What Do You Field Guys Do For Lunch?

lxskllr

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Covid's done wonders for my wallet. I always take food with me, but my boss doesn't, so whenever I worked with him, we'd eat out, and usually not fastfood. We'd alternate paying, but it was a $30+ lunch every time. Now it's more of a PITA, so we don't eat out as much, and I eat what I bring. This is a pretty typical food day for me. It isn't necessarily all eaten at lunch time, or even all eaten, but most of it is...

A slice of canned brown bread
an apple
an orange, or more usually 3 clementines or other tiny orange
a spice bottle with either flavored almonds(smoked or wasabi/soy are favorites) or peanuts/deluxe mixed nuts with dried fruit
a jar with raw vegetables. Usually celery, carrots, and tomatoes with salt
a can of fish. Either tuna or kippered herring
a piece of cheese
a jar of pretzels

some alternates are olive salad, a prepackaged cold salad(something with grains and spices), or homemade pasta salad with smoked salmon. A special treat is a MRE. I also keep jerky/biltong in the truck if I'm gonna be way back in the woods, and probably late for foodtime, which I like at 11am

What do you guys/gals do?
 
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  • #3
D^:

I'd be a miserable SOB if I didn't eat. I forgot coffee also. I'd be a miserable SOB without coffee.

edit:
also forgot water of course. Three military quart canteens, and in the summer I keep an extra 1.5L ice bottle for backup water and to help the 2L ice bottle keep things cold. I don't usually have to break into the 1.5L, but it's nice to have when needed.
 
I pack up to a gallon of gatorade or some sugary electrolyte drink spiked with a bit of caffeine during the summer. Rarely I'll pack a snack: either a Kind protein bar, or a pint container of dates, half an avacado, & pecan halves. I don't always eat breakfast, so I eat 2 meals when I get home if I haven't eaten. I can get miserable if I'm out past 4pm.

I just hate stopping work, because I want to get the job done, and I'll start getting tired and sore if I stop for very long.
 
I don't eat anything at all during the summer til I get home and get a shower. Hard to eat while soaked with sweat in 95 degree air. In cooler months I usually have a protein shake that I drink on during the morning. About half the time I don't eat anything til supper. When I do eat it's beef jerky, mixed nuts, deviled ham spread and crackers and tuna packets. Usually whichever I grab out of the truck. Just one and just a few bites a couple times throughout the day. If I eat it really slows me down and makes me miserable. If I'm not climbing or in the bucket all day I can eat whatever I want and be fine. I eat a lit of vitamins, vinegar tabs, beetroot powder, hydration drinks like pedialyte or Heart and Hydration. Lots of water. Protein bars when I don't have time to eat. I usually don't have time to eat anyway so it works out good.
 
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  • #6
Sounds like I'm the porkchop here :^D

Our jobs are different, so that might be some of it. I wouldn't come down from a tree to eat, and if I'm going hard, I sometimes don't eat, but will when I get back to the truck before heading home for the day. I get a lot of down time where I have to go to the truck to get things setup for the next task, so it makes a convenient stopping point to eat something.
 
I’ve never been hip on hauling a cooler around. I’ve been pretty strict on low carbs and zero or low sugar. Nuts and jerky or dried smoked sausage is good, but usually just water and sugar free energy drinks. Maybe a can/ pouch of tuna. Sometimes lunch meat that’s got some preservatives in it that won’t go funky if it’s not refrigerated for 10 or 12 hours. Salami or pepperoni.

When I was on a normal diet, I’d sometimes bring a can of Campbell’s Chunky Soup. That stuff is pretty damn close to an MRE entree if you don’t mind it cold. I never used the MRE heaters anyways.
Sirloin burger or beef with vegetables.
 
I've worked with a guy who would all of a sudden, like as if it was 12:00 on the dot (I never checked the time though), would just pull out his cooler, sit down and eat lunch. Everyone's different. You can get used to not easing especially if you are working hard enough. Some sugar and caffeine is good to keep the brain sharp, but too much sugar can make me tired especially if I slow down.
 
We are lucky to have good places to eat nearish to the jobs. I try and skip fast food, a sit down is better for moral of the guys.
 
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Here's my everyday lunch, ready to roll. I'm with Jonny, don't love carting a cooler. Sardines are better than tuna for you and the environment imo, cheaper too. Plus hot sauce and mustard flavored ones

2 tins of sardines is like 400 calories, enough to get me through the work day. If there's somewhere good to stop for lunch I'll just eat em ther next day
 
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  • #12
If you guys don't take a cooler, you're drinking warm water or whatever in the summer? I don't mind tepid water, but I hate when it's actually heated up.
 
Cold water makes me feel sick, so ambient temp works for me. Can't recommend warm water and sardines enough
 
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  • #14
I love sardines. That's more or less what kippered herring are. I have 100+ tins in the cabinet. I take tuna every so often just to change things up a bit. I like American Tuna brand, and especially the brick smoked packed in olive oil. Delicious! Can't deal with warm water though, or more accurately, heated water. Up to ~70° is fine, but I don't like when it's like drinking bath water D^:
 
A thermos of tea and 3 cheese sandwiches + plus 2 apples or pears will keep me logging all day.

No way I could go without.
 
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Always have the water cooler on board. I keep a bag of fun size Paydays in the truck (won't melt), and a few Gatorades in the cooler. Generally two Paydays and a Gatorade and I'm good to go.
 
Here's my everyday lunch, ready to roll. I'm with Jonny, don't love carting a cooler. Sardines are better than tuna for you and the environment imo, cheaper too. Plus hot sauce and mustard flavored ones

2 tins of sardines is like 400 calories, enough to get me through the work day. If there's somewhere good to stop for lunch I'll just eat em ther next day

That might be debatable if someone had to ride in a closed cab with you shortly after you consumed them.....:/:
 
I also don't want to go into a restaurant stinking and covered in sawdust.

I can't stand cold drinks, I prefer room temp +- 20deg
 
That's better than a business card sometimes. Sawchips that is not so much with the BO or cottowood stench.
 
No iced drinks for me - they cause my stomach to clutch up in the heat. Resort to plain water to stay hydrated. I take a small cooler bag, usually with leftovers from the night before if I have them; if not a tin of sardines, or an avocado and a hard-boiled egg, or an energy bar or two. Salted mix of dried fruit and nuts if it is hot out to keep my electrolytes up. Never eat too much or I become sloth-like slow and can't keep my pace up. Always take extra to munch on during the drive home so I don't arrive hangry.
 
Covid's done wonders for my wallet. I always take food with me, but my boss doesn't, so whenever I worked with him, we'd eat out, and usually not fastfood. We'd alternate paying, but it was a $30+ lunch every time. Now it's more of a PITA, so we don't eat out as much, and I eat what I bring. This is a pretty typical food day for me. It isn't necessarily all eaten at lunch time, or even all eaten, but most of it is...

A slice of canned brown bread
an apple
an orange, or more usually 3 clementines or other tiny orange
a spice bottle with either flavored almonds(smoked or wasabi/soy are favorites) or peanuts/deluxe mixed nuts with dried fruit
a jar with raw vegetables. Usually celery, carrots, and tomatoes with salt
a can of fish. Either tuna or kippered herring
a piece of cheese
a jar of pretzels

some alternates are olive salad, a prepackaged cold salad(something with grains and spices), or homemade pasta salad with smoked salmon. A special treat is a MRE. I also keep jerky/biltong in the truck if I'm gonna be way back in the woods, and probably late for foodtime, which I like at 11am

What do you guys/gals do?
“Field guys” ????
 
I'm with Frans...you "field guys" sure do operate in a different universe than I did, as a USFS "field guy".

Just to make it clear...my normal ops arena would be somewhere between 1 and 2 hours from any business, period, let alone one that offered food service :D.

P B and J sandwich, some fresh fruit (orange, banana, apple), a small thermos of coffee, two quarts of water. On some rather few days, the sandwich might be replaced by a container of whatever leftover last night's dinner might be.
 
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