Packed Lunch for work

ChrisEvanson

I like doing pasta shapes with a tomato sauce and chopped cooked sausages. Can be varied with onions, mushrooms, chillies, sweetcorn, cheese, etc. Batch cook and vary with some of the above then freeze

Barneysmom

Mmm sausage with pasta, I have to try that! :T


For a cold lunch I grill sausages then let them go cold and put them in the fridge overnight. Then slice them longways and put them on a sandwich with tomato, onion and lettuce. They are lovely cold.

Sos 'n' mash is good too, do some for dinner Monday night and plate some up for work on Tuesday.

Tins of chunky soup are much nicer than pot noodles, I get the shop's own ones, but home made is better though not necessarily cheaper.

Mrs_Chip

If you have got a grill on the micro, don't forget things like beans or sardines on toast - nice and cheap and you can keep the tins stashed at work for emergencies.

Leftovers work really well reheated - they will keep for a couple of days in the fridge so no need to eat the same thing as the night before!

I had a micro bowl, tin opener, clingfilm , salt and pepper in my desk drawer and with a bit of planning you can eat like a king every day for way less than the cost of bought in lunch.

Penelope_Penguin

Crunchy_Nutter wrote: »

Trouble is I'm getting bored of the same few meal options... Has anyone got any suggestions of other food I can prepare in an evening and take to work to reheat?

I usually freeze leftover portions of our main meals then take them into work and warm then in the microwave

soups, with HM bread
chilli and rice
pasta and sauce
pasta bake
casseroles

I'll add this to the existing thread to give you lots more ideas

adelight

Have you tried searching? There are loads of threads on this topic and you could also have any of the batch cook meals. I tend to have left overs at work or make a batch of soup/stew at the beginning of the week.

Crunchy_Nutter

Thanks all for the excellent ideas - i reckon lunchtime could get a lot less boring starting tomorrow!

Thanks PP for moving my thread - I knew there would be a thread like this but couldn't find it :-)

36 pages could take a while to get through :-D

piggeh

I got to page 10, will read the rest some other time, but I'm currently someone who spends about £5 a day for lunch (plus the time going to the shops is a waste! I overrun my lunch period every time, they havent said anything yet though..)

Some great suggestions though, I think I might try making up some jellies at the start of each week, and putting fruit in it, got to be healthier than chocolate or other snacks!

Then I guess the trick is to meal plan, eg if I do a rissotto I could use that for lunch for a few days, otherwise cook up some pasta, or do some sandwiches, whatever is lying around.

Quiche seems a good idea as well, with some salad. Although the salad always turns brown before I use it all (I guess better meal planning needed!)

Crunchy_Nutter

Like the jelly idea.

Picked up some spuds, beans and cheese last night from Tesco - hopefully that will go well - got enough spuds for 4 or 5 days for the price of one microwave meal!

Sambucus_Nigra

piggeh wrote: »

Although the salad always turns brown before I use it all (I guess better meal planning needed!)

Lettuce turns brown if you cut it with a knife. It's better with lettuce to leave the head in the fridge, with some wet kitchen roll in the container, take leaves when you need them, rinse them and then tear them. Then get the other container out, with the other bits of salad in, and that to the top of your lunch box and then take it to work. You can add dressing either now and it will get tossed around on your journey to work or at lunchtime. Just make sure it's sealed properly.

Oh, and try not to overrun your lunchtime! It can lead to job loss.

My OH used to prep onions and peppers on a Sunday, make up 5 wraps on a Sunday night and take one in each day to work. Now, he buys 2 boxes of ryvita, 2 pots of hummus and 5 apples, takes the whole lot in on a Monday and it keeps him fed all week. You have to have a fridge for this though.

My lunches are harder as I work in different places so I have a few crackers, some tubes of veggie pate etc and some cup a soups stashed away and mix and match depending on where I am working.

coffeebeen

There are some great ideas here! I don't have access to a microwave at work, so everything I take has to be cold. I have had a bit of practice in the last couple of years as I don't like bread that much so sandwiches are out!

Here are a few things that I take:

Wraps: cheese salad, houmous, roast veggies, tuna salad, chicken fajita leftovers. Any meat leftover is also great in a wrap for example sausages, roast chicken etc.

Pasta salad: with pesto and feta, pesto, spinach and pine nuts, tomato sauce, leftover pasta bake

Rice salads: rice with carrots, peppers, red onion, feta cheese, pine nuts, olive oil.

Potato salad: I do one with sweet potato, olive oil, red onion and feta to mix it up a bit!

One thing I have found with salad is leaves dressed in oil don't wilt, but leaves dressed in a vinegar and oil combo wilt by lunchtime- hope that helps!