Your organic gluten free take-to-work lunches just got a major upgrade!

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The desk lunch does not have to mean a sad container of leftovers balanced beside your keyboard. With a little planning and the right recipes in your repertoire, the midday meal can be a genuine moment of pleasure — colourful, composed, and thoroughly worth looking forward to. These five recipes are designed for real working weeks: no elaborate equipment, no last-minute panic, just beautiful food that travels well and arrives looking like something you ordered rather than something you scraped together. Our lunch arrives to the office in style with Modern Picnic. Chic styles, timeless color ways, and the ultimate in functionality makes taking a lunch break worth it!

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1. Rice Bowl with Roasted Corn, Little Gem Lettuce & Green Goddess

A composed grain bowl with sweet roasted corn, crisp Little Gem leaves, and a silky green goddess dressing that transforms simple ingredients into something restaurant-worthy.

Ingredients (2 servings)
1.5 cups cooked rice (white, brown, or wild) • 1 cup fresh corn kernels • 1 tbsp olive oil • flaky sea salt and cracked pepper • 3 heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated • ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds • 1 ripe avocado, sliced (optional)

Green Goddess Dressing
½ cup fresh basil • ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley • 2 tbsp fresh chives • 1 tbsp fresh tarragon (or more parsley) • ½ cup Greek yogurt • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 tbsp lemon juice • 1 small garlic clove, minced • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation & Packing
Toss corn kernels with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 200°C for 20 minutes until caramelised at the edges. Cool completely. Blend all green goddess dressing ingredients until smooth and vibrant; taste and adjust seasoning. Divide cooked rice between two wide, flat containers, creating a bed for the other components. Arrange Little Gem leaves, roasted corn, and avocado (if using) in separate sections atop the rice. Pack sunflower seeds and dressing in small leak-proof containers to add just before eating. The rice stays fresh for up to three days refrigerated, and the dressing keeps for two days. Assemble at lunch for optimal crispness and verdant color.

Complete the meal: Make sure you store the dressing on the side. An easy fruit salad nicely compliments this meal for dessert – we’re loving blueberries and pluots!

Our favorite food storage containers and condiment ramekins here! Take to work in the Modern Picnic luncher!

Beautiful food that travels well and arrives looking like something you ordered rather than something you scraped together.

2. Smashed Avocado & Smoked Salmon Tartine

An open-faced tartine on toasted sourdough with lemony smashed avocado, silky smoked salmon, capers, and a shower of fresh dill — elegant enough for a restaurant brunch, practical enough for Tuesday.

Ingredients
2 thick slices of good sourdough • 1 ripe avocado • juice of ½ lemon • flaky sea salt • 80g smoked salmon • 1 tbsp capers, drained • a few thin slices of cucumber • a small handful of fresh dill • ¼ tsp chilli flakes

Preparation & Packing
Toast the sourdough at home until deeply golden, then allow to cool fully before packing — this prevents sogginess. Smash avocado with lemon juice and flaky salt. Pack the avocado in a small container and the sourdough in a flat beeswax wrap or reusable sleeve, kept separate. Carry salmon and garnishes together in a sealed pouch. At lunchtime, spread avocado generously, layer on the salmon, scatter capers, cucumber, dill, and a pinch of chilli flakes. Two minutes of assembly, zero compromise on quality.

Pair with the Modern Picnic Large Luncher in Cream in Pebble Leather and Caraway storage container.

3. Stylish Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

Tender grilled chicken and al dente pasta tossed with crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and a vibrant lemon dressing that keeps everything bright and light. A salad that packs beautifully and tastes even better at lunch than it does at home.

Ingredients (2 servings)
2 boneless chicken breasts (about 180g each) • 150g short pasta (fusilli or penne) • 1 small red bell pepper, diced • 1 small cucumber, diced • 100g cherry tomatoes, halved • ¼ red onion, thinly sliced • a small handful of fresh basil • a small handful of fresh parsley • 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Lemon Dressing
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • juice of 1 lemon • 1 tsp Dijon mustard • 1 small garlic clove, minced • salt and cracked pepper to taste

Preparation & Packing
Season chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high and cook for 6–7 minutes per side until golden and just cooked through. Rest for five minutes, then slice into bite-sized pieces. Cook pasta two minutes under al dente to account for absorption; drain and cool. Whisk all dressing ingredients together and taste for balance. Toss cooled pasta with half the dressing, then fold in chicken, vegetables, and most of the herbs. Pack in a wide, flat container with pine nuts and remaining herbs in a separate small pot to scatter over just before eating. The salad stays fresh for up to three days refrigerated and actually benefits from sitting overnight as flavours meld. A textbook take-to-work meal that looks composed and tastes restaurant-worthy.

4. Little Gem Salad with Miso-Glazed Black Cod & Pickled Radish

An elegant, restaurant-quality salad built on crisp Little Gem leaves, succulent miso-glazed black cod, quick-pickled radish, and a sesame-citrus vinaigrette that tastes like it took considerably more effort than it did.

Ingredients (2 servings)
2 fillets black cod (about 150g each) • 1 tbsp white miso • 1 tbsp mirin • 1 tsp sesame oil • 2 heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated • 4 radishes, sliced • 1 tbsp rice vinegar • pinch of sugar • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds • a small handful of coriander • flaky sea salt

Sesame-Citrus Vinaigrette
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 tbsp rice vinegar • 1 tsp soy sauce • juice of ½ lime • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Preparation & Packing
Quick-pickle radish slices in rice vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt for 20 minutes; drain and refrigerate overnight if prepping ahead. Mix miso, mirin, and sesame oil to create a glaze. Pat black cod fillets dry and brush generously with the miso glaze on both sides. Pan-sear over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes per side until the glaze is caramelised and the fish is just cooked through; the flesh should flake gently with a fork. Cool completely before packing to prevent the salad from becoming warm. Layer Little Gem leaves in your container, arrange cooled black cod fillets atop, then scatter pickled radish and fresh coriander. Pack sesame-citrus vinaigrette in a separate leak-proof container and pour over just before eating to keep the lettuce crisp. The black cod keeps fresh for up to two days refrigerated. A salad that looks composed, travels beautifully, and tastes unmistakably luxe.

5. Dark Chocolate Oat Energy Truffles

No-bake truffles that are equal parts indulgent and practical—dark chocolate and oats studded with almond butter and maple, with a pinch of salt to sharpen every bite. One batch makes a dozen; carry them in a small tin to unwrap slowly through the week

Ingredients (2 servings, 12 truffles)
100g good-quality dark chocolate (70%+) • 60g rolled oats • 3 tbsp natural almond butter • 2 tbsp maple syrup • ¼ tsp flaky sea salt • ¼ tsp vanilla extract

Preparation & Packing
Melt dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in almond butter until well combined, then add maple syrup and vanilla. Fold in rolled oats and salt until everything is evenly coated. Refrigerate the mixture for 20 minutes until firm enough to shape. Using a teaspoon or small melon baller, form into twelve roughly equal balls and place on a parchment-lined tray. Return to the refrigerator for one hour until fully set. Store in a small airtight tin or parchment-wrapped parcel in the cool section of your lunch bag. These keep beautifully for up to five days, making them perfect for packing on Sunday and carrying through the week. Each truffle delivers a moment of genuine pleasure—chocolate and oats that taste far more considered than their simplicity suggests.

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The best thing you can do for your working week is decide, once, that lunch is worth the effort. These recipes require no elaborate kitchen equipment, no early alarm, and no resignation to the beige and the bland. A little mise en place on a Sunday evening, a beautiful bag slung over your shoulder on Monday morning, and the midday meal becomes what it was always meant to be: a genuine pause, a moment of pleasure, a small and daily act of caring for yourself rather well.

The Lunch Bag That Brings It All Together

There is a particular pleasure in carrying lunch that looks like it matters. When you have invested care in what goes inside the container, the container itself deserves to match that intention. A lunch bag is not merely functional—it is a daily assertion that you do not accept the mundane, that the midday meal is a ritual worth honoring. Modern Picnic understands this. Their lunch bags are designed for people who have moved beyond the idea that practical means dull, who believe that the objects we carry should be as considered as the meals we prepare.

Affiliate links: Modern Picnic

What sets their work apart is an unwavering commitment to aesthetic rigour. These are not the lunch bags of secondary school or the generic boxes of the corporate cafeteria. They are design objects that happen to keep food fresh, made with the kind of attention to line, proportion, and finish that you would expect from pieces meant to sit on a table or be set down in a meeting room. The result is a lunch bag that feels chic enough to carry unselfconsciously, that elevates the ritual of unpacking rather than detracting from it.

Carrying your own lunch already says something about how you spend your time and what you value. Carrying it in something beautiful says it even louder. A lunch bag that works as hard as you do, that protects what is precious without announcing its purpose—that is where intention becomes visible. It is the difference between having lunch at work and having a moment of real pleasure in the middle of your day.

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