INTRODUCTION

For every weekday morning of my childhood, I was a clock watcher. Sitting in the classroom, I’d study the minute hand traveling around the clock that hung on the wall, counting down to lunchtime when I could finally tear open the day’s brown paper bag and see what my mum had packed for me. (And this was especially the case on Fridays, when I knew there was a special sweet treat in my future.) I’m all grown up now, but little has changed about my love of lunch—I still look forward to digging into whatever has been prepared and taking a moment (and sometimes it is just a moment) to hit pause on the day and enjoy a bite to eat. The difference is that now I’m the resident lunch packer, and I’m packing lunches every day for my family of four.

I spent years working in an office in a windowless cubicle, then upgraded to more years working near a window with a view of a parking lot. So I know how important taking a proper lunch break can be. I always made the point of slipping out of the office for a quick walk to clear my head, and when back at my desk, I’d kick off the afternoon with some lunch. The lunches I brought from home were always the best ones (rivaled only by the dumplings made daily at the little dim sum place in the food court down the street), and I took great joy in creating that delicious meal for myself.

A few years, and two daughters, later, I joined the daily grind of packing school lunches. At first it was a struggle—I’d gotten used to packing my own lunch, but adding two more was tough— and yet, through trial and error, I fell into a routine that made this daunting task seem not so daunting after all and resulted in lunchboxes returning home empty (well, most of the time!). After a few years of being in the swing of things, I started sharing what I packed for my girls’ lunches on Instagram. It came about accidentally, when my daughter desperately wanted her own Instagram account to stay in touch with friends. After some negotiation, we agreed she could have an account if I could follow her—which meant I needed an account too! At the suggestion of a friend (who is as food-obsessed as I am), I started sharing what I was making for the girls’ lunches most days. I’d always taken pride in the lunches I prepared, and it felt good to share. I quickly found a community of parents, caregivers, and lunch eaters of all types who were looking for lunch ideas and sharing theirs. This book is a collection of all the tips and tricks I have learned along the way, as well as more than 75 of my go-to recipes for lunches on the go.

This book is for anyone who packs lunches, whether they’re for yourself or someone else. My goal is to make life easier for you, and lighten the stressful morning time crunch that many of us experience, with delicious lunch ideas that everyone will enjoy. The recipes you’ll find inside this book are all simple, straightforward, and, for the most part, speedy: they count on great ingredients rather than oodles of time, to deliver a big hit of flavor for your midday meal. They reflect what my family enjoys eating on a regular basis, the kids included (and you can read more about my approach to kids and lunches on page 10). They include both old favorites from my childhood and new favorites influenced by the variety of food we’ve eaten in our hometown of Toronto or discovered in our travels around the world.

You should be able to find everything you need to make these recipes in a regular supermarket, but if I had any doubt, I’ve noted an alternative that will do the trick. And remember, you’re packing your lunch here (or your family’s lunch) and not my lunch, so make substitutions based on what you have in your fridge or pantry and what works best with how you prefer to eat. These are lunch recipes, after all (not blueprints for building rockets!), so play around, have fun, and make them work for you.

Welcome to the world of great-tasting lunches on the go! Say goodbye to vending-machine sandwiches, pallid pastries, sad desk lunches, and lunchboxes that come home untouched. Open your arms to making your lunch break (whether it is 55 minutes or just 5) a special moment in your and your family’s day—one that’s worth clock watching for.