Question: Lunch Ideas?

[nopoleskier]

I've done the camel back.. looked like the hunch back of Notre Dame. LOL.. and the tube froze even under my down coat. I know where the water fountains are so I usually just go in and drink their water. they'll give free cups too.

@SallyCat WOW no outside food?!!! wth? don't they have a brown bag room?..

I used to cart my back pack up to the top of okemo for lunch breaks, a lot of brown baggers at the top lodge. and only have to have it on for ride up and ride down. I've left it by lifts and let the liftie know it was my pack (I bribe w/cookies) I've hung it on trees near where the liftie could see it. Only once a Squirrel ate thru the zipper and ate the lunch!! (at Gore) The dumb and not to helpful liftie thought it was funny and never shooed the squirrel away!! Okemo the lifties are great, I've left my poles, coat, pack etc with them (more cookies/candy)

 

[VickiK]

I really like that protein pancake idea and it reminds me of a Russian specialty called "sirniki", farmer's cheese pancakes or patties.

https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/sirniki-russian-cheese-pancakes-177812
https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/02/16/ukrainian-syrniki-recipe/

 

[SallyCat]

WOW no outside food?!!! wth? don't they have a brown bag room?..

Crazily, no. The policy is to keep all of the tables open for people who pay for cafeteria food. They actually have a guard at the lodge entrance making sure nobody brings in food.

EDIT: Sometimes it pays to be an older, single, Plain Jane: I get away with a lot of stuff (outside food or beer in the lodges, e.g.) because nobody really notices me.

I will say that when I do opt to eat at a resort, I never get cafeteria food but always go to the bar or restaurant with table service. The prices end up being only a tiny bit higher in the restaurant, but you get MUCH better food.

 

[Tvan]

Brave Ski Mom has a great article about healthy ski snacks on her blog. I keep meaning to try these. As for lunches, I go with raw veggies with hummus, turkey pepperoni, cheese, crackers, olives, maybe some dates.... my own little traveling charcuterie packed up in a couple ziplocks and Tupperware.

 

[Tvan]

Oh, and my new healthy go-to snacks are RX Bars. They are pricey in stores. But much cheaper by the box if I order them on Amazon. I’m partial to the peanut butter flavor, but I also really love the pumpkin spice. And I found gingerbread ones in the grocery store today. Soooo yummy.

 

[newboots]

I have done things like protein pancakes with jam rolled up in tinfoil. Still tasty when cold...

Ooh! I make healthy pancakes with leftover mashed sweet potato in them, then roll them up with peanut butter. Yum. I have to remember to make extras for skiing!

 

[just jane]

We usually pack a lunch and leave it in the car. We'll bring turkey sandwiches, or cheese, summer sausage and crackers. I frequently carry a hard-boiled egg in my pocket for second breakfast - I've only fallen on one once, and it was hard-boiled, so not too awful to clean up! One did freeze on me though, so in colder weather, if you stash a hard-boiled egg in your pocket, don't wait too long to eat it.

Clementines are great in the lunch cooler or in our pockets, and usually we'll each carry an energy bar of choice, and maybe some trail mix or nuts. I like to grab those Nature's Bakery fig bars too.

Usually we just head back to the car and eat lunch in the parking lot. Carrying food back to the lodge is too much of a pain.

 

[Christy]

I've never heard of protein pancakes, but the idea of rolled up pancakes sounds pretty awesome, especially if it was an eggy type like a Swedish pancake rather then a fluffy type.

 

[tinymoose]

My mountain has such a strict "no outside food" policy that I think they would tackle you if you so much as tried to use your own teabag. But they don't care about the parking lot, so a thermos or camp stove may do the trick.



I would be scared to ski with a backpack because of the danger of getting snagged on the chairlift. But I was thinking one of those collapsible plastic water bottles could fit in my pocket.

Blue doesn't have a picnic area outside of the cafeteria area????

ETA: If it's true then it's true, but both JFBB and Montage allow food in the general cafeteria or designated areas without restrictions. I mean, you probably couldn't take it into their "restaurants" but otherwise... I just find it weird Blue doesn't have a picnic/packed lunch area.

 

[Christy]

@SallyCat can you buy a cup of tea then eat your own lunch? That's what I've done at Crystal, which has a small basement hold for brown baggers and strict no outside food rules for the lodges.

 

[2ski2moro]

I usually bring soup in a thermos. When we ski in a big group, I go off to a secluded corner of the lodge and plug in a crockpot full of soup or chili when we arrive.

Cold meatballs. I make extra when I make a meatloaf (don't judge, it's my comfort food), roll into balls and bake. Packet of ketchup in the lodge.

Hotdogs stay warm in a thermos of hot water. Ditto the ketchup or mustard from the cafeteria.

@SallyCat I think you need to hone your smuggling skills. When I ski in Europe, I make an extra sandwich at breakfast, put it in a ziplock that I bring from home, and into my Camelback. Squished sammies taste good, too. Or sausages and cheese cubes in a ziplock in your jacket pocket. Baggie of carrots in the other pocket. Buy a drink from the restaurant and enjoy.

 

[santacruz skier]

Oh, and my new healthy go-to snacks are RX Bars. They are pricey in stores. But much cheaper by the box if I order them on Amazon. I’m partial to the peanut butter flavor, but I also really love the pumpkin spice. And I found gingerbread ones in the grocery store today. Soooo yummy.

I like RX bars as well but won't they freeze? You know how some energy bars are rock hard when you grab them out of your pocket!

 

[SallyCat]

Blue doesn't have a picnic area outside of the cafeteria area????

They got very heavy-handed about that policy last year. The intent is to keep tables free for people who buy the cafeteria food. They don't have an indoor brown-bag area. I think it's weird, too.

 

[Munke]

I usually make a burrito with sweet potatoes and eggs and keep it in my inside jacket pocket. I also keep string cheese and granola bars in my other pockets in case I get hungry on the lift. When skiing back country I have found that it's good to snack a lot so I also bring homemade oatmeal cookies or brownies that fit in the waist pocket of my pack.

 

[newboots]

I usually make a burrito with sweet potatoes and eggs and keep it in my inside jacket pocket. I also keep string cheese and granola bars in my other pockets in case I get hungry on the lift. When skiing back country I have found that it's good to snack a lot so I also bring homemade oatmeal cookies or brownies that fit in the waist pocket of my pack.

Yum! Welcome, Munke! I want to ski with you and share your snacks!

 

[AltaEgo]

I eat a lot of wraps--stuffed with leftovers from chicken dinners, tuna salad, lunch meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese or whatever I have. I like the flour tortillas because you can microwave them for ten seconds, which softens them, then stuff the center, pull the ends in,and roll and put in a zip lock bag. It's easy to keep in my pocket and I have had lunch everywhere--ski patrol shack, picnic table outside, on the chair, wherever. I hate squished sandwiches.

 

[Munke]

Yum! Welcome, Munke! I want to ski with you and share your snacks!

Thanks! I have some ski partners that always joke about my "fancy" lunches.

 

[kiki]

Bumping this discussion.

Curious, planning to ski during COVID, will this change whether you pack a lunch? What are you planning for this season?

myself, having just invested in a super duper liftrider ski backpack, I am debating what food to bring. I normally In prior years eat in the lodge (oh, how I LOVE the Ramen! And the Thai curry bowl! It will be a sad season assuming they are not available) so this is a big change for me.

 

[SallyCat]

Thanks for bumping; I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's ideas.

I guess some factors to consider are how easy it is to get to your car, or whether you can safely leave a bag somewhere around/outside of the base lodge. Also, whether you want hot food or cold.

On a truly frigid, below-zero Northeast winter day, I probably wouldn't stick around long enough to have lunch. On more moderate winter days, I was thinking that my Stanley thermos keeps things very warm all day, so if I want something hot, that's a possibility.

I wonder if people will start treating base areas like tailgating locations, setting up camp chairs, grills, camp stoves, and the like.

I also hope that ski areas set up some fire pits for people to get warm without having to go inside.

 

[kiki]

Yes, I also see some resorts have time limits for skiing, so will more people just ski and then go home for a shorter day now?
maybe eating in the car to and from the resort etc?

Usually my ski day involves skiing for a couple hours, having lunch for an hour and then skiing a couple more hours. It’s a 3 hour drive each way so I normally have a smoothy in the car on the way there with toast, and I keep a bag of chips and a piece of fruit in the car for the way home. But I normally do the big lunch in the lodge. It’s too far to get to the car for lunch for me.