Packable Lunches

Save money and time, plus eat better food, by taking your lunch to work. Try these 13 brown-bag recipes from Randy Mayor for Cooking Light Magazine.

Brown-Bag Lunch Recipes

* Corn and Sun-Dried Tomato Quesadilla with Smoked Mozzarella
* Gazpacho Shrimp Salad
* Bell Pepper-White Bean Salad
* Herb-Marinated Fresh Mozzarella Wraps
* Pork-and-Rice Noodle Salad with Lemon-Coconut Dressing
* Barley-Salmon Salad with Arugula Vinaigrette
* Brick Chicken Baguette Sandwiches
* Blue Cheese-Pepper Steak Wraps
* Bahn Mi
* All-Purpose Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad
* Thai Chicken Roll-Ups
* Pesto Chicken Spirals
* Confetti Pasta Salad with Chicken

For many of us, lunch is a stress-filled hour (or less) spent dealing with traffic and fast-food drive-through lines. Or there's the ever-popular all-you-can-eat lunch buffet that leaves you wondering how you'll make it to the end of the day without a nap and bursting a button.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Lunch can be a relaxing time in which you go at your own pace and come back to your desk satisfied, both mentally and physically.

Brown-bagging it allows you to enjoy your midday meal without stress, and it's certainly more healthful than the alternatives. But this doesn't mean you're doomed to endless PB&Js or bland, frozen meals.

Try these recipes, and the office lounge will become the best place in town for an enjoyable lunch and a true break.