How much do you spend per week on work lunches?

lostinrates

iammumtoone wrote: »

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.

Personally I think Frittate are best at room temperature, I only make them in summer for 'picky' snacky lunches because I find them less good hot or chilled. Quiche similarly, I prefer room temp or warm, but I don't mind soggy pastry. I'd usually make a tart rather than a quiche with puff or rough puff pastry which I quite like a bit soggy . ( guilty food preference).

The bread/ ham can be your suppers with six year old . I bet its exhausting and daunting ATM, but it will all settle in to place.

Microwaveable leftovers also sound a really great option for you, and soups. I don't use a microwave at all, so I cannot help much there I'm afraid!

happy35

I take a packed lunch each day and I dont find it particularly cheap, if I could get a decent lunch for £2 I would buy it. I wouldnt struggle to eat 2 hot meals a day though as then wouldnt have any fruit snacks etc

I tend to take 2 pieces of fruit, sometimes apples/pears etc other times mango pineapple blueberries etc for snacks, I have salad, soup or a bagel for lunch

I would say I spend around 1.50 per day as I buy fruit at a wholesalers but if I bought in a supermarket would prob cost double that

DS takes packed lunch but eats enough for an army and I would say his costs about £3 per day, costs more as I give him healthy food in huge portions - manual job and also goes to they gym

iammumtoone

Lots of ideas here thanks I shall give it some thought and come up with things I can take. It not that I object to re-heated food I do this all the time but I re-heat in the oven. I am not over keen on things re-heated in the microwave (my microwave only gets used for baked beans and milk for hot chocolate!)

If my option was to take/reheat food rather than buying an overpriced high street sandwich/meal I would certainly go for the first option but I am struggling with doing this against a lovely freshly cooked meal for £2 max (it works out cheaper for me to eat for the week than I pay for DS school dinners!). However this is a money saving site and I am on here to do just that so I need to re-think how I am looking at it and just go for the cheapest option and lump it lol.

PlymouthMaid I do sit down and eat with ds in the evening but I could quite happy eat two cooked meals as someone said it would just mean that I cut out all snacks during the day and evening (a good thing for me as I do tend to snack quite alot ) .

lushlifesaver

Bf's lunches cost more as he has wholemeal tortilla wraps and I can't find 'own brand' ones anywhere or find them in the likes of aldi/lidl. He also has Smoked cheese which I buy ready sliced. He also has 'premium' snacks like snack a jacks and branded malt loaf. He is a pro athlete though so can pack it away and needs decent filling food so he usually gets two wraps (smoked, cheese, smoked ham and lettuce), two snack a jacks, a piece of fruit and usually a little sweet treat then I leave more fruit, yogurts etc in the fridge

I have much cheaper lunches and am happy taking little portions of left overs, hm soups, odd wraps, salads etc and plenty of fruit etc to nibble on as well As home baked elevenses. I also have cheap crisps, crackers/oatcakes, cheap cuppa soups in my desk at work along with other random bits like portions of jam (picked up at events) and chocolate spread (hotel stay portions) in my desk for hungry days!

Personally i would take packed lunches and save having a hot meal until the evening over warmer days when salads etc will be delish at lunchtime. Over winter/colder days would be a different story as then (job/hours/situation dependant) I would maybe edg. more towards two hot meals

JIL

iammumtoone wrote: »

JIL I don't like frozen sandwiches I have tried that before.

Im not that keen either, the husband doesnt seem to mind though:rotfl:

Spendless

I used to work where there was a subsidised canteen, and ate my main meal of the day there. I had quite low shopping bills because of it, but I was single and lived alone. The same situation today wouldn't suit because of providing a meal for a family in the evening.

What about doing some costings. Eat at work for one week, meal plan accordingly for the rest of you for the other meals and at the end of the week work out how much it's cost.

Week two, switch it round. Take in the cheap options suggested as your lunchtime meal and have a family meal at night. At the end of the second week, you should know which works out better.

toozie_2

I once worked where there was a good canteen.
It was our treat to go there on a Friday, but the rest of the week I stayed in our section of the building where we had our own microwave & kettle.

The night before I always saved some food from our home cooked evening meal in a Tupperware box ready for the next day, for example, curry & rice, chilli & rice, veg/chicken curry, shepherds pie, stir fry, a casserole & veg/mash/ sausage casserole, etc.

This is type of food we usually eat in the weekday evenings anyway, and quite often it's from the slow cooker, so making a bit more the day before or eating a bit less the night before is no hardship.

Now I work somewhere where there is only a micro & kettle, so I just do the same as above all week, sometimes make a batch of HM soup which lasts Sunday lunch (we have our main meal in the evening), and Monday & Tuesday lunch.

DundeeDoll

We dont have a microwave in our canteen so I take pasta salad most days. Each week i buy a bag of lettuce leaves a cucumber a bag of tomatoes a bag of apples and a bag of pasta from l!dl. Total cost for each day is then approx 50p plus balsamic (99p which lasts ages) plus protein eg half a 40p tin of sardines, 1/4 pack feta (£1.29), handful of prawns (£2.99 a bag), half tin kindney beans (23p a tin) i could probs do cheaper if i bought uncut lettuce but i like the vareity of a 69p bag of leaves and make sure it lasts all 5 days. I cook the pasta while eating my breakfast (did try bringing to the boil previous evening then switching off - the pasta does cook but not al dente enough for my tastes).

Busymumofthreeplusdog

Just a thought but if DS gets school dinners(potentially a hot meal) why don't you eat at your canteen? I would the suggest that you make big batch of soup at beginning of week and you both have that in the evenings with a bit of (frozen& defrosted) bread, followed by a yoghurt or something similar. Soup can work out very cheaply and nutritious. Just a thought.....

iammumtoone

DundeeDoll wrote: »

did try bringing to the boil previous evening then switching off

What an excellent idea I am going to try that tonight to see if I like how it turns out in the morning I suppose I could also do the same thing with rice. Much nicer to cook it fresh each time than make a big batch.

Busymumofthreeplusdog wrote: »

Just a thought but if DS gets school dinners(potentially a hot meal) why don't you eat at your canteen? I would the suggest that you make big batch of soup at beginning of week and you both have that in the evenings with a bit of (frozen& defrosted) bread, followed by a yoghurt or something similar. Soup can work out very cheaply and nutritious. Just a thought.....

Yes DS eats a hot school dinner every day (this won't change just yet as it is what he is used to, in a few months I could start to introduce the idea of him taking sandwiches). I did think of this if we both have a snack type meal in the evening it would out cost effective. Not sure If I would want us to eat like that every day but one week of that, one week of cooked evening meals (with me taking lunch) might be cheaper. I will have to do some costing as Spendless suggested.