Always Packing Really Inexpensive Lunches - Apr 2013 - Take your lunch to work thread

kittiej

Hello everyone :j

Here's the thread for April where the theme this month is "it's all about the money" by that I mean you can take your LTW and you can save some money to put to better uses than wasting it on bought lunches (and breakfasts).

So including the list as compiled by Shortie :A
here we go into April 2013.

Everyone is welcome even if you only work 1 day a week or stay at home but would like to join. So, the doors are now open......

Just to say that if you see a post on MSE and want to include it in your own post then do the following:

To copy a post, right click on the post number, click copy shortcut, go back to new post and right click to paste


Recipe ideas for sandwich fillings and lunches

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...d.php?t=159329

http://pinterest.com/lbnblbnb/food-lunch-ideas/

Now everyone say a big thank you to Shortie for compiling this list of ideas for us.

:AThanks Shortie :A

*Cold foods*
Sandwich combos:
Stuffing
Tuna mayo/salad cream
Tuna and sweetcorn
Tuna and onion
Tuna and cucumber
Beetroot
Cheese & carmelised onion chutney
Cheese and chilli jam
grated cheese, mushed up egg, diced onion and mixed in with mayo
Peanut butter & marmite
Greek salad - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...3&postcount=38
Russian salad sandwich - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...3&postcount=38
Curry!
Bacon & banana
Cheese & pickle
Corned beef & lettuce
Ham & apple sauce
Coronation chicken
Fried egg baguette
Sausage & mustard / ketchup / mayo / pickle / onion relish
Scrambled egg (cooked in the microwave)
Chhese & piccalilli
Brie & grape
Cheese & tomato
Ham and coleslaw
Onion Baji & coleslaw wrap
Chicken and cranberry sauce
Chicken & bacon
Haslet and coleslaw
Peanutbutter, cream cheese & banana
Turkey/chicken & stuffing
Crisp butti
Chicken with pesto and mayo
Brie, crushed walnuts, feta &rocket wrap
Chorizo & goats cheese
Vegetarian pate http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/02...d-lentil-pate/
sliced turkey, mayo, pineapple and a bit of tinned sweetcorn sprinkled

Adding the following to salads:
Hard boiled egg in salad
Carrot salad: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...&postcount=110
Cold duck and spinnach, raddish, pepper & carrot
Cheese, ham & whatever salad is in the fridge
Chicken and cold bacon bits
Spice sensation cous cous with raisins, pumpkin seeds. little cubes of cheese (feta or cheddar) cheery toms halved,cuc, spring onions and a couple of dried apricots chopped up
Bulk making salads: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...&postcount=358

Rice cakes & hummus
Crackers / carrot sticks / pitta bread & taramaslata (or dip of choice)
Crustless quiche (good for GF diets) - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...3&postcount=38
Spanish potato fritata
Cous cous

*Warm foods*
Soups (with some bread?):
Jamie Oliver's Parsnip and Ginger Soup
Jamie Oliver's carrot soup: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...5&postcount=50
Mushroom risotto soup: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...1&postcount=64
Liquidised curry
Pasta
Macaroni cheese
Leftovers... pasta bakes, curry, spag bol, chilli..
Falafel
Onion bhajis
Samosas
Jacket potatoes
Cous cous (take dried and rehydrate from a kettle at work, add some fillings - meat, vegs, cheese, etc - once warm and hydrated)
Mash, veg, gravy and meat in a tuppawear box
Spaghetti/beans on toast or with butter bread
Falafel & chilli dip
Paella a la Candlewick http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...1&postcount=39

*Snacks*
Cake
Fruit
Crisps (multibags can be better value)
Hot choc
Sausage rolls
Juice cartons
Cereal bars
Fruit salads (mix with a spoon or two of juice from tinned fruit to keep it from turning brown)
Biscuits
Mince Pies (especially for Betty Crumble)

*Emergency stocks for a drawer*
Cereal
Porridge oats
Tinned macaroni cheese
Mug Shot pasta packs
Cup-a-Soup

*Other suggestions*
Thermos flash of tea or coffee
freeze sandwiches for the week or buy/make pasties, sausage rolls, and take them out in the morning.
Freeze bread and make your sandwich up using frozen slices, wrap in kitchen roll to prevent sogginess. This is a good way to cut back on wasting bread.
Hard boiled eggs keep for a week in the fridge with the shells on
Wraps instead of sliced bread


*.... and sneaking in here.... Breakfasts!*
Greek yoghurt and granola on top of fruit salad
Toast wrapped in foil asap after cooking - should keep warm for a 10 min journey to the train station etc!)
Scrambled egg (cooked in the microwave) and toast

Woo-hoo - good luck everybody :T

kittiej

Hi Everyone, here's the latest LTW thread for April, so thanks go to Twiggy_34 for giving us the thread title for this month :T

So, let's do lunch

Good luck :j

datlex

I've bought some of the air tight food containers - slightly more expensive but food seems to keep better for example fruit does not turn brown :-)

I have to take work to lunch as am on slimming world and the canteen food just doesn't meet the requirements.

My lunches this working week are going to be:

Homemade mushroom soup - about £1 worth of ingredients
Mackerel Salad - £1.85
Chicken and veg Pasta dish - about £1.50 worth of ingredients
Jacket Potato with cheese and salad - £1.50
Estimated total = £5.85 on lunches.

I also take fruit in each day so that can vary depending on which fruit I take in. But usually a mix of about 4 different fruits to eat through out the day. Currently last week's fruit and veg bill for 7 days was £21.98 for 21 different types of fruit and veg so £3.14 a day (includes potatoes).

Also often a small snack bar or bag of crisps - value 20p or less.

Candlewick

Afternoon Kittie and fellow Lunch Savers :wave:

Thanks for starting us off again this month Kittie. :T

I have 20 work days for April (have one day off later this month) with no planned birthday or leaving lunches down the pub / local cafe / restaurant so my target for April will be 19 (as one day this month is my birthday and I will treat myself to a Pret lunch!)

I will shortly be making my usual pasta, and as it's a short week will make enough for the week.

Happy lunch saving for April

CW

London_Town

Just read Kittie's suggestion of toast wrapped in foil staying warm for a short journey.

One alternative idea is to wrap the toast in newspaper. I've been doing this for ages and it works very well. Obviously you need to put the buttered sides on top of each other then gently wrap the toast in a sheet of newspaper as quickly as possible.

I have a 10 minute drive to work and find this method works really well with no taint from the news print. Considering how expensive foil is, it's a great saving to wrap your toast in something you're only going to recycle.

However, don't try it with sandwiches for lunch. I did and after 4 hours in my desk, the bread definately took on a "news print taste" - eewww!

datlex

Great idea wrapping things in newspapers if you get free ones through your door. If you don't and have to buy a paper each day it is cheaper to use foil. Mind you even cheaper to use the toaster at work. If you don't have one ask if you can get one.

kittiej

Hi everyone :wave:

You all seem to be extremely organised as ever :T
London Town - is it safe to have food come into contact with newspaper print? I don't know what the rules and regs are on that but hey if it works for you then that's fab. Newspaper is a really good insulator. Thanks for the suggestion, even if you wrap in grease proof paper first and then newspaper it's a really great idea :T

datlex - sometimes buying the cheap containers are false economy if they don't do what you want them to. Good luck with the SW diet, I've know a few people who've had bid successes on that plan.

Hi Cw - go on give us a clue when your birthday is we can send you some virtual MSE cake :rotfl:I think we will let you off LTWing on your birthday * thumbs up*

debtfree_future

Hello

I would like to join this challenge please. I'm always buying sandwiches for work and need to cut back on my spending.
I've also joined Slimming World and this will help with my weight loss too.

As I've never done this before I'm not sure how many days to include on my target. I have 18 working days in April 1/2 of this is 9 to make it a nice round number I will make 10 LTW in April my target.If I get any more it will be a bonus,plus I identify my danger times.

DFF

happy_bunny_2

Count me in.

Although, I can safely say I won't be trying some of those sandwich combinations. Bananas are not supposed to go in sandwiches

curlywurly82

i'm in. I am quite fussy when it comes to packed lunch as I like to eat things fresh.

I have some pitta and humous for lunch tomorrow but will need to get stuff in for the rest of the week.

As i have previously eaten at work everyday since Christmas (then i only do toast or something in the evening) I am going to try and take my own lunch in two or three times a week this month. I am also going to cut down on buying snacks (we have a WHS within the building too) and have stocked up on crisps from Poundstretcher and fruit for this week from the market.

So an additional challenge is only allowing myself to buy snacks whilst at work once a week.

London_Town

Hi Kittie,

I can't see any concerns with the non buttered side of toast touching newsprint for around 10 minutes. Probably not a good idea for a longer period. However, didn't fish and chips used to be sold in old newspaper or is that just an urban legend?!

Yes, you could always wrap them in grease proof paper first if you were concerned, or a paper towel. It's only a lunch box or cling film that would make the toast "sweat" which is horrible.

As datlex points out, the newspaper has to be one of the free ones for the business model to work properly!

Also, I agree that using a toaster at work is the best option if that's possible as it saves you time and electricity. Depends on the culture of your office though, as we sometimes have stuff stolen from the fridge which makes me reluctant to bring in things like butter or margarine.