaver in the planning and packing department.

I wanted to use up some quinoa salad I had in the freezer (simple combo of cooked quinoa, salsa, black beans, corn and lime juice), but the bit I had on reserve was a bit skimpy, so I needed to 'beef' it up with something else. I chose frozen broccoli florets, which went straight from their freezer bag into my bento with the quinoa.

"Don't you need to cook that first?" says you. "Nay!" says I. The fact that I packed this together last night means the broccoli spent all night thawing in the fridge, so by the time I take it out at work to heat up, the thawing/condensation/whatever-scientific-term-meaning-squishify process has already softened it a bit. After 2 minutes in the microwave with the salad (which also has its own moisture), the broccoli was cooked to my desired tenderness, thankyouverymuch. I topped it off with a nice blob of guac, as seen above, and enjoyed myself a lovely warm guacabowlie for lunch.

So if it takes any heat (ha!) off the night-before lunch-packing process, don't hesitate to throw a bunch of stuff from the freezer straight into your bento/box/bag/transport thing. Hear hear for lazy health!