Couple of hours? How long does it take you to ride into work (and how late do you start work?)

Sometimes I bring leftovers for lunch, and I intentionally leave them out on my desk all morning so when I nukrowave them for lunch it's quicker. Never gotten sick.

Heard a good perspective on food safety once from Alton Brown. Bottom line, cooked food is a lot hardier than raw food.

I use a smaller insulated lunch cooler when I ride and usually take more food when I ride.

The real question here is not how you get lunch to work, but how you get coffee to work. This is usually produces more discussion and more interesting answers.

The Arundel Looney Bin cage works great with my Thermos 14 oz travel mug.

I have a Nissan Thermos tumbler that fits in a standard bottle cage. Not perfectly, but securely enough.

I carry a normal lunch packed in a insulated wax cotton lunch bag that looks like a brown paper bag, and carry it in my Ortlieb office bag on the bike, then in the cab of my tractor.

By pouring hot water over it, usually

I have a Contigo locking thermos (sold in pairs at Costco) that I throw into my pannier. Has never leaked. Mine is a short ride, so I don't mind being without coffee while I'm on the bike...

I have a few of these and love them. They hold temperature for a long time. They also fit in a standard bottle cage but you need to not worry about marking up their finish. They can leak if their contents are under enough positive pressure. But they won't just drip, and hot stuff makes vacuum as it cools so that's no problem. It's weird to hear it making a sad high-pitched whistle as it sucks in air.

As others have said, you're overthinking this. Put your food in a bag (insulated or not), put that bag inside a backpack/pannier/trunk bag, get on your bike and go

My typical lunch is some fruit, a cup of yogurt, and some sort of protein leftovers (chicken, pork chops, brats, whatever else is laying around). Easily enough to get me through the day and with the energy to ride home.

Get a thermos that you can store soup in to store other foods like rice, pasta, chicken, or basically a stirfry of all 3 lol . . . that way you can take it with you on your rides . . . otherwise aluminum wrap fresh sandwiches

My mom always packs my lunch.

I rock something similar to what Snuts showed (minus teh foldout panniers) and i include a freezer doogie like what rumrunn6 showed.

i typically have some nuts in a small snapseal container, a greek yogurt, an apple, a Premier Nutrition protein shake, and a small container of leftover whatever i can find - soup, casserole etc.

This is a great question and it took me several months to figure out how much to bring, how to keep it cool enough to avoid spilling, and how to eat (several small meals throughout the day - almost like repeated snacking)

Packing a lunch for a cycle commuter is much different than packing a lunch for a car commuter in my experience.

Boiled veggies in Ziploc bag.

Bag in jersey pocket.

Yaaas, many years ago now I got a pair of these from costco, one with a handle, one without. I have never seen any other travel mug as good as these. I lost the non-handle one last year, the handled one is still ticking along (even though the outer finish is getting tatty). I wonder if I could buy from contigo a new rubber gasket for the lid someday.

Lately though I've been drinking everything at work out of a Silipint which I got as a freebie from an exhibition booth at a conference.

You would think that packing a lunch is pretty elementary. Yet with these types of threads you always have EVERYONE chiming in with their methods.

Yep. Rubbermade, actually. The flat 5"x5"x2 kind. It fits in my trunk back the best.

As for the food, it's always leftovers from dinner. I don't like sandwiches. If I drive, I will cart in a whole week of lunches (which I always like because then I don't have to huck a couple of extra pounds of food to work on the bike). If I drive I can also bring soft fruit like peaches and pears.

I found out a long time ago that soft fruit is a very poor choice for lunchtime if it has to come in on the back of a bike. Apples and oranges travel very well but peaches, pears and plums get icky quickly.

I drink it before I leave, then once I get to work I usually have a cup of brown rice green tea. Sometimes if in a rush (or if it's very cold) I'll take coffee with me - I have a Contigo for that. If I really wanted coffee at work we have a Keurig and/or several coffee shops within a few minutes walking.

I drive Monday Am and Friday pm, so I stock up for the week. Coffee? French press every AM, iced or hot. 1/2 in the mug and 1/2 in the thermos every day. Thermos fits nicely in the frame bag.

Or not thinking at all, and asking a bunch of strangers on the Internet how to do the simplest task that is easily accomplished by any six grader or his mommy.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (Like for the last 57 years) plus a banana, a ziplock sandwich bag of celery, red pepper, and carrot sticks, a small bag of mixed nuts, sometimes also an apple, or fresh raw green beans. I cram all but the banana on top of my rolled up clothes in my carradice barely. The banana goes in my jersey or vest pocket so it won't get smushed.

If you don't like reading it, you could always get yourself banned again.

Naaah... that stuff is so processed it doesn't really foul. I just finished off some dressing that was 2 months past its expiration date and was still perfectly fine. If it smells or tastes funky, you'll know.

I just throw whatever in my panniers, milk, cereal, leftovers, yogurt... the only tricky part is making sure it doesn't spill, but I have glass tupperware containers for that which seal well - heavy but whatever, I'm only 5 mi from work (I guess the jar trick is fine too).

I find reading questions and problems from adult bicyclists that have the ring of a sixth grader and the seriousness which some BF devotees like yourself take them enlightening. Keep up the good work!

That's what I think too.

For those looking for a foolproof way to transport a meal or two without any worries about spoilage or breakage there are always MRE's. Stock up now, no more worries!

https://www.amazon.com/Meals-Ready-G.../dp/B005I5ML36

With some occupations, the employer will provide them for free when far from home.