Typical lunch box

Mrstim

So just to sound like a total spanner but the gammon joints... so I would buy one of these and cook it, slice it and freeze it? and then just take slice out the night before for a sandwhich?

Mrstim

jamsandwhich wrote: »

I bake muffins all the time and don't keep them in the fridge at all just a tupperware container but, they do start to dry out quite quickly - I use oil instead of butter and then if I know they won't be eaten the next day I freeze in portion packs. Cheese and fruit scones also freeze well as long as they are nice and moist when taken from oven and cooled.

Rice cake freezes well as does lemon drizzle cake (slice and portion bag) - would love to be able to make flapjacks but am totally rubbish as they eaither end up really sticky or dry as dust so I gave up!:rotfl:

Quiche is good - can be really cheap to make and is very filling too. My Mum used to make a hotdog sausage one and it is a favourite with my OH and girls but good old cheese and onion or bacon and tomato is good too.

I also second cooking joints and freezing for sandwhiches - we started doing this about nine months ago and save soooo much money - buy joints when on offer ie; co-op three gammon for a tenner - cook all three and freeze to save power ;-)

Buy anything on offer, turkey, beef, bacon and even store cupboard stuff - initial outlay needed but saves so much in the long run.

Do you have a Home Bargains nearby or BM? these are great places to pick up low priced store cupboard essentials - I get coconut milk from HB for 39p a can - £1.09 on Tesco last time I really needed some, I nearly passed out! I don't buy cartons of juice as I have sports bottle too to fill up but HB have really good deals on packs of cartons. I did recently stock up when Tesco did fruit shoots on BOGOF or half price - can't remember which!

Don't think I can add anything else as others have also covered but good luck and have fun but it does become a bit obsessive:D

Might try quiche for my daughter she likes it, can you freeze it?

yes we have B and M and home bargains. I must be honest that we probably dont shop around much because the weekends are the only time we get as a family and we dont want to spend it shopping. But perhaps once a month we should do the home bargains, with it being cupboard stuff.

Sublime_2

Buy value/own brand items?

Aarons_mummy

Yep that's how I've done it. I second the 3 for a tenner you can find them in at least one of the shops on offer.

Once a month is a good idea, I tend to look at whats on offer online and decide where to go that week, ie this week I'll pop to Iceland because I only need little bits and pieces and I want to get a few things in there specifically but I'll nip to Morrisons for the nappies and wipes that are on offer atm.

I tend to go to Lidl every month or two and stock up on things I buy from there as I wouldn't be able to go every week or get my full shop there. It can be fun if you involve the kids too. Plus the more you go the more you'll know whats there and be able to whizz in and out in an hour or less .

Mrstim

Am looking forward to trying all these next week! And im going to meal plan as well.

I have a huge bar of mint aero in the cupboard no one seems to want to eat so am going to try and bake some muffins with chunks of that in!

Thanks everyone

arkonite_babe

Lunches for us are normally just one round of sandwiches, a drink and sometimes fruit. Your dd eats more than I do for lunch to be honest!!!

Lately I have stopped doing a big grocery shop at the supermarket and am now just buying what I need on a daily basis. So far my cupboards are not yet bare and we are surviving quite nicely. Are a lot of the items you are buying a habit? Do you just pick them up each week because you think you need them? May be worth trying the daily shop rountine for a week to see how you get on. Keep all your receipts to help you track what you are spending. It really has helped me and the bonus is that you clear out your store cupboard too

I make a kind of mini quiche from time to time as a quick lunch box filler, baked bread cups, just make them when you have the oven on for something else or you are batch baking for the freezer.

jamsandwhich

Mrstim wrote: »

So just to sound like a total spanner but the gammon joints... so I would buy one of these and cook it, slice it and freeze it? and then just take slice out the night before for a sandwhich?

Yes - I slice it thinly as it tends to go further and seem to use less. It is nice with some thinly sliced onions and a thin spread of mayo as a change.

Mrstim wrote: »

Might try quiche for my daughter she likes it, can you freeze it?

yes we have B and M and home bargains. I must be honest that we probably dont shop around much because the weekends are the only time we get as a family and we dont want to spend it shopping. But perhaps once a month we should do the home bargains, with it being cupboard stuff.

I freeze quiche - usually when have bought them from the supermarket at the end of the day out of the bargain fridge:) The bottom can go a bit soggy sometimes so I put it on a piece of kitchen roll to defrost.

You can get lots of lunchbox stuff in HB and BM - have a trip and suss it out, it is really hard to think what I get from there but always lots of bargains!!

Buddingblonde

As I child I used to have a recipe book that was like that - you used bread rolled out thin, spread with mustard and then wrapped round a sausage to make a sausage roll. They were yummy!

arkonite_babe

Oh and bulk buy dried fruit and stuff for lunch boxes, don't get sucked into the lunch box size packaging. Took me ages to get dd out of that habit. She now makes her own version of lunchables cos she can make it exactly as she likes, just without the fancypants packaging

Great kid friendly lunch ideas here http://lunchinabox.net/
Theres also lots of stuff on Netmums and BBC food

Mrstim

Daily shopping is not possible for me as I dont drive and the only supermarket which I can get to is a small expensive tesco. I know people say that does help but its not an option for me.

Ye she does have quite alot but she is so thin she is concave so I am not willing to cut it down, I am quite strict about my kids having a couple of bits of fruit and veg everyday and its not something I would stop. I have started getting my fruit out of aldi though and its so much cheaper!!