Ja-NEW-ary 2013 - Take your lunch to work thread

getting-there-slowly

I do a pack up lunch most days for work - Fridays being the exception, so money saving is not so important for me. On the other hand [STRIKE]stealing[/STRIKE] sharing lunch box ideas is as I am finding inspiration lacking especially when trying to stick to a grocery bugdet (v. bad at it!)

kittiej

Hi gts, if you go to the Old-style board there are ideas for packed lunches - I don't know if you've seen?

You are certainly welcome to share sandwich and lunch other successes

Candlewick

Hello kittiej

I am a long time lurker and have registered to join this challenge if I may?

I start the week off well but by Wednesday / Thursday I go off the rails and end up buying lunch which is anything from £3 - £5 per day and I begrudge paying it.

Part of my problem is boredom. I am fed up with egg or cheese sandwiches, pasta and vegetable soup. I gave up eating meat (not fish) a few months ago and I've struggled to come up with new ideas so consequently end up not bothering and then going to buy a sandwich (the ones that I am bored of lol!) and could have made myself!!

I will be working 17 days in January (not back until 8th and 1 day off later in the month) so will try for 15 please.

Thanks for reading.

CW

skipsmum

I've got 17 working days, some of which the canteen is shut and I end up buying carp out of the vending machine

I did well taking my own food in November but last month it just tailed off, so I am aiming to take lunch and a flask of tea on all 17 days. Saving £2.50 on soup and roll, and about £3 a day on tea.
so £5.50x17 is......£93.....blimey!

kittiej

Hi candlewick, you made me laugh about not wanting to make the same-old sarnies yet go out and buy them lol. I'll put you down to save £45 as I expect some outlay for ingredients unless you have plenty in already?

Hi to you skipsmum, wow £93 is loads just imagine what other good use you could put that to! Maybe you should get a food flask as well if you like soup?

Ok so candlewick is honest about going off the rails by Wednesday so we will have to have a big injection of inspirational posting on Tuesday evening onwards to keep on track and also I am guessing mid-month when people start to fall off the wagon.

Candlewick

Thanks kittiej

I will have to buy some ingredients, the usual cheese and eggs (will have run out before I go back to work) although I have a few tins of tuna in the cupboard so will use those up.

My additional difficulty is that I am not keen on pulses, cous cous or cold rice so my choices are (or at least seem to me) to be very limited and why I get so easily bored.

CW

kittiej

Stuffing is nice not that I have an addiction or anything, honest

you could have tuna mayo /salad cream, tuna and s/corn, tuna and onion, tuna and cucmber (just trying to think of the sandwiches they do in work) and all can be eaked out with breadcrumbs but it depends on how MSE you want to be.

Quite a nice filling if anyone has tomatoes, cucumber and onions to use up is a mixture of small chopped q's, toms and onion, a couple of boiled eggs cut as though making egg mayo, and grated cheese mixed with salad cream. I can't remember the exact quantities but play with it until you get it to your own taste. This is great for sarnies and toasted sandwiches done under the grill too.

kittiej

Just been having a shufty around and found this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=464741#post464741

I am now craving a beetroot sarnie and is there any in this house of mine - no there isn't!

killerpeaty

I'd love to cut down my lunch time spend. I've only been working a month and the amount of money I spent in that time is eye watering!

I've spent about £2-3 each day and occasionally £10 on a company pub lunch (which I'm not willing to give up because it's just a really nice tradition that I don't want to spoil) which is about once a month I believe. So, could I please join but cut my spend down to £4 a week excluding the pub lunch?
Thanks Kittie : )

kittiej

Hey kp, welcome aboard and well done on the recent getting of job, how much do you want me to put you down as saving? I don't know how many days you work lol.

Work out a figure and I'll pop in the 1st post