Packed Lunches for Hungry Men!

purplepatch

I know there is a thread called packed lunch ideas but it's for kids so not really suitable.

Talking to DH last night - he reckons he spends about £4 a day on lunches working in the City (London).

:eek:

I said I would start making him a packed lunch but he rolled his eyes and said he didn't want any soggy squashed sandwiches!

I mentioned that perhaps he could have (hopefully nice and not squashed) sandwiches one day and pasta salad another and he started to get a bit interested. Said I would do some investigation and try to get some ideas.

So, just wondering what others do for their loved ones lunches? All ideas gratefully received.

gooismeid

How about a spanish tortilla? Call it an all-day breakfast if you like - it's basically a big omelette with potatoes, onions and whatever else you fancy cooked inside it (my lot like ham and peas in it too). I'm sure you'll find a recipe for it on the OS board somewhere. If you make a big panful of it you can turn it out and slice it into wedges. It's good eaten cold esp. with tomato ketchup. If your OH has access to a microwave then I'd suggest chunky soups (again, see OS board for recipes!) - or they may stay hot enough in a wide-necked thermos.

elona

How about tortilla wraps

home made soup in a flask and crusty roll

Sausage rolls (home made) and salad

Pasta salad

Filled crusty baguette with salad, brie and grapes

Home made mini quiches

Have a look at some of the posh sandwiches and wraps in the shops and get some ideas for what he likes.

windym_2

My OH takes packed lunches and I tend to favour crusty french baguettes. Fill them with meat or cheese and salad, or egg mayonnaise and he loves them. A baguette is less than 50p from Tesco and does 4 large baguette sandwiches (2 per day). He takes fruit, yogurt and a cake/biscuit too. Alternatively do rolls or wraps, they are much more appealing than plain old sandwiches.

To break the boredom he has pasta with pesto or bacon and tuna. Cous cous and tuna/ham. Rice salads or normal salads.

amazon_spice

Scotch eggs. Cheap and cheerful.

calleyw

purplepatch wrote:

I know there is a thread called packed lunch ideas but it's for kids so not really suitable.

Talking to DH last night - he reckons he spends about £4 a day on lunches working in the City (London).

:eek:

I said I would start making him a packed lunch but he rolled his eyes and said he didn't want any soggy squashed sandwiches!

I mentioned that perhaps he could have (hopefully nice and not squashed) sandwiches one day and pasta salad another and he started to get a bit interested. Said I would do some investigation and try to get some ideas.

So, just wondering what others do for their loved ones lunches? All ideas gratefully received.

Hello,

This might be better in the money saving Old Style as they have loads of ideas and tips.

What does you DH have access to at work. As that is a key question as with out that makes it very difficult to know what to suggest. Also any likes and dislikes he has.

But to get give you some ideas. My husband use to take leftovers to work to nuke in the microwave. Things like left over veg and couscous. HM soup just stock and lots of veggies blended and take bread or rolls to eat it with. HM cake. And even a flask of tea but there is reason for that. Due to health concerns he must not drink to much coffee and it saved money how much he drinks during a day.

As you say pasta salads. Cook extra pasta on the day before allow to cool. And add what you want. Sweet corn, grated carrots, cooked veg and use salad cream or mayo to mix it all together. Also my husband use to take left over rice and re-heat that with some veggies or such like. But one word of warning that rice if not heated properly is very very dangerous and can cause food poisoning. More info here

What about using pitta and wraps rather than sandwiches. Sandwiches don't have to be soggy. As the items to make it can be taken in little tubs and made fresh when he want to eat it.

Husband always had at least one piece of fruit and fromage frais as well.

Hope that helps.


Yours


Calley

rrwfotr

I make sandwiches for my wife and myself, I found that if you use descent whole grain bread the sandwich is usually is much better and tastes better. I usually make the sandwiches the night before and I discovered that the way not to make them not stoggy is to make sure the filling does not touch the actual bread. I.e if your using ham or chicken slices make sure the filling is in the middle of the sandwich so that the juices don't leak through and thus make them stoggy. Also I usually wrap them in cling film so that the sandwiches are nice and tight so if they do get knocked about in his bag they don’t get too damaged....

fruityslh

I do packed lunches for my OH, he loves it when I do my lazy sandwich, basically bread, cheese and ham that I pop in a toastie bag (I got mine from lakeland) and he can put in the toaster at work. Smells lovely and his work colleagues drool.

Rest of the time he gets either sandwich with meat and salad filling on wholegrain bread with a mustard or mango mayonnaise, leftovers from the night before (i.e. lasagne) or I'll send him with a flask of homemade soup.

He also gets 3 portions of fruit (i'm soft I'll cut down his apples like you do for kids), wafer chocolate biscuit or HM Muffins, then a mini pork pie or scotch egg, for him to nibble on during the day

purplepatch

windym wrote:

My OH takes packed lunches and I tend to favour crusty french baguettes. Fill them with meat or cheese and salad, or egg mayonnaise and he loves them. A baguette is less than 50p from Tesco and does 4 large baguette sandwiches (2 per day). He takes fruit, yogurt and a cake/biscuit too. Alternatively do rolls or wraps, they are much more appealing than plain old sandwiches.

To break the boredom he has pasta with pesto or bacon and tuna. Cous cous and tuna/ham. Rice salads or normal salads.

Thanks, he would definitely be interested in a baguette, but how do you go about keeping them fresh - can't be going shopping every day.

purplepatch

calleyw wrote:

Hello,

This might be better in the money saving Old Style as they have loads of ideas and tips.

Wasn't sure where to put it, tbh, mods feel free to move wherever you think best.

callyew wrote:

What does you DH have access to at work. As that is a key question as with out that makes it very difficult to know what to suggest. Also any likes and dislikes he has.

He has access to a microwave but not a toaster. I'm also fairly sure there is some rule about not eating anything smelly at desks - ie smells that others can find offensive - I guess onions/egg/fish etc - think that applies more to hot food than cold.

He doesn't like quiche, nor keen on tuna and he can't have spices or tomatoes as that affects his skin, but other than that pretty much anything goes.

Lucie_2

purplepatch wrote:

Thanks, he would definitely be interested in a baguette, but how do you go about keeping them fresh - can't be going shopping every day.

You can buy part baked bread & rolls, just bung it in the oven the night before while you are cooking dinner.

My OH likes to take cold chicken legs & salad, again they just go in the oven the night before while we're doing dinner. You can also boil a few extra potatoes & make a potato salad to have with them.

There should be a rest area or somewhere separate to eat lunch, he shouldn't have to have it at his desk.