What I do (meaning what my wife does for me) is..She typically makes a good amount of home cooked meals that are usually healthy and made with good ingredients. Some of the meals are typically lasagna, a pasta and meat sauce, honey ham and mashed sweet potatoes, chicken and rice, steak tips and potatoes and the list goes on. She cooks them completely and then she vacuum seals and deep freezes them in our chest freezer.
Each meal is portion sized (portion control is always an issue) and I typically take 5 meals on a 4 day. In addition to that I bring a bunch of instant oatmeals so I typically end up with breakfast every morning and enough meals for lunch and dinner every night minus one meal. I do not need a true 4 days worth of meals because my trips are usually commutable. I buy my one meal usually at the airport cafeteria or a subway and I have averaged less than 5 dollars spent per trip for the last year and a half.
I like this because I only eat an oatmeal packet for breakfast, eat a portioned lunch, a portioned dinner, drink water all day and get a workout in at the hotel and it keeps me in good healthy shape for at least 3-4 days out of my week. The meals stay frozen for usually a few days and I either add ice or use a hotel fridge as necessary to keep them cool. Even if they warm up a bit I do not worry since not only are they pre cooked but they are vacuum sealed.
I just ordered a new lunch box though that will give me a bit more room since this one is overstuffed and falling apart but it was free.
Here is a pic of what I have left after 2 days of a 4 day. The meals do not look like much when I microwave (in the bags) and then dump as a whole in my container. They are all mashed and mixed together with whatever is in the bag. All the FAs and others say it looks gross because the vacuum sealer smashes it all together and then it all goes in one bowl when I eat it but I figure it all goes to the same place anyway.
Pictured is:
front, pasta with meat sauce
back left, lasagna
middle, rice pilaf with chicken
back right, meatloaf with sweet potatos
