Pack and carry (tips for a fresh lunch)

When taking a salad to work, keep the lettuce in one large chunk and vegetable such as tomatoes and avocado in large pieces. It keeps them from losing their freshness and getting soggy. Try and take your dressing in a snap-lock bag or a small screw-top jam jar.

Screw-top jars make transporting liquids such as soups and fruit smoothies easy. They won't leak and you can heat soups in the jar minus the lid. Great if you are dubious about that plastic container seal.

When taking fruit salad for lunch, pour over some orange, lemon or lime juice to stop the cut surfaces of the fruit from oxidising. Passionfruit pulp also works well.

To stop a sandwich from getting soggy, place leaves such as lettuce or rocket next to both slices of bread and then fill the middle of the sandwich with the wet ingredients such as meat, soft cheese and condiments such as mayonnaise.

* This story originally appeared in Epicure.