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

chelle24

This is a great idea,
21 working days for me this month, take lunch with me 99% of the time but hopefully this challenge will stop me nipping to boots for a meal deal when I can't be bothered sorting out lunch!

Mrs_White

Hi Kittie & everyone else, please can I join this month? I've been reading the last few threads & think it's time to get involved, please!
I work 3 days a week, 2 in the office & 1 from home, so I'm going to aim for LTW-ing all 3 days. That will be 12 days for April.
I'm hoping this challenge will get me much more organised as to what I'm going to actually eat for lunch, mainly because the other 2 days a week I'm at home with my 21 month old son & lately I haven't felt very prepared for feeding him lunch, & find myself staring at the fridge blankly hoping that inspiration for a yummy healthy meal for him will strike me LOL!
Also, I'm a Brit living in Melbourne so my lunch options are a bit more limited than when I was at home (I really miss Asda!) There is much less convenience food here, so no sandwich fillers, Mug Shots etc. I'll just have to make them myself I guess!
So my favourite lunch is usually leftovers, or you can't beat a good old ham & cheese roll with mayo &/or avocado, & maybe some lettuce or spinach as well. (Sorry that's not more inventive for the 1st page though!)
Today I've got left over pulled pork (done in the slow cooker for dinner the other night) on multigrain bread with a bit of Branston pickle. (Thank goodness we can get that here. And Hellmans mayo). Because I get hungry (read 'bored') at work, I've also brought in lots of snacks to keep me going throughout the day; a small banana & satsuma from the ones I got DS, a Twinks hobnob/flapjack made from a recipe on the OS Board, some healthier, organic chipstick/crisp type things, & a treat of a few mini eggs! I felt very virtuous going to bed last night knowing all that was packed & ready to go!
We are well looked after at work & there are fridges & microwaves provided, along with milk, tea, proper coffee machines, fruit & biscuits. I bring in my decaff teabags, however there is a big coffee culture here so I buy one coffee a day, either as a social outing with a friend, or with my colleagues in my team if I feel it's politically necessary to socialise with them that day!!
One last thing, I'll probably be posting when most of you are in bed, so please excuse any delays in my replies!

kittiej

Hellos and welcomes to Gazza, black cat, chelle and Mrs White :hello::dance:

Here's to LTWing and saving some money :T
Thanks for the soup tip Gazza :T
black cat and chelle - please try to resist those temptations! There are boards of directors sitting in the background just working out how to extract money out of customers by increasing spends through offers and uplift selling - step away from the chocolate and meal deals

Mrs White we have some sandwich fillers ideas on the first post but if there's anything you fancy I'm sure we can find a recipe for you so you don't feel as though you're missing out as much or you could give us some Aussie recipes

I think my sandwich will be cheese and onion, unless I stop and buy some Branston pickle. I was thinking of buying apples but they are so expensive atm, I'll have to see what's on offer.

Good luck everyone!

chelle24

Hi Kittie thanks for the welcome!

Worked out I should be able to do my lunches for roughly £6 per week
Lunch sorted for tomorrow 2x ham and pickle sandwiches, a banana and a nature valley bar! Also a hot cross bun I was donated:rotfl:

I work on the railway so carry my food with me... It's a long shift so hopefully taking this will keep me out of the shops

Good luck everyone :T

datlex

happy_bunny wrote: »

Bananas are not supposed to go in sandwiches

Banana sandwiches are yummy especially if you do toasted ones!!

skinny_jeans

Hi guys, i would really like to try this again. i signed up for it last month but failed miserably :-( the staff restaurant is just too tempting! I am determined this time though :-) im not exactly sure how many work days i will have though, as i am off sick at the min,but hoping to be back by next week

Twiggy_34

happy_bunny wrote: »

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

Don't knock it till you've tried it I won't eat banana's on their own, only ever sliced and placed between 2 slices of buttered bread. Personally I like mine left in the fridge overnight as well so that the banana softens a bit before I eat them, but I realise that certainly isn't going to be to everyone's taste lol.

kobrakai

Aiming to save a total of £110 this month. Didn't do very well in March, so am hoping to make up for it in April! Starting today, took a very nice pasta salad made with prawns, spring onions and ranch dressing - and have enough left over for tomorrow too!

32b3in2013

Day 1 down, 20 more to go. my desk overlooks the door to a M&S food hall so the temptation to get my lunch in there is VERY close

Twiggy_34

32b3in2013 wrote: »

Day 1 down, 20 more to go. my desk overlooks the door to a M&S food hall so the temptation to get my lunch in there is VERY close

Ooh, I don't envy you that temptation, I thought it was bad enough having a subway right next door to where I work (situated inside the supermarket)!

I'm all packed ready for tomorrow. After gaining a stone in weight over the last 7 months I've decided I need to take some serious action on my lunchbox, so I need to wean myself off certain expectations. It's a bit more expensive, but I bought some strawberries today to replace my 'something sweet', I'm going to try alternating between diced apples and sliced strawberries for a while. My body isn't going to know what's going on as I so rarely eat fruit, but hopefully it will appreciate the change!