Packed Lunch for work

krlyr

How about making and freezing several kinds of soups at the weekend? Then you just need to grab a portion in the morning - presumably you have somewhere you can warm it up at lunchtime. If you have freezer space, you could keep 2 or 3 varieties at work, ready for those days that your intended lunch just really doesn't take your fancy.

I'm just about to start a new job that looks like it doesn't have much in the way of food places near it (not that current job has much, but there's a corner shop a mile away and a Tesco a few miles on from that - drivable distance, as least) so this is my plan. Soups, small portions of things like chili, bolognese or cottage pie, quiches, omelettes, etc. as well as my failsafe of a pack of crackers in my drawer (I get called boring, but I quite like a lunch of crackers with some mature cheddar!)

My latest "addiction" on the net is Pinterest - I'm finding lots of inspirational recipes in the Food & Drink section and have just started pinning some lunchtime ideas

[Deleted User]

I make soup and then ring the changes so we don't get fed up with it for the whole week. This week I made Cauliflower Cheese Soup, the first day we had it just as it was with some grated cheese in it. The next day I added some cooked peas to the basic soup and made cheese on toast which I chopped into croutons to go on top. Yesterday I had a couple of cheesy Mug Shots to use up so I reconstituted those and added them to the soup. Today I finished the last of the basic soup off by adding in some chopped frankfurter sausages as I heated it up. It has been nice in all its variations as He Who Knows has enjoyed them all too.

When I was making packed lunches for the girls at school they often asked for Pasta Salad as it kept them going through the afternoon and you can make that different every day if you keep the basic salad in the fridge, hope those are some use to you, Cheers Lyn.

maman

I think buying snacks and coffees out is a huge drain on finances. It's different if you're meeting friends for a social thing but just everyday living it's hugely expensive.

Soup has to be the best bet for cold weather. It's incredibly easy to make but even if you bought your own in tins/packets it would save you a huge amount of money over calling into shops.

Other ideas: my favourite is pasta salad. Lots of variations in what you put in with the pasta but my favourite is to roast a tray of 'Mediterranean' vegetables and stir that in to the cooked pasta. To make it extra filling stir in a can of red beans. That'll last a few days in the fridge.

Butterfly_Brain

I would go with soup in the winter but with added beans and pasta to make it more filling such as minestrone. With rolls, croutons, breadsticks etc for dunking.

River cottage did a HM Noodle pot, which again would be good in the winter

http://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/chorizo-tomato-instant-noodles-in-a-pot/

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/curried-instant-noodles-recipe

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/devilled-crab-instant-noodles-recipe

Salads and quiche, sliced meat, canned fish such as pilchards, sardines, mackerel, tuna .

Buy some smoked salmon pieces for 98p and spread each side of a bagel with cream cheese followed by lettuce, sliced tomato, salmon and a spritz of lemon juice.

oldtractor

Cauli soup
1 auliflower chopped
1 onion chopped
1 potato chopped. handful of pumpkin seeds.
half tsp cumin
half tsp termaric
half tsp garlic powder
1 veggie stock cube
place all in a pan cover with water bring to oil simmer for 30 mins. season to taste

tori.k

vegetable gratin
For ease i pre cook the veg in a steamer then add a cheese sauce made from soft cheese spread & milk heated with some cheese over the top ( I like cheese ) bung in the oven (if cooled) or under the grill to brown the cheese

collyflower 50p (asda)
Broccoli 50p (asda)
salad pot's £1 (asda)
mushrooms 59p (aldi)
peas 10p (100g)
cheese spread 61p (asda)
milk 25p
cheese 50p

this has given me the base of 10 decent sized meals

2 servings of veg gratin,

four eggs (36p) H/M coleslaw (75p) 4 servings frittata & salad

stock cube (1p) h/m bread (30p) 4 servings of cheesy veg soup

total cost of meals £5.47 (54p a serving)

Meadows

Batch cook and freeze soups so you always have something in, defrost the night before and take to work (great way to use up vegetables and/or bits of left over meat).

BULGUR WHEAT

110gms (cooked) Bulgur Wheat
1/2 yellow pepper chopped (or your choice of colour)
2-3 Spring Onions chopped

Small tin of chickpeas drained & rinsed (I would actually use a large tin)
Peppered Mackerel,Tuna etc (Your Choice)

Mix ingredients together, toss in the fish
Allow the dish to chill for several hours.

(The bulgur wheat should be dry not wet, like couscous, if not dry, put the bulgur wheat in a metal sieve, put a little water in the bottom of the pan, place sieve over the top & heat the water, the steam will dry & separate the wheat).

This is a basic recipe, try adding flavoured oils, vinegars, mixed beans, left over cooked meat, cheese, fruit, nuts etc, whole baby tomatoes, almost anything goes (omit what you don’t like – add what you do – chop and change depending on what you have in and what you feel like eating).

This makes a good meal for home or to take to work and will keep at least three days in the fridge.

TimBear

I often cook more of an evening meal than I need to and freeze portions. Some of the things I make are -

* Pasta bake
* Chilli
* Shepherd's pie
* Stew/casserole
* Chowder
* Chicken provencale
* Lasagne
* Creamy garlic chicken potato bake

Probably not very original but I like it!

TimBear

Other things you could take to work along with soup would be crudites and dip (I like houmous, especially the flavoured ones. Moroccan style is gorgeous!).

Or you could make a salad with lots of 'bits'. I prefer just a few leaves and pad it out with things like boiled eggs, avocado, feta, chicken, olives etc.

juniper_berry

Thanks for the suggestions everyone I'm definitely liking the idea of making things like quiche and chilli etc to take in. It's great to see what ideas other people have come up with such changing the toppings on the soup (definitely going to try!) and making pasta/rice salads.

I regularly make soups at home such as cauliflower cheese, leek and potato and pea and ham but travelling into London each day (hr journey) and being on the tube makes me a little wary as I've had it spill out in my bag before! Not a pretty sight!!

I definitely agree on how much buying food out drains finances! I'm actually quite a conscious person when it comes to spending but lunches are my Achilles heel of wasting money! But I aim to deal with it and only have lunch out on a rare occasion.

One thing I do find is getting the time to prep the food for the next day(or week if its bulk) as when I come home it's quite late which means I have just enough time to make dinner, shower and go to bed.