The lunch tips from our Baggin’ It Challenge are in, and our winners have been declared!* In this post, we’re compiling some of the ideas we received so that our readers never again have to worry about the grim prospects lurking within that brown bag.

Some Assembly Required: Picnics are inherently fun, so take one to work with you. Tearing off hunks of baguette and putting together the perfect combo of pesto, cheese and tomato is the kind of thing that never fails to cheer me. And as an added bonus, packing your lunch piecemeal keeps the bread or crackers from getting soggy over the course of the morning. (One caveat: If you’re packing a lunch for people other than yourself, you might want to clue them in beforehand—my father once choked down a plain dry bagel before finding the container of peanut butter my mother had packed in the bottom of the bag.)

Changing Form: Just because you have leftovers, doesn’t mean you need to eat them in exactly the same way the next day. My office has a microwave, but I rarely use it. You’d be surprised how good (and different) take-out like Chinese or Indian food tastes cold. Put some cold General Tso’s Tofu atop a bed of lettuce and veggies, and you’ve got yourself an excellent salad for tomorrow’s lunch.

Invest in Infrastructure: Okay, so this one is definitely for the more devoted packers, but some cool containers can definitely take your lunches to the next level. When my mom packed a cupcake, in perfect, uncrushed condition inside a cupcake-shaped plastic container, my dad definitely became the envy of his office.

What Counts: Thoughtful details in the packing process, like a friendly note or special dessert treat, rarely go unnoticed. When we were kids, Llalan’s dad used to write messages on her banana with a toothpick or other semi-pointy object. The marks would turn browner and more legible as the morning progressed until, by lunchtime, she had a mysteriously-appearing tiding of good cheer. So go ahead and pack a little kindness with that sandwich—the eater might still remember it decades later.

*The winners were Nancy Dunlap of Westerville, Ohio and Llalan Fowler of Mansfield, Ohio. For sharing their expertise, they receive reusable Baggu bags, perfectly sized for lunches. Not that I mind sending prizes to these worthy food stars, but…my mother and my best friend/beer columnist?! Come on people! Step it up! These fashionable lunch sacks could have been yours!