How much do you spend per week on work lunches?

iammumtoone

I was thinking of taking my lunch into work but we have a subsidised canteen I can get a fresh cooked dinner for a couple of quid or under.

I have worked out to take sandwiches its around 95p per day

Bread £1 / 5 = 20p
pack ham £2 / 5 = 40p
crisps 15p
treat eg kitkat 20p

I know there will be waste in the bread and ham but it wont keep longer than a week and there will be only me eating it.

My dilemma is the sandwich option is very boring eating the same thing each day for the week, for an extra £5 per week I can have a hot meal with different choices each day and avoid the extra time needed in the morning to make sandwiches.

Would most people consider £10 per week to spend on lunches expensive or not? it seems a lot to me but I have no idea about the cost of these things How much do others spend on work lunches per week?

Any suggestions of things I can take that cost under £1 per day but are more exciting/varied than the sandwich option?

Thanks

AlwaysAllie

I suppose it depends on a number of things a) can you afford it, b) will the meals they have be things you like and c) will this in actual fact be your main meal if it's a cooked one? I couldn't eat a cooked meal at lunch and then again in the evening. If this is the case then you can't really compare it with the sandwich option/price.

AA

PlymouthMaid

In the winter I tend to take home made soup to work and either crumpets /bread (we have a toaster) or some cheese and crackers etc. This works out very cheap indeed. I loathe sandwiches so other things I take are quiche and salad, left over dinners such as curry, pasta bake and so on or I make thinks like cous cous or pasta salads.

I think a cooked meal would be worth it if it is good quality and you then will not need ot cook in the evening other than a quick snacky meal. Will probably be a lot healthier too if your lunches are likely to be sandwich, crisps and choccy bar style lunches.

JIL

Make a loaf of bread and the ham into sandwiches and then freeze them into daily portions.

Then you can plan around what you fancy from the works cafe, or what you are doing in your lunch break.

If its not what you fancy, take in a sandwich (which will defrost by lunchtime) crisps and kitkat.

Some of my lunches are waldorf pasta with edam cheese, so cooked pasta, walnuts, edam, celery and apple mixed with a bit of mayo.

cous cous, with extras such as feta, cucumber, olives, lo potato.

houmous and oatcakes, left over pizza,

I just look what we have in and make something out of whats there.

pm2326

Personally I would say it's expensive but I'm intentionally being mean with money this year :rotfl:

I always take a homemade lunch and it's never sandwiches, however I tend to make a big batch of something and I eat the same thing everyday until its gone.

For instance last week it was curried rice and since everything was from my stores it was technically free. If I had to price it, it would have come to about 15p a portion.

At the minute I'm making a pasta sauce for next weeks lunches, threw in a couple of meatballs that were left over....total cost with pasta approx £1 but it'll make at least 6 portions so 16p a portion. I can add any left over meat or veg from tea during the week to change the flavour so I dont get bored.

Do you have use of a microwave and a kettle?

lostinrates

iammumtoone wrote: »

I know there will be waste in the bread and ham but it wont keep longer than a week and there will be only me eating it.
....

Any suggestions of things I can take that cost under £1 per day but are more exciting/varied than the sandwich option?

Thanks

As others have suggested, make ing the sandwiches up (and there is LOTS my ore that you can have in a sand which than ham) and freezing is a good option. That way you can also make up different sandwiches and have a variety. Some supper left overs will also work as unconventional sandwich fillings or cold lunches.


If you don.'to like the frozen sandwich idea, there is still NO need to waste bread or ham. Bread DOES freeze brilliantly for toast and cooking! for puddings, (tray bakes like bread pudding for those packed lunches, much nicer than crisps and a kit kat) and ham can go in to an omelette with cheese for an evening meal, or a risotto, a pasta sauce a soup, a pie filling, in to something with a baked potato.....
:D


Other lunch options I suggested on a thread on another board yesterday would also be quiche or frittata. Frittate can be packed with veg and delicious and healthy ( our favourite is simply onion and courgette). Cold Stuffed veg, salads, soup, gazpacho in summer, supper left overs cheered up to be a delicious meal own their own right....


I'd look for things easy to make in little batches, on a rolling stock basis, while cooking supper be restocking with one item, freeze and take out to give variety.

iammumtoone

Thanks everyone. If I was on my own I would certainly take advantage of the canteen and not have to worry about an evening meal but I have to cook for DS in the evening.

PlymouthMaid I like the idea of cheese and crackers as these will keep longer than the week so no waste. I also take your point about my sample lunch idea not being very healthy I will have to re-think that.

JIL I don't like frozen sandwiches I have tried that before. Great idea about the oatcakes though I could also get rice cakes as again they will keep unlike the bread. We also eat regularly eat pizza for tea as its DS favourite, there is not normally any left over but I could make sure I do save a slice or two for the next day.

pm2326 Wow that is impressive, what you are doing, would you mind posting your recipes?

There is a microwave, but no kettle. Drinks have to be purchased from the canteen I tend to take my own or drink water.

iammumtoone

lostinrates another very valid point about the left over ham and bread, normally I would find a way to use it up but I have just started a full time job and am a single mum to a six year old so finding the time to do these things is not as easy as it was Can Frittate be heating up in a microwave? that would be a good option. I am not very keen on cold food that can be served warm. I like hot quiche but not cold, I am not sure if this could be microwaved as the pastry would go soggy.

curlywurly82

i guess it depends? Do you currently do a cooked dinner when you get in from work at night?

If you had a cooked lunch would you still eat the same in the evening? So would you now save money on your evening dinner?

£10 a week for a cooked meal at lunch sounds reasonable.

Beckyy

I usually spend around £10 per week on OH's lunches. That's for a sandwich, yogurt, 1 or 2 pieces of fruit and a bar/snack of some kind.

I would be surprised if you could make a week of healthy, and good quality lunches for less than £10 without getting fed up of them.

I usually buy a pack of 2 free range chicken breast from aldi (£3.49) and use those for sandwiches. I cook them at home and use around half a breast for a sandwich, it gives you a bit more choice than ham and means you can use sauces or rubs/spices more, as well as salad etc. You can also make salads with them if you get bored of sandwiches. Occasionally I use ham but I find chicken healthier - more protein, less salt and more versatile.

PlymouthMaid

I microwave quiche and frittata and just tolerate the soggy bottoms. Something else I make are kind of pastry free quiches (very low carb), I call them egg muffins as I make them in a muffin pan. Just beaten egg with veg, cheese whatever and bake them til set. I have them with salad and just fish a couple out of the freezer in the morning.

Also not really totally on topic but I think it is important to eat with your son in the evening and set him up as a good eater with healthy dinners so maybe packed lunches are the way to go.