Lunch box meals, also known as “tuppers,” are culinary preparations designed to be transported from home to the workplace and consumed during the workday. These meals are characterized by their practicality, ease of preservation, and ability to maintain their nutritional and organoleptic properties during transport and and storage.

Why is it important to prepare your meals?

Preparing meals for work offers multiple quantifiable benefits:

• Economic savings: A homemade meal can cost between 2-4€, compared to 8-15€ for a daily set menu at restaurants.
• Nutritional control: It allows you to supervise ingredients, salt, sugar, and fat quantities.
• Time management: It reduces the time spent looking for lunch options during the workday.
• Food safety: Greater control over the conservation and handling chain of food (although this is something you don’t need to worry about with us)

Types of ideal meals for a lunch box

Legume and grain salads

They are practical, store well, and offer complete nutrients. Legumes provide plant-based protein and fiber, while grains offer complex carbohydrates.

Stews and soups

Ideal for cooler months. They better retain their temperature and flavor when reheated. They include thick stews, casseroles, and soups.

Rice, pasta, and quinoa dishes

Versatile and easy to reheat. These complex carbohydrates serve as a base for multiple combinations with vegetables, proteins, and sauces.

Cold preparations

Perfect for the Mediterranean summer. They do not require heating and maintain their organoleptic properties at room temperature.

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La Sal Catering recipes you can adapt to your lunch box

• Quinoa salad with seasonal vegetables and grilled chicken: A balanced combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates with Mediterranean vegetables. Adapted from our corporate catering menu.

• Creamy seafood rice with Sóller prawns: A traditional Mallorcan dish adapted for a lunch box by reducing the amount of broth to prevent the rice from overcooking. Available on our wedding menu, you can check it for inspiration.

• Thai-style chicken or pork curry: A preparation that improves in flavor with rest and maintains its properties when reheated. Included in our private events catalog.

30 lunch box ideas for work

Cold options (perfect for the Mallorcan summer)

• Chickpea salad with roasted peppers and shredded cod
• Mallorcan gazpacho with Iberian ham croutons
• Quinoa with cherry tomatoes, arugula, and Menorcan goat cheese
• Lentil salad with pickled vegetables and hard-boiled egg
• Mediterranean poke bowl with tuna, avocado, and vegetables
• Pasta salad with basil pesto and sun-dried tomatoes
• Homemade hummus with crudités and ‘pan de cristal’ (glass bread)
• White bean salad with anchovies and red onion
• Couscous tabbouleh with fresh herbs and lemon
• Zucchini carpaccio with pine nuts and Parmesan

Dishes to reheat (ideal for winter and if you have a microwave at the office)

• Lamb stew with seasonal vegetables
• Chicken curry with coconut milk and basmati rice
• Braised lentils with chorizo and vegetables
• Chicken ‘al chilindrón’ with ‘piquillo’ peppers
• Beef stew with potatoes and carrots
• Provençal ratatouille with quinoa
• Chili con carne with kidney beans
• Baked salmon with roasted vegetables
• Seafood and vegetable fideuá
• Turkey meatballs in tomato sauce

Rice and pasta options

• Brown rice with sautéed vegetables and chicken
• Pasta with natural tomato sauce and basil
• Mushroom and Parmesan risotto
• Homemade three-delight rice
• Macaroni with tuna and vegetables
• Vegetable paella (perfect cold or hot)
• Pasta with spinach and walnut pesto
• Rice with coconut milk and Asian vegetables
• Noodles with clams (marinera style)
• Quinoa with teriyaki chicken and vegetables

Tips for successful work meals

The key is planning and choosing ingredients that improve over time. Legumes, for example, absorb flavors better after resting overnight. Stews gain in intensity, and grain salads stay crunchy if you know how to prepare them.

The eternal Mallorcan dilemma: To cook or not to cook?

Yes, preparing your meals is the ideal solution. But is it really feasible on a Tuesday at 7 in the morning after a sleepless night? We know. And in Mallorca, with the summer heat that makes you not want to cook or the winter humidity that makes any extra effort seem like a mountain, things get even more complicated.

Here on the island, we have all been through the same thing. We start the week with the best intentions: “This time I’m really getting organized, preparing everything on Sunday, and eating healthy all week.” But Wednesday comes and you’re in the kitchen looking at that wilted lettuce, wondering if it’s really worth the effort when you have the bar downstairs with its usual ‘tortilla’ sandwich.

And it’s not just cutting vegetables. It’s planning, shopping, cooking, thinking about what stores best, what each person likes, what won’t taste like cardboard after being in the fridge for two days. In Mallorca, we also have that “pa què complicar-se?” (why complicate things?) mentality that often leads us to take the easy way out.

But we also have something they don’t have elsewhere: a brutal gastronomic culture. Here we know what it means to eat well, we have incredible local produce, and when you try a good ‘tumbet’ or a ‘arroz brut’ made as it should be, there’s no turning back.

Discover: Frequently asked questions about our catering service

What if we told you that you can enjoy a chef’s menu in your own office?

This is the thought that led us to create something different at La Sal Catering. We have been preparing menus for weddings, corporate events, and celebrations all over Mallorca for years. We’ve seen how people get excited when they try our seafood rice with Sóller prawns or how surprised they are with our quinoa salads that have nothing to do with those sad combinations one might imagine.

From our perspective, the key to a good takeaway menu is not just the recipe, but the preparation. Our dishes are designed to maintain their flavor and texture, whether you eat them right away or save them for the next day. We have adapted the same technique we apply at a wedding for 200 people to work for your work lunch box.

Imagine arriving at the office and, while your colleagues are arguing about where to order food from, you pull out your lunch box with a Thai curry that smells amazing, or a chickpea salad with roasted vegetables that looks like it came from a restaurant in Palma. And best of all: knowing that it’s made with local produce, with the quality we know from the island, but without you having to wake up early to prepare it.

Tired of thinking about what to eat every day? At La Sal Catering, we have been creating menus that delight companies and events in Mallorca for years. Now, we are bringing that same experience directly to your office. Discover our home delivery lunch box service and forget about cooking.