Just wonder if anyone here carries lunch to work? If so, do you also carry a cooler? And if you want an elaborate lunch, maybe also carry soup in a leak-proof container? Haven't seen this topic ever discussed.

Sometimes. Everything is crush proof, and in ziplock bags. Tortillas, chicken, apples. Stuff like that. Goes in with my clothes in the trunk bag.

I usually slap together a pb&j sandwich and a sandwich with meat and cheese and throw them in my bags. They get a bit smashed, oh well!

I always carry lunch in my panniers. Leftovers, sandwiches, whatever.

Always carry lunch in a box, in the trunk bag. Panniers carry laptop and clothes.

I pack a sandwich or leftovers. Usually something that won't crush.

I pack a lunch. I use two bags. One is a pannier with rain clothes, lock, tools, xtra clothes for winter, etc. The other is a messenger bag that has my work papers. I keep the messenger bag light and lean and my lunch goes there so nothing to crush.

i pack my lunch in a glass bowl with a tight sealing lid. i even pack cutlery and cloth napkins. it's heavy but there is no unnecessary waste.

Turns out there was an old thread about this topic (take a look at post #16 there ).

Whatever I carry, they have to be tasty enough so that I'd be anticipating the lunch time with eagerness . Haven't needed a cooler yet, but I think a cooler could be used as a trunk bag by itself.

I prefer to carry lunch in such a way that on my way home I would not need to carry empty boxes that take room...

I carry food to eat, yes.

- Andy

I pack it in tupperware (my wife gets glass) and it all goes in the pannier with a thermos of coffee. I do not chill it, microbes come and get me...

I leave a full set of dishes, cutlery, a few mugs, hand towel and napkin at work. I have a place to wash and store the dishes and the towel is used for fruit transport and get home every two or three days and the napkin once or twice a week for a wash.

I rarely heat up my food but I almost always serve it on a plate or in a bowl. I used to have a tea pot and french press but they got lost in my two year work hiatus. Now I just use tea bags and a drip filter. I have been thinking of a Soda Stram for my bubbly water fix at work, but that may be much.

I usually pack a huge salad jammed in a cube 1L tupperware. I put all my cut veggies in the tupperware first and then layer the lettuce and spinach on top, then the greens are not crushed and soggy. I then turn it out on a plate and mix the veggies and pour over my dressing. If I bring egg or cheese I pack it separate.

My daily load going to work usually includes two packets of instant oats, two hardboiled eggs, bread, meat, cheese, cut veggies or fruit, and two 40oz. containers of coffee. I sometimes take in a scone or two too. This supplements the food I leave at work -- I usually keep some grapes, more bread, cream cheese, butter, peanut butter, tortilla chips, salsa, and some yogurt in our kitchen. A mans gotta' eat, and I'm a grazer. I also usually go for a short lunchtime ride, and pick up something to eat and more coffee (I work in a business district with a few options available). I pick up groceries on the way home almost daily to boot.

As I said, a mans gotta eat, it's cold up here, and I am pretty active around those times I'm sitting at my desk (which I do more of than I would like).

As for carrying this stuff... it really depends. Most of it goes into plastic bags I keep recycling, which get put in my panniers (I commute with two Ortlieb Backrollers). I have a thing about trying to buy as little plastic as possible, but sometimes it is unavoidable.

On Mondays I haul in fruit for the week--4 bananas, 4 apples, and 4 oranges.

Then daily I make a sandwich and carry it in a jersey or jacket pocket.

When I work longer shifts--for instance keeping the library open late last night for the election--on the Monday of the week I'll also take in a container of leftovers for dinner. I cook on the weekends and eat the second portions through the week, so it's simply a change of dinner venue.

Last night was soba noodles with pork, shiitakes, and bok choy.

I've found that the best containers are the IKEA 365+ models. Super tight with a vent for the microwave and no clips to snap off when coming out of the freezer or to get caught on in the bag. Liquids are fine as well.

IKEA 365+ food storage series - IKEA

The 17x17x6 model is perfect for a single lunch of less than 500kcal.

I usually carry lunch in Tupperware or in "Bento-box"(Japanese Disposable lunch box). Depending on which bike I use I will place my lunch in my backpack or in my seat rack bag.

You have no idea how long and hard i've thought about bringing a soda stream to work. The only thing holding me back are the looks i'm sure to get if i do.

I carry lunch. I have an insulated lunch bag i put an ice pack in and it fits the base of my lunches (sandwich, yogurt, fruit, the occasional drink, and/or something in a small Tupperware. I also have work snacks in a drawer of my desk just in case I need a little more. The bag fits nicely into one of my panniers and shares space with shoes

I rarely take "warm" food. I would rather save leftovers for when we don't feel like cooking dinner. If I want something warm, I also keep a frozen healthy choice in the freezer at work. I try to treat myself to eating out every week and a half.

I've never had a crushed sandwich or anything else. Ill post a pic of my packed lunch bag later

Edit: Pictures of delicious food added.
Everything I fit in my bag


Packed and ready. Still space inside if I wanted to pack more


Fits easily in pannier



Bonus: Chili in the crockpot.


Bon appetit!

My wife makes me a full lunch, and I carry it in a soft cooler on my portuer rack. Works great.

Lunch in a couple of zip lock bags. I am a teacher so I don't have much time to eat anyways. It is usually just a couple of sandwiches.

Mine is almost always last nights leftovers. Today is fried chicken livers, a couple eggs and some crusty bread. My carradice saddle bag has enough room for lunch, a spare kit and my u lock. I take work clothes and my laptop in a backpack.

This: snowpeak titanium spork


and my opinel pocket knife is all the silverware I need

I have for 10 years now. I don't bother refrigerating anything, there's absolutely no food that I know if that turns poisonous if left at room temperature for 3 hours before heating and consuming it. People are ridiculous about having to refrigerate everything all the time - I know people who throw food out if it didn't go straight from the fridge to the stove.

I just use tupperware, works fine for casseroles, soup, chili, whatever.

I put a sandwich in a Tupperware container to keep it from getting smooshed but vegetables come along in a plastic bag. They go in my pannier.

Like ItsJustMe, I don't refrigerate anything. It will be gone within 4-5 hours.

This thread has made me hungry enough to eat and it's not lunch time yet!

The handle of my lunch bag as a buckle in it, so I just buckle it to my rack like a tiny pannier. I pack a full week's worth of light lunches in on Monday and bring it home empty on Friday.

Besides, a sandwich tastes way better at room temperature anyways. I don't understand how people can enjoy cold cuts or cheese straight from the fridge. It's flavorless!

I bring my lunch + snacks to work pretty much every day. I have more than a dozen different lunch bags and containers, but my favorite for traveling by bike is the Tupperware Lunch'n Things container. The slim size and shape is perfect, and it's leak proof. I've dropped mine many a time, but no food has ever leaked from one compartment to another. I just toss the container in my bike basket on top of my other stuff and off I go.

Bike to Work: Loaded Basket by drv1913, on Flickr

I have a couple of insulated lunch bags, but I have them because they are cute, not because I feel the need to keep my food at a certain temperature. I never, ever put food in the office fridge. I just keep my lunch at my desk until I'm ready to eat, and so far, I've lived. I avoid using microwaves, so if I really want a hot meal, I use my stainless steel Thermos and just stuff that in my bag along with every thing else. My cutlery, bandana/napkin, and glass straw live in my bag all the time.