PB&J

A classic lunchtime entrée that takes you back to your own childhood, before you entered the sandwich generation and had to start parenting not only your children but your parents as well.

Pairs well with: apple juice; bone broth

Occasions perfect for: Decluttering an impenetrable Boomer basement while receiving a text from your tween that they’ve lost another water bottle.

Grilled Cheese

Oooey, gooey melted goodness that might temporarily quell your inner monologue whispering, “You’re doing too much and still somehow letting everyone down.”

Pairs well with: Capri Sun; tomato juice

Occasions perfect for: Realizing your parent scheduled cataract surgery for the same day as your kid’s wisdom teeth extraction.

Croque Madame

You can feel cultured and emotionally exhausted at the same time as you fry eggs you have no time to fry.

Pairs well with: Cool Blue Gatorade; butter pecan Ensure

Occasions perfect for: Endless hours of researching Medicare with the thoroughness required of a PhD candidate, as well as how to do 6th grade math again.

Turkey Club

A crowd pleaser, even if the only clubs you hit these days are the indoor playground and bridge night at assisted living.

Pairs well with: Danimals Smoothie; prune juice (vodka optional)

Occasions perfect for: Getting a call from the school office to pick up your sick child while you’re in the process of picking a parent up off the toilet.

Tuna Melt

Omega-3 fatty acids benefit heart health, skin elasticity, and the brain function necessary to punctually file your parent’s taxes and your own on time.

Pairs well with: Starbucks Pink Drink; beetroot juice

Occasions perfect for: Simultaneously filling out a HIPPA release form, power of attorney, and a third copy of the field trip permission slip your kid keeps forgetting to turn in.

BLT

Make sure to include a layer of mayo spread as thin as your time on a workday with three after-school activities and two doctor’s appointments. (You can’t remember whose.)

Pairs well with: Candy-flavored sparkling water; glass of tepid tap water with a fistful of beta blockers and blood thinners.

Occasions perfect for: Cramming a stand-up lunch into your mouth in between shouting the phrases, “No, you can’t wear a hoodie to a bar mitzvah” and “Yes, I’ll be right over to help you unlock your iPhone.”

Banh Mi

Pickled veggies on a crispy baguette are sure to give you the perk you need to carry on until your psychiatrist’s latest adjustment of your SSRIs hits the pharmacy.

Pairs well with: Bubble tea (for TikTok); ginger-turmeric tea (for inflammation)

Occasions perfect for: Explaining to both parties that a temporary Wi-Fi outage doesn’t constitute an emergency.

Meatball Sub

Wolf down this bad boy in the limited lunchtime you have, but do remember to chew—whole meatballs are not pharynx-friendly, especially when you’ve fixed the settings on someone else’s TV four times in one week.

Pairs well with: chocolate milk that’s more chocolate than milk; decaf coffee from a batch brewed four days ago because it “doesn’t go bad.”

Occasions perfect for: Telling your mom or dad they need to do their physical therapy even if they don’t feel like it right before putting your full weight on an unseen Lego creation and being informed by your child that “you ruined it!”

Hot Dog

Comes with the added bonus of hearing your kid rage-bait their grandparent by insisting this is a sandwich.

Pairs well with: flat Dr. Pepper left in your child’s room; daily 5 P.M. martini your parent promised their GP they quit drinking.

Occasions perfect for: Listening to a lecture about how your mother or father is a grown-ass adult and will take a Lyft somewhere without telling anyone if the mood so strikes them while you mentally debate whether you’ve deleted too many school volunteer emails this year to get out of cleaning up the art show like you scheduled yourself to do in a moment of SignUpGenius weakness.