Packed Lunch for work

miss_emmajane

You could throw a couple of jacket potatoes in the oven when cooking other things at home and then in work microwave them to heat them up and add different toppings to vary it

pinetree

Hi, pasta dishes, you could have it hot or cold, with salads etc

Crunchy_Nutter

Wow that was quick - thanks miss emmajane and pinetree :beer:
Any ideas for pasta? My experience is limited to pasta shells with bolognaise :rotfl:

doire_2

Rice with turkey or chicken or beef. Chuck in some veg. Then just reheat at work. You can prepare 2 or 3 days worth in advance

5kg bags of basmati rice wont cost the earth. Just be careful with the rice. Once cooked either let it cool to room temp or drain it in cold water then cover and place in the fridge. There is a type of bacteria unique to rice. Make sure its piping hot when you go to eat it

What about tuna and pasta? Make your own sauce with tinned tomatos and onions. Lovely

meritaten

my SonInLaw usually just takes whatever leftovers are available from the night before - or he will ask me to save him some stew or casserole in the freezer for him, he also loves bubble and squeek so Sunday lunch leftovers are saved for him!
you could try making sure that a portion of the main meal is saved for you to take to work. you would be surprised how many things still taste good when reheated the next day. its actually very moneysaving - for instance if you work 5 days a week and normally buy those £1.50 meals (which wouldnt feed a not very hungry sparrow) then you would have an additional £7.50 to add to your food budget! once you start making meals with an eye to using the leftovers - then you will see opportunities for meals - and SAVING money!
I find that doing a couple of extra veg or another portion of pasta will stretch out the normal amount of meat and fish - especially if you usually have a little left over for sandwiches! dont do sarnies - make up another plate instead!

pinetree

Im certainly not known for my cooking but you could add dressings, mayo, veggies basically anthing you like really but i would google some recipes or with my advise you will probably end up with food poisoning

Crunchy_Nutter

Thanks guys - really useful answers.

Pinetree - your advice can't be any worse than todays lunch - pot noodle and a cup-a-soup. Not very healthy, not very filling and lets face it, there's more taste and nutrition in a shoebox :-D

meritaten

okay - pasta ideas
cold - use a tablespoon or so of mayo and add to your portion of pasta
then add
some cold chicken, sweetcorn and peas
Tuna, a little chopped onion or spring onion, if you have some sweetcorn add that too.
some leftover tomato jar sauce and ANY cooked veg - add salt and a lot of pepper for a spicy tomato/pasta salad
and my favourite - poached salmon, a little salt and pepper and for sheer luxury....a few prawns then add a dash of tomato ketchup, and some worcestershire sauce!
Hot
To your cooked pasta you can add
any leftover meat and moisten with tomato jar sauce add a few herbs (dried if you dont have fresh - oregano is brill for this), then leave overnight in the fridge and heat the next day - delish.
chicken, a little leftover curry sauce some cooked peas - honestly, it tastes good!
I love it when I have roasted veg for dinner - that gets recycled the next day with a bowl of pasta - absolutely gorgeous!

anniemf2508

Make big batches of soup at home (with whatever veg you've got) then freeze in 1 portion sizes. That with some toast/bread would be really quite cheap and filling

Crunchy_Nutter

Meritaten those ideas are making my mouth water. Going to cook some pasta when I get home from work this evening and raid the cupboard - never realised there was so much you could do with the stuff.

I'm definately using emmajane's jacket spud idea - never thought of that!