High-protein lunches for work that don't need a fridge

Most people who train already know lunch should have more protein in it. The problem is the office. The shared fridge is full by 9am and the microwave has a queue. The lunch you made last night spends the morning in a bag on a warm train. So it becomes a sandwich and a piece of fruit, which lands somewhere around 15g of protein. Here is how to get 25 to 40g into a work lunch without a fridge, a stove or a $20 bowl from the food court.

How much protein should lunch have?

For anyone training a few times a week, the useful target is 25 to 40g of protein per meal, three or four times a day. Lunch is usually where that plan falls apart, along with the 3pm gap after it.

Your body responds to protein meal by meal and cannot store it for later. A light lunch is not made up for by a large dinner. If you want the full calculation for your body weight, our guide to how much protein you need a day works it out in about thirty seconds.

Why "no fridge" matters more than it sounds

Cooked chicken, rice, eggs and dairy are what food safety authorities call potentially hazardous foods. The NSW Food Authority's 2-hour/4-hour rule is the standard guide: under 2 hours out of the fridge is fine and 2 to 4 hours means eat it now. Over 4 hours, it should go in the bin.

A meal-prep container that leaves home at 7am and gets eaten at 1pm has usually crossed that line, especially on a 30 degree Sydney commute. An ice brick helps, but most people stop bothering after the first week.

The desk drawer kit

Stock this once a fortnight and lunch stops depending on what you remembered to pack.

• Tuk-Dak shelf-stable chicken breast: 24 to 26g of protein a pack, ready to eat, 12 months shelf life
• Tinned tuna or salmon: about 20g in a 95g tin
• Microwave rice cups: a 90 second carbohydrate base
• Tinned chickpeas, lentils or four-bean mix: fibre plus around 8g of protein in half a tin
• Wholemeal wraps or wholegrain crackers
• A protein shake pouch for days with back-to-back meetings
• Something for 3pm, which we cover below

Seven work lunches with 25 to 40g of protein

Protein figures for our products come from the pack. Everything else is a rounded average, so treat it as a guide.

1. Teriyaki rice bowl, about 30g. A Teriyaki Tuk-Dak pack (25g) over a microwave brown rice cup, with a tin of corn or a handful of snow peas. The glaze does the job of a sauce.
2. Taco chicken wrap, about 35g. Shred a Taco Tuk-Dak pack (26g) into a wholemeal wrap with half a tin of black beans and a spoon of salsa. Taco is seasoned dry, so it holds together like pulled chicken.
3. Black pepper chickpea salad, about 32g. Black Pepper Tuk-Dak (24g) torn over a bag of salad leaves bought on the way in, plus half a tin of chickpeas and a squeeze of lemon.
4. Tuna and four-bean salad, about 28g. A 95g tin of tuna with half a tin of four-bean mix, olive oil and cracked pepper. Cheap, fast and nothing to heat.
5. Upgraded noodle cup, about 30g. An instant noodle cup on its own has roughly 8g of protein. Tear a Mild Tuk-Dak pack (24g) into it once the water is in. Mild is lightly seasoned, so it takes on the broth instead of fighting it. Noodle cups are high in sodium, so keep this one for busy days.
6. Meeting-day shake and crackers, about 30g. A yohemite Daily Protein Shake (22g of plant protein) with wholegrain crackers and a peanut butter sachet. Easy to get through on mute.
7. Heavy training day, about 55g. Two Tuk-Dak packs over a rice cup. Only worth it if you lift hard or weigh 90kg or more. Everyone else is better off eating the second pack at 3pm.

Don't forget the 3pm gap

The afternoon is where most office workers lose the most protein, because the snack that fills it is usually biscuits or a muffin. A small protein snack here closes the gap to dinner without spoiling it.

A LABNOSH Protein Mini Cookie has 9g of protein in a 40g pack at 215 Calories. That is a snack, not a meal. If you need more than that, a second Tuk-Dak pack or a shake does the job better.

Which Tuk-Dak flavour for which lunch?

• Mild (24g, 117 Cal, 100g): the most versatile. Best when it goes into something else, like noodles, salads or wraps.
• Black Pepper (24g, 127 Cal, 100g): the easiest to eat straight from the pack at your desk. No heat.
• Chilli (25g, 143 Cal, 120g): sweet Korean chilli in sauce, so it suits rice.
• Teriyaki (25g, 143 Cal, 120g): the customer favourite and the juiciest. Contains mollusc (oyster sauce), soy and wheat, so check before you share it.
• Taco (26g, 117 Cal, 100g): the highest protein, 0g carbohydrate and no declarable allergens. Best shredded.

Allergen information can change between batches, so always check the label on the pack you have. Still unsure? Our Tuk-Dak flavour guide goes through each one in more detail.

The short version

• Aim for 25 to 40g of protein at lunch. A sandwich and fruit is usually around 15g.
• Cooked food out of the fridge for over 4 hours should be thrown out. Shelf-stable food sidesteps the problem.
• Keep a desk drawer kit: shelf-stable chicken, tinned fish, legumes, rice cups and wraps.
• Build lunch from one protein, one carbohydrate and something fresh bought on the way in.
• Plan for 3pm as well as lunch.