Cheap ways to satisfy those food and drink cravings at work

Food and drinks out of vending machines are sold at ridiculous mark-ups, but sometimes that extra bit of concentration that a snack or a soda is what's needed to get through the mid-afternoon slump — that time when the brain is screaming “nap” and the stomach is yelling “feed me.”  Unfortunately, the cooking facilities at work are rarely extensive enough to make anything really good (and besides, people are there to work, not cook!)

Here are some of the types of things I bring, and do, to avoid trips to the fast-food restaurant or the snack room.

• Rice and beans. This dish is super-easy to prepare.  I have a rice cooker that is pretty much set and (almost) forget.  The (dried) beans I let soak for a day or so and then cook the night before.  I have a pepper grinder at work that adds flavor to this dish.  All told, each meal cost maybe a dime, and I can eat this regularly.  I pop the two containers (the rice, and the beans) in the refrigerator, and microwave it as I need.
• Corningware 20-ounce French White mug with lid. I love this thing. It's big enough to heat up a decent-sized serving of just about anything I'd want, and it has the lid to keep stuff from spattering all over the microwave.
• “Costco-size” containers of nuts, cranberries, dried soybeans, etc. I'm probably shooting myself in the foot (weight-wise) a little bit by having this much food at work, but the food itself is healthier than a candy bar, and it's cheaper per serving as well.  If I buckle down with the calorie counts, I can scoop out a few servings and bring them into work with me so I don't have quite so much food in front of me.
• A couple of bananas. Bringing in a full bunch of bananas is problematic because fruit flies come around very quickly.  But a couple is a reasonable amount to eat in a day.
• Oatmeal. I've talked about this one before. This stuff is less than a buck a pound, and “sticks to my ribs” pretty well.  Add some cinnamon (11 ounces for $4 at Costco) and brown sugar ($5 for a 7-lb bag at Costco), and it's great.
• A 12-pack of canned soda from the grocery store. Even a 12-pack at full price (I've seen them nearly $5) is still half the price of a soda out of the vending machine.  It's not that difficult to find them for half that.  I don't mind the generic brand, so it's cheaper still.
• Brewed coffee in my Stanley vacuum bottle. I recently had to change buildings, and had to leave my killer of a coffee club:  $2/month, all I could drink.  That was a sad moment.  So, when I can remember, I brew a pot of coffee at home and take most of it to work.
• A gallon or two of water from the Pur filter from home. The tap water isn't the best around here, so I bring my own, either to drink straight or to make instant coffee.

You're welcome to take or leave these; I'm sure my tastes aren't the same as others' tastes. 🙂  If you have something else that works, what do you do to combat the munchies and avoid the vending machines at the same time?