Not sure where to look,need ideas on taking lunches to work

Frankie100

Kei wrote: »

No I dont leave my purse at home, I would worry about not having it in an emergency (a real emergency that is, not like a chocolate craving kind of emergency!!!) like needing petrol on the way home or something. But when you get in the habit of not spending money its easy to have your purse on you and not spend, and i think that that is a major hurdle. Its all very good going out without a wallet and not spending, but you have to learn to be disciplined with money.

LOVE the pasta pesto idea, am having pasta for tea tonight so gonna save some and try that!!! thanks!!!

That major hurdle scares me:eek: but your right,there could be a real emergency.
The other thing Im going to do is walk to work from next week onwards,well providing theres no blizzards or torrential rain that is!
I actually work just a mile from work and ive always taken the car(hangs head in shame):(,my fella always walks to work but I never do.
He was forever telling me how much petrol I waste going on these short journeys each day which he is probably right about but when you,ve done a 12 hour shift the last thing I want to do is walk home but that alone will save me money so its something I will be doing.

I pray I wont turn into one of those penny pinching miserable so and so,s that spend nothing throughout life but leaves thousands upon thousands to cats homes when they eventually leave Gods good earth,nah that will never happen!:D

SOT I have one of those cooler bags and my job for tomorrow is to hunt the damm thing out,I know its here somewhere.And Ive also got the freezer blocks too so thats a great start to my venture and I can use it over and over again!

Ive really got to do this no matter how awkward it may seem right now,preperation is the key word I think.

Kei

Frankie100 wrote: »

I pray I wont turn into one of those penny pinching miserable so and so,s that spend nothing throughout life but leaves thousands upon thousands to cats homes when they eventually leave Gods good earth,nah that will never happen!:D

Hahah I got a couple of cats, maybe that will happen to me!!! Feels like it some days when I am desperately close to payday! (like i'll end up with no life and just cats for company!)

InDeepDebt

Frankie100 wrote: »

...

The other thing Im going to do is walk to work from next week onwards,well providing theres no blizzards or torrential rain that is!
I actually work just a mile from work and ive always taken the car(hangs head in shame):(,my fella always walks to work but I never do.
He was forever telling me how much petrol I waste going on these short journeys each day which he is probably right about but when you,ve done a 12 hour shift the last thing I want to do is walk home but that alone will save me money so its something I will be doing.

...

Walking is good but I know what you mean about after a long shift.

When I'm on nights, I always take the car in - after a ten hour shift the last thing I want at 7 in the morning is a 40 minute (two and a half mile) uphill walk. Same when on evenings - finishing at 9:30 I don't feel safe as part of the walk is either through the main drinking street or through the red light district. If I have no choice I walk up the drinking street - fortunately I've not been tempted to have a pint and have managed to avoid any of the fights that occasionally occur.

Back to you lunches, it's a shame that your microwave is a bit dubious. When I can't be bothered making sarnies - an Iceland curry at £1 does the job. I've got a Chicken Byriani for tonight (which reminds me...). I've also used ALDI's flavoured Cous Cous (39p a bag) with half an onion and half a pepper in it as well as half a dozen chopped up mini sausages - again from Iceland at £1 for 45. I know that I'm being ripped off with the cous cous but it's a start.

HTH

Jim

foxgloves

I always keep a supply of wholemeal pittas in the freezer, also the tortilla wraps as both defrost very quickly to make a lunch for work. I expect lots of shops sell cheap pittas. We like the Waitrose Essentials ones. Last time we stocked up they were 35p a pack and so we got lots of lunches out of those. The tortilla wraps are often on BOGOFF so can't remember the last time we paid full price for those, & Lidl do them pretty cheap too. They both make a nice lunch when you don't fancy a sandwich. We also save certain things from the previous night's meal like posts have already said.....just cook a bit extra pasta, rice, couscous, etc, for a salad box, extra anything if you can acess a microwave at work, or every so often, make a big batch of soup, freeze in portions & take that on colder days, it's so cheap to make. It's scary how much we used to spend on popping out & buying lunches. I've already psoted that it used to be around £2000 a year for both of us combined. Since our joint LBMs struck, there's no way we could bring ourselves to go back to that!

MrsTinks

If you don't have a microwave at work go to Wilkinsons... they do a little "box" which you can microwave at home in the morning which is basically a thermos for food Ideal for a jacket spud or I've used mine for sending with the hubby fishing with mash and stew in it The lads laughed at him trotting up with his BRIGHT pink thermal box but weren't laughing when all they had on the boat was soggy sarnies and he was tucking into homemade stew and mash! Last time he went they all asked if I'd do a bigger batch but I had no idea how to get it to them all still warm as it's a good few hours away and then more hours on the boat and the tub only holds enough for one! lol

Tink_04

Hi just thought id add on here i was in mr T's this morning and they had the little pink lunch cool bags for reduced to 90p great for keeping stuff cool when going to work and dont look cheap and tatty either

Just thought id share

DevonGirl

I'm loving this thread - thanks for all the great ideas everyone!

Just to add my bit regarding the walking to and from work discussion. I too live about 1.5 miles from work and have recently started walking there and back. Yes, it can be a drag, but it only takes about 25 mins (lots of hills!) and I put my iPod on so it goes really fast. As well as the financial and fitness benefits, it also has the added bonus of making me feel wide awake when I arrive at work, (particularly on a crisp morning) and giving me chill out time on the way back so by the time I get home my head is well and truly out of 'work mode'.

Having said all that, ask me again how I'm getting on when the bad weather kicks in!! :rotfl:

Reggie256

I find the 'salad bar' DIY salads found in most supermarkets useful personally.

tiff

If you arent in the mood for making anything for lunch, keep some packets of flavoured couscous in the cupboard or better still in your car/bag/desk. I sometimes take one of these to work with me, just pour on boiling water and wait a couple of minutes. Ainsley Harriot ones were on offer in Tesco 2 for £1. I take one of those, some fruit and a yoghurt.

nancmat

Luckily my husband eats well and makes me the same as him.. each day i have a chicken wrap with spinach, cheese and bit of mustard/mayo with some fruit. Creme Fraiche with pasta and red pesto is cheap and brill as well with a bit of cheese melted on top