I hate sandwiches!

loulvj

I have just committed a heinous crime against moneysaving, i.e. bought my lunch from a shop and I have had a lunch related lightbulb moment:

I hate sandwiches!!! I really don't like shop bought sandwiches at all, they all seem to taste the same, are soggy and full of mayo, yuk! And yet I often have them as there is not much choice around my workplace and until now I have been too lazy to make my own lunches.

So here is my plan, I am going to make my own lunch for the rest of the month and post what I have had each day to keep me disciplined. No more expensive bought stuff that I don't even like. And anything goes for lunch except for sandwiches!

Please feel free to add any suggestions for alternative lunches and wish me luck!

[Deleted User]

ooh excellent well done. I am kinda opposite. I love bought sandwiches made fresh from the deli at work but hate taking my own. Whenever i take my own they end up tasting of whatever i wrapped it in and I hate the plastic taste so much.

Worked our recently that my £3 a day sarnie habit was about £700 per year on lunch alone.

So I too am on lookout for what I can take to work for lunch. I hate pasta but am open to pretty much anything else :-)

pollyanna24

I've always made my own lunch, never really occurred to me not to for some reason and I work just off Oxford Street in London, so plenty of places to get stuff from.

I always used to have sandwiches, but then decided I could do with losing a couple of pounds, so now every day I have the same thing. 4 Ryvita with phili and some salami on top. Keep this at work. Then I have a packet of Snack a Jacks.

I know this sounds boring to have every day, but I have my main meal in the evening and look forward to that.

Pollycat

I used to make sandwiches for my hubby every day, but to vary things a little, I always used different types of bread - and never, ever the same filling for 2 days.

Fillings taste different if you use say:
Granary loaf (I always buy the big 800gm from Sainsbury's/Tesco and slice it myself and wrap 4 slices together in cling film then freeze)
Submarine rolls
Ciabata-style rolls
French stick
etc etc

You could also try the tortilla wraps that you can buy from supermarkets and put your own fillings in.

If your problem is soggy bread, why not take a little salad cream/mayo/picallili/branston etc in a small jar (like the ones in hotels with jam in) separately and put it on as you are ready to eat?

Pasta salad is good, too.
I just do extra if we're having it for supper and pop it in a tupperware bowl in the fridge.

In the summer you can do some really nice salads or even try fruit salad.
I always find that the more different tastes there are, the less you become bored.

Polly

redsquirrel80

I nearly always bring my own now - treat myself to 'bought' lunch once a week maybe - and never make sandwiches as I find them boring and soggy! For me, it's usually leftovers of some sort of pasta, rice or couscous dish (or pretty much any leftovers from hot dinners the night before - we do have a microwave to heat things up but I am a little strange in that I like just about anything cold! One of my current faves is spicy potato wedges and roast veg with melted cheese which I have hot at night and I think is nice cold too ). Sometimes make the pasta etc more 'salady' by adding some other veg and/ or stirring in some mayonnaise. Sometimes just make a salad with cheese or cold meat.

The one thing I did realise when I started bringing my own was that I was still spending too much on other snacks - so now I make sure I make plenty of lunch, and bring other things like fruit, yoghurt and home made scones to snack on - it's more buying in the supermarket but it's still cheaper (and healthier) than crisps and chocolate every day!

Shelvis - I realised I was saving myself money, but when you put it like that.. ooh what I could do with £700 :eek:

overlykeensaver

I like sandwiches at home but don't like taking them into work. Here are a couple of ideas for you

Firstly get a good sturdy lunchbox to hold your food (I like lock n locks!)

Secondly - take some time to make your lunch the night before work - much easier and more relaxing than doing it in the morning.

Each week, we buy a roasting chicken, roast it on a Sunday and then pick of all (and I mean all) of the meat. We use this for our lunches. (freeze half the meat to have in the second part of the week to keep it fresh)


Chicken and noodle salad - in bowl put (per person) 4 tsp soy sauce, 2tsp honey, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 2tsp sesame oil. Mix. Add your ready to eat noodles. Then chop up waht ever you fancy - we use red peppers (in jars from Lidls), carrot, pickled ginger (from Chinese supermarket), and some nuts and then the chicken. Mix inthe sauce - lovely!

Chicken and couscous salad - add boiling water to a bowl of couscous and chopped dried fruit (sultanas, apricots etc). I use about 75g per person. then add chopped - cucumber, carrot, peppers etc and the cooked chicken. I also add in mint from the garden. Then slosh in some olive oil for moistness - very tasty too.

Also have you tried making wraps instead of sandwiches?

Hope these ideas help! I would love to read other ideas for non sandwich lunches because rotating noodles, couscous and wraps is getting a bit boring...

newlywed

Flavoured rice in pitta bread is good especially with chopped ham and cheese.

Today I had a baked potato (pre-baked at home and heated in micro at work) with beans. Good with Tuna and pesto on top too.

Tomorrow I have left over pasta with tomato and paprika sauce.

TNG

mix pasta with some wholegrain mustard and mayo, add veg of choice - peppers, sweetcorn, mushroom etc

HTH

msmiller

awww i love sandwiches! but i never used to to be honest.

and there's nothing nice about soggy ones!

just a tip if you were to make a sandwich for yourself, and i partly learnt this from jamie oliver lol. always spread the butter/marg evenly from corner to corner which forms a layer that stops the filling from making the bread all soggy and horrible.

if you make a lot of pasta, rice, noodle based meals at home maybe take the leftovers with you in a tupperware box.

oh, and overlykeensaver mentioned cous cous, cous cous rocks!

Plum_Pie

I have HM soup or a salad, 2 pieces of fruit and a few mixed nuts, 4 days a week. I vary the soup/salad adding a different veg or type of protein so it's never the same in 1 week.

On Fridays I buy something unhealthy, like a giant bacon buttie or a curry. It keeps me motivated to prepare something healthy on the other days and makes buying my lunch a treat and not just a trek to pay over the odds for hummous and carrot sticks.

buxtonrabbitgreen

I have always taken my own food to work. I make all the sandwiches the night before. Sometimes I make wraps for a change. DD likes pasta salad.