Crossword Genius

Pre-prepared meal was bland according to Spooner (6,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

packed lunch

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bland according to spooner' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'pre-prepared meal' is the wordplay.
'pre-prepared' becomes 'packed' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'meal' becomes 'lunch' (lunch is a kind of meal).
'packed'+'lunch'='PACKED LUNCH'

'was' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for packed lunch that I've seen before include "Food carried on a day trip" , "Ready-prepared midday meal in container" , "Cold meal (eg, taken to school)" , "Meal to be carried" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app