Day - Modern lunch: +100 recipes for assembling the new midday meal

LIFE IS TOO SHORT to eat a bad lunch. Yet, in our culture, the midday meal is a forgotten opportunity to reinvigorate ourselves with food that makes us happy and energized. It has to be fairly quick and easy, and that often means resorting to convenience foods. There seems to be no middle ground: its either buy lunch or pack something sad. So Im here to help you formulate and practice new rituals (I know some of you are already on your way!) to make homemade, balanced, and delicious lunches materialize. Im not suggesting that you have to cook a from-scratch, freshly prepared sit-down meal every dayit can be just as special when prepped ahead (your new leftovers), especially with a touch more attention and creativity put into the ingredients used, presentation, and packing than what were used to. I promise, the reclamation of lunch is simple!

Like most kids, I found discovering what was in my packed school lunch a thrill. My parents would send me to school with sandwiches of iceberg lettuce, cheddar cheese, and mayonnaise on squishy whole-wheat sandwich bread, alternating only with peanut butter and honey or peanut butter and banana (which I still really enjoy). After the main course, there was always a treat of some kind, usually a small bag of cookies or chips, and a piece of fruit. And it was all stowed away in worn (clean yet always oddly cloudy) plastic containers that circulated between my older brother, me, and finally my younger sister, until they were retired to the recycling bin when they became officially too warped to snap shut.

As my eating preferences have changed, so have my lunches. However, the midday meal continues to have a hint of delicious nostalgia for me, not simply for the food but for the community it builds. Breakfast and dinner are often family affairs, while lunch is a break in our day when most of us are connecting with friends, colleagues, or someone who happens to be enjoying their meal on the same park bench. Ive made friends with strangers by simply asking, Whats for lunch?

Lunch is a meal that needs a fresh coat of paint, a meal that deserves the same respect dinner receives, while still embracing the casualness of breakfast. To me, the story of lunch as its enjoyed today has yet to be told. Yes, its a break in the day to replenish the body and mind, even if youre devouring a cup of noodles al desko, an Oxford English Dictionary-defined word (youre welcome!). Its a way to travel and taste a range of global flavors, all without a plane ticket. A homemade lunch saves you money, helps you eat healthier (made easier still with the recipes in this book), and gives you a swift boost to reenergize your day. And its a meal where the lighting is just so perfect for capturing a photo to share on Instagram (I do, @allisondaycooks). But it can be more than this, too. Id like to introduce you to the modern lunch.

A modern lunch is special, simple, (mostly) make-ahead, healthy, share-worthy, community building, money saving, colorful, and delicious. It culls inspiration from world cuisines, is adaptable to your personal taste and pantry, and is always satisfying. It can be enjoyed at your desk, in the lunchroom, on a bench outside, at home, on the road, on a picnic blanket, in the car, at a set table, or on your lap in front of the TV. A modern lunch can be about connectedness: its a time to put yourself out there, socialize, and make new friends or bond with old ones. Done with intention and meaning, the modern lunch should get you excited about a quality midday meal!

As you join me in reimagining the idea of lunch, think of this cookbook as your textbook. The meals here are healthier, tidier, travel better, and will satisfy not only your palate more than a sandwich but also your mood, leaving you with sustained energy as opposed to a deep dive into the afternoon slump post-PB&J. Im celebrating fresh produce, quality proteins, healthy fats, and interesting whole grains. You can even start a Modern Lunch Club at your work or school: cook once a week for the group and enjoy a range of recipes the rest of the week without lifting a finger (just a fork or spoon) (see for details).

And in our busy lives, theres often little time to devote to a just-made meal, especially at lunch. Because of this, many of the recipes youll find in Modern Lunch pack beautifully, require minimal prep for myriad lunches, and are all made with ingredients you can find wherever youre located.

But an unpacked lunch, such as lunch at home on workdays, also happens, more so for some than others. Those of us who find ourselves at home during lunchthe large percentage of the population who work from home, including at-home parents, people on maternity or paternity leave, shift workers who have a week off, or any number of other positionsneed grab-and-go options to get us through our days. We dont have food trucks lined up outside our doors, and if you live in the countryside, as I did growing up, or the suburbs, the only alternative to a homemade lunch is usually fast food. Still, working from home doesnt give you the time to make a from-scratch meal every day, which is why I advocate for, and guide you toward doing meal prep and turning to make-ahead lunches. Weekends are a completely different story, though: on these days, lunch at home can mean a sit-down brunch, steaming-hot midday spread, multi-salad event, or picnic banquet. The weekend is an occasion to put a little extra panache into the midday mealand we get to celebrate it once a week, all year long.