The Ultimate Guide to Packing Lunches

Repurposing last night's meal sounds admirable...until 1 p.m. rolls around and you open up a plastic container holding the suddenly pathetic-looking remains of Parmesan-crusted chicken breast and potatoes with onions. Your homemade food deserves better. One tactic is to toss cooked vegetables with a versatile vinaigrette, like this one from Colin Cowie, which has infinite variations. Another is to take whatever vegetables and protein (chicken, pork, beef, shrimp) you used the night before for dinner, chop them all into a uniform size and combine them with a cooked grain, like whole wheat Israeli couscous, for a brand new dish (just watch out for fish and other foods that tend to have a strong smell when warmed in a microwave). We also love this ingenious use of last night's pasta for Chilled Peanut Noodles.