Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

congrats @gastronomeg! there was a video on youtube of an old guy who suggested sunflower seeds as the way to go . . . maybe also nuts (i would pick almonds or pistachios), or dried fruit? other raw veggies would be good too - jicama, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, etc. (no, not terribly seasonal suggestions, but still healthier tastier things for the oral fix). or maybe some edamame? and of course some chocolate every now and then (or whatever your favorite treat is . . . to keep you on the no-punching train). good luck! serious eaters are pulling for you :)

what about pizza with vegan sausage cut in circles on it? or round tomato slices?

or you could make different sandwiches and use a cookie cutter to cut them into circles. if you wanted to step it up, use two different colors of bread (white bread and pumpernickel, for example), and cut one piece of bread into a circle, then cut a smaller circle out of that, and fill in the inner circle with a small circle of the other type of bread. that could probably take awhile, but maybe your child could help you with the cookie cutters?

also, you can cut oranges up into circles, maybe make a fruit plate with different circular fruits?

if the group's not too big, i'd suggest market table in the west village...amazing food, cozy interior, great people watching.

hm, i usually just pack leftovers for lunch, but what about packing like a little picnic? cheese, fruit, bread or crackers, nuts, etc. maybe eating a little bit of lots of different things you won't get bored? or you could pack salads, and vary the toppings you use in them?

if sandwiches get mushy, you could pack the insides in a separate container and bring the bread to work and assemble it when you're ready to eat.

i've never made them, but a lot of people here have recommended onigiri as an easy work lunch.

@ lil miss new yorker - the tisserie location on the northwest corner of union square closed (sad! i loved going there for lunch) but they still have one in the village.

the coffee cart bagels are usually stale, so i would pass - they're fine, just not food you write home about.

russ & daughters is delicious and amazing, but rather far from 30th and 5th. i've heard good things about penelope's, but haven't been there myself.

brooklyn bagel over on 8th avenue is pretty good, and ess-a-bagel is usually alright (they won't toast your bagels though). for something sweeter, madelaine patisserie on 23rd between 6th and 7th is pretty good too.

@jerz...i don't get it.

is your pyrex just for storing food, or is it big enough to make something in? because then you could make casseroles, lasagne and other baked pastas (stuffed shells, baked ziti, mac and cheese, etc.), roast vegetables, etc. - and a lot of those things can be pretty simple, you just layer everything in the dish and bake it and you can vary the ingredients and use up everything you bought.

quesadillas are also a quick meal that you can make in your frying pan, you could add in bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms or other vegetables to make it more nutritious/substantial.

if you like rice and beans, that's a cheap and easy way to make meals for the week, and you can vary the flavors by region (for example, make mexican rice & beans one week, using tomato sauce, stock, and lots of onions; the next week, jamaican rice & peas with red beans, using coconut milk, jalapenos and thyme).

again, in the east vil and not LES, but - new asahi on tenth and either avenue a or first (i forget which one) is pretty decent and affordable.

@pavlov - not all parents have the resources to give their kids money to buy breakfast. i worked in schools where over 50% up to 100% of the kids qualified for free or reduced meals. yes, some of these parents could do a better job parenting (although we don't know all of the things that prevented that), but a lot of them were doing their damnedest to raise their kids right and were still struggling - in which case having a free breakfast for the kids isn't some governmental overreaching but is just what we as humans should be obligated to provide for our children (it takes a village, and all of that).

also, having worked with five year olds - getting them to remember to bring the money to school, and not lose it, and pay attention to what's going on - some of them can do it, some of them can't yet. should those kids lose out on breakfast because they are still learning?

in new york at least when you buy pizza by the slice you can just tell the guy to not put it in the oven and warm it up - i've never done that, but it's not like refrigerator cold, but it's not hot.

@marvindog - sauteeing pizza in olive oil? why not just bake it or even microwave it?

breakfast burritos - there was one place in particular in college that delivered until 3 in the morning, and it came with mushrooms and potatoes (as well as eggs and cheese, of course) and it was massive and delicious and the tomatillo salsa was the best...never actually had it for breakfast, of course, only ever in the wee hours...but i'm getting so hungry for it now!

i will splurge when it matters - the cheese i shred over my fried eggs in the morning doesn't have to be top-notch, but the cheese i serve on a cheese board for company had better be able to stand alone. i don't eat chocolate often, but when i do, it's not going to be hershey's. and unless if i'm going to a rager, if i'm buying beer it's not going to be bud light (though it also probably won't be chimay). i guess it's more of walking the line - i don't need to (and can't afford to be) extravagant, but i'm not going to eat cardboard.

@OP - more important than asking how many condiments if they're cooking for you is asking how many they have before you agree to cook at their place. I made dinner at my friend's house a few weeks ago and he didn't have olive oil, and his entire range of condiments included: soy sauce, multiple asian chili oils, and rice vinegar. and he was seriously lacking in pots and pans. no, he never ever cooks except for the occasional bowl of ramen late at night.

then again, i have another friend with a wide range of every kind of grain, wrapper, condiment, and good quality cookware, and she never ever cooks, and only in a limited range when she does. so it really goes either way on how predictive someone's pantry is.

off the top of my head, i think we have like 15 condiments in the fridge: soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sriracha, three kinds of honey, two kinds of mustard, tabasco, cholula hot sauce, worcestershire, two kinds of horseradish, two kinds of jam...i'm sure i'm forgetting things, but those are the most used i guess.