After more than a year of research, these are tentative recipes for a vending machine lunch business. All should be perfectly fine eaten cold, some may also include instructions on how best to reheat them. Anything that requires utensils to eat will have a plastic fork or spork included.
Spinach Salad: Spinach greens, Chinese noodles, toasted almonds, crunchy onions, crunchy spiced chickpeas.
Southwestern Style: Iceberg lettuce with carrots and red cabbage, a generous serving of corn with onions and peppers, spicy corn chips, Parmesan or Romano cheese.
Traditional Potato Salad: Fully cooked new potatoes, egg slices, a small amount of diced dill pickles, a packet of mayo and a packet of mustard.
New potatoes, a generous helping of corn with onions and peppers, a packet of clarified butter, salt and pepper.
Vegetarian option: The same, but no pepperoni.
Ramen noodles in a cup, plastic spork, packet of extras with two options:
1. Snow peas, onions, carrots, and celery. Salt and pepper.
2. Shredded carrots, broccoli, beef jerky. Salt and pepper.
Tentatively: Chickpea salad for the filling as an alternative. Though I have no recipe for such, I had this on a flight once and it was wonderful.
Pizzas:
1. Flat bread, tomato sauce packet, Parmesan or Romano cheese, cubed pepperoni, onions, green peppers and pineapple cubes.
2. Vegetarian option: The same, but no pepperoni for slightly less money.
I really do not like the quality of the cubed chicken and soft cheeses found in so many prepackaged salads, so I initially thought these would all be vegetarian but I eventually realized I am willing to eat both beef jerky and pepperoni sometimes. I have found that I also am fine with bacon bits in salad but I haven't yet come up with a recipe that includes that.
I also would like to figure out rice-based dishes but I've basically got nothing so far (though mjedra does contain rice). Tentatively, I might also someday add chicken and/or fish options IF I ever find something I like in those categories that would keep well in a vending machine.
The idea was this would be a vending machine in a spot highly visible from the street in the parking garage of a Project: SRO building so the PUBLIC can access it, yet it's also convenient for the residents. Alternately, a vending machine at a public park or otherwise someplace with picnic tables or maybe even at a transit center.
I really, really like cold prep ramen (adding tap water, not boiling hot water) BUT to include that you ALSO need a spigot of (preferably hot) water near the vending machine, so that may not be appropriate for all situations.
This is ALL hypothetical. I have never run a vending machine business and vending machine lunches that I have seen online let you order extras for an additional charge to add to your base salad.
So one possibility is make the vegetarian versions of pasta salad and pizza and let people purchase a packet of cubed pepperoni as a separate item. Similarly, beef jerky could be a stand alone item and maybe there would be intructions or a tip sheet somewhere saying "Beef jerky goes well with the carrots and broccoli ramen or any of the potato dishes." (Or a prompt asking you "Would you like pepperoni with that?" when you order specific things.)
You are absolutely welcome to take this half-baked business idea and turn it into a fully fledged business, especially if it is in service of creating affordable housing in line with my vision, on the condition that you refrain from being an asshole pretending it's YOUR idea and you had the business first and start suing me or others who use these recipes.
Behave yourself and I'm fine with you making a few bucks to offer better food options to people.
(Come up with your own business name, though. Do not steal mine.)
Salads
Waldorf Salad: Spring greens, roasted walnuts, feta cheese, a light berry vinaigrette (raspberry, blueberry), something crunchy and salty (pita chips or similar), dried fruit (cranberries or apples).Spinach Salad: Spinach greens, Chinese noodles, toasted almonds, crunchy onions, crunchy spiced chickpeas.
Southwestern Style: Iceberg lettuce with carrots and red cabbage, a generous serving of corn with onions and peppers, spicy corn chips, Parmesan or Romano cheese.
Potato Dishes
"Raw" Potato Salad: Cubed potatoes only very lightly cooked with a mix of veggies like snow peas and kohlrabi slices, salt and pepper packet.Traditional Potato Salad: Fully cooked new potatoes, egg slices, a small amount of diced dill pickles, a packet of mayo and a packet of mustard.
New potatoes, a generous helping of corn with onions and peppers, a packet of clarified butter, salt and pepper.
Noodles
Pasta noodles, Parmesan or Romano cheese, a packet of olive oil, salt and pepper, pepperoni cubes.Vegetarian option: The same, but no pepperoni.
Ramen noodles in a cup, plastic spork, packet of extras with two options:
1. Snow peas, onions, carrots, and celery. Salt and pepper.
2. Shredded carrots, broccoli, beef jerky. Salt and pepper.
Flat Breads
Vegetarian sandwich: Pita pocket bread cut in half, mjedra to fill it.Tentatively: Chickpea salad for the filling as an alternative. Though I have no recipe for such, I had this on a flight once and it was wonderful.
Pizzas:
1. Flat bread, tomato sauce packet, Parmesan or Romano cheese, cubed pepperoni, onions, green peppers and pineapple cubes.
2. Vegetarian option: The same, but no pepperoni for slightly less money.
Footnote
I found myself in a situation where I was unable to cook and was buying a lot of salads to eat by themselves or as a side to rotisserie chicken. I'm extremely picky about food quality, so I began making notes about what I liked, what I didn't, what I wanted to improve on.I really do not like the quality of the cubed chicken and soft cheeses found in so many prepackaged salads, so I initially thought these would all be vegetarian but I eventually realized I am willing to eat both beef jerky and pepperoni sometimes. I have found that I also am fine with bacon bits in salad but I haven't yet come up with a recipe that includes that.
I also would like to figure out rice-based dishes but I've basically got nothing so far (though mjedra does contain rice). Tentatively, I might also someday add chicken and/or fish options IF I ever find something I like in those categories that would keep well in a vending machine.
The idea was this would be a vending machine in a spot highly visible from the street in the parking garage of a Project: SRO building so the PUBLIC can access it, yet it's also convenient for the residents. Alternately, a vending machine at a public park or otherwise someplace with picnic tables or maybe even at a transit center.
I really, really like cold prep ramen (adding tap water, not boiling hot water) BUT to include that you ALSO need a spigot of (preferably hot) water near the vending machine, so that may not be appropriate for all situations.
This is ALL hypothetical. I have never run a vending machine business and vending machine lunches that I have seen online let you order extras for an additional charge to add to your base salad.
So one possibility is make the vegetarian versions of pasta salad and pizza and let people purchase a packet of cubed pepperoni as a separate item. Similarly, beef jerky could be a stand alone item and maybe there would be intructions or a tip sheet somewhere saying "Beef jerky goes well with the carrots and broccoli ramen or any of the potato dishes." (Or a prompt asking you "Would you like pepperoni with that?" when you order specific things.)
Legal Notice
This was written up and published for the express purpose of adding a link on Project: SRO to make it clear what I am talking about when I say "vending machine lunch options on the premises."You are absolutely welcome to take this half-baked business idea and turn it into a fully fledged business, especially if it is in service of creating affordable housing in line with my vision, on the condition that you refrain from being an asshole pretending it's YOUR idea and you had the business first and start suing me or others who use these recipes.
Behave yourself and I'm fine with you making a few bucks to offer better food options to people.
(Come up with your own business name, though. Do not steal mine.)