Great 'Best credit crunch work lunch' Hunt: What to make or buy on the cheap.

heatherbelle_3

My other half has started to take in lunches from home and it is saving a fortune (I work from home so I always have had thrifty leftover lunches)
He loves good quality food so it has been hard for him to give up his luxury shop bought sarnies and cold bottle of diet coke etc. So I let him set the level of the cut backs so I know he will stick with it so the stages so far have been...
1 - Home made baguette sandwich with good cheese and good meat -saves about £1 a day
2 - Soup and buttered roll - saves £1.50 a day
3 - Leftovers from dinner - near on saving of £2 a day

The good thing is he is sticking with it - if I had just gone on in with the cut down to leftovers it wouldn't have lasted a week! So if he sticks roughly between the 3 stages (I think he will need to keep variety or he'll get bored) then we should save about £400 a year - that's a flight for our holiday!

Red_Fraggle_3

I usually make my own soup with whatever I can find thats cheap - or sometimes will "push the boat out" if I see a receipe and decide on a treat.

I try to have egg or beans on toast one day a week for a change; and if anything left over for tea I try to bung something together

Mine will never be too exciting but i try

tootiefrooties

We're on a tight budget so I use a list to make sure DH gets a tasty but balanced lunch every day without spending too much. I've pasted it below in case it helps anyone. All food is priced from Tesco, unless I've put otherwise.

He starts at 7am so I put plenty of snack bits in to keep him going til lunchtime.


One from each section.


MAIN LUNCH:
20p noodles (t value) with homemade sweet & sour sauce
35p home made soup (carrot, parsnip or onion) and 1 brown roll
50p 100g houmous and 2 pittas
45p rolled up mini pizza (45p)
free left over dinners (free)
45p packet microwave rice (45p)
33p baked potato (potato 18p, cream cheese 1/3 tub 15p)
33p bagel with mustard, slice of cheese, 3 slices chorizo (only buy bagels on BOGOF, then freeze)
= average 33p


FRUIT:
22p apple
17p banana
10p clementine
= average 17p


HEALTHY EXTRA:
7p yoghurt
18p cherry tomatoes
20p celery
14p radishes
16p spring onions
= average 15p


CHOCOLATE:
8p chocolate biscuit bar (own brand penguin)
12p Rocky
13p Own brand mars/snickers/bounty/kitkat
3p fabulous bakin boys choc cake (approvedfood.co.uk)
= average 9p


CRISPS:
7p pringles (approvedfood.co.uk)
11p own brand frazzles
9p own brand wotsits
11p own brand mini cheddars
= average 10p


SNACKS:
10p popcorn (home popped from wholefood section, not in a box)
16p chilli peanuts (approvedfood.co.uk)
= average 13p


DRINK:
8p diet coke (approvedfood.co.uk)
2.5p flavoured water (approvedfood.co.uk)
= average 6p



Average cost: £1.03 per day.

tripled

You can get a sausage baguette from around 70p from the co-op.

samejeans

Humous and pitta and/or carrot sticks and a piece of fruit does it for me. (Although, I have a battle over price vs carbon footprint for my fruit...)

mcallister1

piefacerecords wrote: »

We're on a tight budget so I use a list to make sure DH gets a tasty but balanced lunch every day without spending too much. I've pasted it below in case it helps anyone. All food is priced from Tesco, unless I've put otherwise.

Average cost: £1.03 per day.

Wow that is impressive budgeting! And what great lunches for the price. I make lunches for three teenagers which have got progressively less 'healthy' as they have got older.My big sin is making three lunches for them but then buying my own on the two days I work:o . But no longer! I am inspired.

Pennylane

I'm losing weight (with Slimming World) and I often make a healthy and very filling BIG quiche, which as someone else said, slices up for several days.

There is NO pastry so it is a healthy alternative and also keeps the cost down. I served it up to my lot and it was ages before they noticed there was no pastry!:rotfl: It's nice and firm and just leave to cool & slice as you need it.

Just get a big flan dish to hand. Beat up 4 eggs, add 2 small cartons of cottage cheese, a bit of ready made mustard and some S & P. You can either then add say, Tuna and Broccoli (cook this for few mins first), ham, bacon, mushrooms, chopped corned beef, tomatoes, onions, peppers. Whatever you fancy really. Cook for about 30 mins at approx 180C.

Lidl had mangoes for 20p each today, which make a lovely dessert.

andy79

I'm dieting down at the moment so am having a banana for breakfast, T own brand porridge oats with skimmed milk for lunch and a banana mid afternoon. Then I go to the gym after work and have a normal dinner at home. I do love eating out when I can though...

duggie1982

JoeyW wrote: »

Sainsburys deli and bread counter is good for a cheap lunch. They do batons for approx. 40p then you can buy a different meat on the deli each time. Just buy what you need to fill the baton and it shouldn't cost more than £1.50 for the lot e.g. 3 slices of salami.

I do the same in Tesco's and can get 2 slices of turkey and ham etc and will cost between £1.00 - £1.50 with a baggette included.

I get them most days and are great as you can chop and change the meat you buy eg just 50g of turkey breast etc

Lightbulbchick

homemade butter bean dip - great with oat crackers or RFQS wholemeal bread

Butter bean dip - enough for 10 lunches - 14.8p per meal

---

500g butter beans (£0.68 Tescos)
2 crushed cloves garlic (£0.08 Tescos)
250ml yoghurt (£0.39 Tescos)
60 value pitted green olives chopped (£0.32 Tescos)
sprinkle of value herbs + large sprinkle of value pepper (£0.01 Tescos)

---

Total --- £1.48 -> 14.8p per meal

1. Soak butter beans overnight
2. Rinse in fresh water. Boil for 10 mins then simmer for 40 mins.
3. Drain. The beans will be very soft. You can mash with a potato masher or blend.
4. When cool add other ingredients and blend.
5. Divide into individual portions and put into pots/freezer bags and put in the fridge/freezer.

Keeps up to a week in the fridge and flavour gets better over time.