On February 27, 2002, I wrote in my SoyLent Diary: I had a lunch that I’ve found is very convenient for work: pack a food-storage container about 3/4 full of leftover rice or pasta and put a frozen veggie burger on top. The burger thaws slowly during the morning, so the whole thing can be heated in a microwave in 1-2 minutes. Then I use a fork to break off a piece of burger and pick it up along with a bite of rice. With a piece of fruit or some canned fruit (today I had canned tropical fruit salad) this makes a good lunch.

I still eat this type of lunch fairly often–I’m eating one as I write this!–but it’s evolved over the past six years.

First, I switched from plastic food-storage containers to ceramic or glass ones. They’re heavier (which adds to the exercise in my daily routine!), but they don’t leach harmful chemicals into food. The more obvious advantage is that they clean up nicely. Like glass jars for storing leftovers, they don’t get scratched-up, grease doesn’t bond onto them, and they don’t stain (except maybe the lid). And it’s easy to find brands that are made in USA!

Also, I’ve been using a wider variety of carbs under my veggie burgers:

• A toddler neighbor turned us on to couscous, a kind of pasta that cooks really fast and is a more complex (slowly digested) carbohydrate than typical pasta.  We buy the whole-wheat kind, which is very nutritious and filling, in bulk at our co-op.  It’s so easy and quick to cook that, if I need to bring a lunch and we don’t have any leftovers to go with my veggie burger, I can whip up a batch of couscous while making breakfast!
• Whole-wheat vegetable rotini is more nutritious than white pasta, and because of the vegetables in it, the individual noodles are 4 different colors, which makes it more fun to eat. I never can decide whether the different colors have slightly different flavors or that’s just my imagination!
• With the new “Asian flavor” veggie burger, I sometimes have buckwheat soba noodles.

Any of these options keeps me feeling full longer than white pasta or rice.