Wanting help with packed lunches.

starlite_2 · 5 October 2005 at 1:39PM

We are very tight financially at the moment, and as oh spends £2 ish per day on a sandwich at work I am looking for ways to make this cheaper.
In the past we have found that if we buy a loaf or bag of rolls they are only good on the same or next day so end up using them for croutons or breadcrumbs etc instead, or otherwise throw them away, and for some reaon it feels like we are not saving any money.
what other tasty but cheap lunches can we make?

squeaky · 5 October 2005 at 1:47PM

To start with you can freeze bread and rolls and use them up over as long a time as you like.

As for packed lunch ideas... we've got LOADS of them!

If you look in the Cooking section of the MEGA Index sticky at the top of the forum listing you'll find a whole lot of threads stuffed with ideas under the subheading "Lunch".

I'll pick one of the most appropriate ones and merge your post into it shortly. Since posts are listed in date order you'll need to start reading it from the beginning to catch up

r.mac_2 · 5 October 2005 at 1:47PM

hi there

Do you use a bread bin or bag? this helps keep bread fresher for longer.

Otherwise what about making a big bowl of pasta or rice salad and keep it in the fridge (covered of course

) so that you and your partner can take a portion in a tupperware box each day.

Good combinations are
pasta with tuna, mayo, pring onions, red pepper
cous cous cooked in stock, with diced red pepper, chopped dried apricots, onion and small bite sized bits of left over chicken.

What about saving any leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day? Or even make an extra portion specifically for lounch the next day??

HTH I'm sure others will be along with more ideas soon

starlite_2 · 5 October 2005 at 2:00PM

should have known you'd already have a nicely organised and long established thread about this! hehe
..I did search but it kept coming up with an error message!
The pasta/rice sounds like a good idea, what are the guidelines for keeping such things refrigerated as I know rice especially can be very bad if left to go off.
I will sound silly, but I hate freezing bread, it always comes out afterwards tasting a bit funny and soggy...
Unfortunately OH for some reason hates pitta bread, which is a shame as they keep for much longer (it's what I usually have for my lunch every day)

starlite_2 · 5 October 2005 at 2:02PM

Ooh..and what about using wraps..do they tend to go off soon after opening or could we use the same pack for the whole week?

Pink. · 5 October 2005 at 2:14PM

Wraps do last quite well, but can be frozen too. If you are freezing them, remember to separate them before you put them into the freezer.

Pink

squeaky · 5 October 2005 at 2:22PM

Starlite:

Actually, having looked them over none of the threads really fit your current need for mostly bread free lunch ideas so I'll leave this one as it is for now.

We've got an older thread on keeping bread somewhere about the place with quite a few different ideas in it so I'll see if I can find that for you and post a link.

starlite_2 · 5 October 2005 at 2:22PM

hehe..yes i've done that before and it was like trying to seperate a pile of wet tissues when they had defrosted..
I guess with wraps there isn't such an issue with them going soggy or tasting odd like with fresh bread.
I did considder making bread dough at the weekend and baking a little every day or so..how long can it keep in the fridge?

squeaky · 5 October 2005 at 2:26PM

You can keep bread dough in the fridge for several days, and in the freezer for longer. Obvious that freezer tip innit

The best way to do so is to freeze it after the first rise. Knock it down of course, then freeze. When defrosting it should start off again and rise to the usual double height.

starlite_2 · 5 October 2005 at 2:27PM

Thanks for your help anyway Squeaky...
another issue is they have no means of reheating, and most of our leftovers would be awful cold so just end up going to me the next day...
I also thought maybe just a box of slices of cheese, ham and chorizo etc and some veg and breadsticks..
Obviously need to get variation though, i remember the same cheese and salad sandiwch with a yoghurt and an apple evrey single day when I was at school..hehe..i used to swap with friends as I couldn't face the same thing yet again.

starlite_2 · 5 October 2005 at 2:28PM

maybe once ideas have been added and collected we could add a new strand to the recipe board ...'bread free lunches' or something..hehehe

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Wanting help with packed lunches.

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