Cheap, ready to eat lunches

moneysavinglaura

Hi All,

I've been finding recently that eating bread for lunch everyday makes me a bit bloated.

Does anyone have any ideas for alternative meals?

It would need to be ready to eat ie. not need to be heated up and also very cheap!

I find making salads are quite expensive, as you need to buy all the ingredients in the first place.

What other cheap alternatives are there?

Thanks for your help

Laura

(there may already be a board set up for this but I couldn't find one!)

Skint_Lynne

What about tuna pasta salad? I usually add tuna, sweetcorn, pasta, onion and mayonnaise. Some people use salad cream as an alternative. Cold rice in various forms is a good one as well. Also, what about making a tortilla wrap as an alternative to a sandwich.

HTH. xx

moneysavinglaura

are tortilla wraps expensive though?
Is there anything I can make out of normal ingredents, as I know you normally get 8 in the pack and I wouldn't use them all in a week.. Guess I could feed to OH and freeze for the following week maybe?
They are nice though!

Skint_Catt

Do you have a kettle?

Take a food flask. At lunch fill the flask with water. Add a packet of savoury rice (value 21p), noodles (10p) or pasta n sauce type packets into hot water and leave for 10/15 mins - ready to eat

Soup in a flask - most own brands are 40/50p for a whole tin. Mug shots (pasta version of cup-a-soup though can be expensive unless on offer)

Tortillas freeze fine - just take one/two out the night before you need them then nuke in microwave when you come to fill they to make them pliable.

C xx

frugalswan

Skint_Catt - I do something similar with cous cous. I put half a packet of the just add water type cous cous in a plastic cup or somesuch, pour over enough boiling water that it won't go dry and leave it for five minutes - filling and lovely

moneysavinglaura

I don't have a kettle during the day and I don't have a flask!
I guess I could purchase a flask although then I'd have to carry it around with me as I'll always be on the move. Think you can get small ones though.
I could heat everything up first thing in the morning and then put my rice or pasta n sauce in that first thing - I'm sure it would still be ok by lunchtime wouldn't it?

Trinny

Hi there

shame you dont have a microwave handy - i usually have "leftovers" from the night before.

Sorry if these have already been said -

1. Salad - fruit or vege
2. bean salad, waldorf or potato salad with some kind of cold meat or cheese
3. Cuppa soup if you have a kettle,
4. HM pasties, quiche, sausage rolls
5. Breakfast cereal with milk - kept cold in a thermos flask
6. crackers and cheese, pickles etc

the idea with the thermos flask is a great one

Trin

miss_cupcake_2

It doesn't sound very appetising but my favourite lunches are actually leftovers from the previous evening's meal. Like today, I had some leftover lentil dahl with a few cherry toms and spinach leaves chucked in. Sometimes I make extra the night before on purpose! It works really well with most of the foods we eat...pasta, rice, cous cous, risotto etc, and I find it much more satisfying that eating a sandwich. It keeps me full throughout the afternoon which is always a bonus.

Oh and I should add that I dont have access to a microwave either so all my leftover lunches are eaten cold. I sometimes chuck in fresh veggies (cherry toms, salad leaves) if i have them and it's basically like having a different fancy salad each day.

funky_snow

i actually quite like cold leftovers (am i wierd!) like spag bol and chilli and rice from the night before. I take them to work meaning to heat them up in the microwave but they usually get eaten cold!
my salads don't 'seem' expensive because I buy salad ingredients for dinner times as well - and then might add left over cold meat or fish.
(I guess I find i have a lot of leftovers as generally cooking for one or two! - may not work if you have a large hungry family!)

funky_snow

oh my word - triple post from 3 people saying leftovers!!!
great minds think alike!

Bongedone

I have been taking tuna, chickpeas with sliced red peppers to work. It is low GI so keeps you full for longer. Have lost quite a bit of weight in last 6 weeks by trying to stick to low GI stuff.