Filling but cost effective lunch

Rosa_Damascena

I went back to my old ways last night - needed something filling in a hurry. 2 generic Weetabix in hot milk and I was full to the brim.

Cannot get much more filling or cheap than that! Although might be a bit of a faff in a work situation. Also the bowl needs rinsing fast.

HouseMartin567

Rosa_Damascena said:

I went back to my old ways last night - needed something filling in a hurry. 2 generic Weetabix in hot milk and I was full to the brim.

Cannot get much more filling or cheap than that! Although might be a bit of a faff in a work situation. Also the bowl needs rinsing fast.

I wish 2 weetabix would leave me full to the brim! I avoid them for breakfast because I tend to find I’m hungry within an hour or two.

Another lunch idea - pasta with peas and sweetcorn, plus a tin of tuna mixed in can be made the night before and then eaten cold. Granted tuna certainly isn’t as cheap as it once was!

ArbitraryRandom

Being 'money saving' is maybe a good excuse to try a few new things? 

Tuna is easy and safe, but as above it's nigh on £1 a tin now, so maybe worth trying a tin of mackerel, sprats, sardines or pilchards (all related species I think) - mackerel was for sale in the local poundland at £1 for a 400g tin (so more than half the price). Or maybe a tin of salmon would go further with the stronger taste and be more cost effective if you could get four meals from a big tin?

Variety makes things more interesting and if you don't like it then you don't have to try it again  

Mark_Glasses

@Katiehound whenever I try to remember something I always forget. I've read your link but it's only taken the time for me to read the other replies for me to forget.

@JIL my memory of the job I had when my mum did me a packed lunch was the extensive time I'd spend on the toilet in the afternoon

@-taff I am doing something about it, I've not had a jam sandwich for over a week now. What I do find confusing is that Google says we should eat 45%-65% carbohydrates which is saying we should eat more carbohydrates than anything else.

@YoungBlueEyes thanks, that's very useful

@Longwalker yesterday I switched to a cheese and ham sandwich. I don't know whether ham is a good idea because I think it's a processed meat and I know someone who had bowel cancer because he ate too much processed meat. That's why I always buy fresh meat.

@ArbitraryRandom I eat salmon for dinner, fresh salmon though not tinned.

ArbitraryRandom

Mark_Glasses said:

@ArbitraryRandom I eat salmon for dinner, fresh salmon though not tinned.

I assume you can/do eat other things for dinner, so no issues having the salmon for lunch sometimes to see if the extra protein helps you stay full (and I was suggesting tinned is a cheap option that works well in things like sandwiches or cols pasta dishes, no reason you can't use fresh or smoked if you prefer) 

Mark_Glasses

@ArbitraryRandom I do eat other things for dinner but my wife likes salmon. I could buy a bigger pack and put the extra in a sandwich.

Longwalker

Mark_Glasses said:

@Katiehound whenever I try to remember something I always forget. I've read your link but it's only taken the time for me to read the other replies for me to forget.

@JIL my memory of the job I had when my mum did me a packed lunch was the extensive time I'd spend on the toilet in the afternoon

@-taff I am doing something about it, I've not had a jam sandwich for over a week now. What I do find confusing is that Google says we should eat 45%-65% carbohydrates which is saying we should eat more carbohydrates than anything else.

@YoungBlueEyes thanks, that's very useful

@Longwalker yesterday I switched to a cheese and ham sandwich. I don't know whether ham is a good idea because I think it's a processed meat and I know someone who had bowel cancer because he ate too much processed meat. That's why I always buy fresh meat.

@ArbitraryRandom I eat salmon for dinner, fresh salmon though not tinned.

Your mums packed lunch would have anyone sat on the loo all afternoon, pure sugar

The packet ham is a stop gap, its cheaper to cook your own gammon and slice, but at the same time not all processed food is equal. Look at the ingredients , the more there that you cant pronounce the more processed it is. Get ham with just pork , water and nitrates its not so bad, but you can spend big money to buy nitrate free 

Carbs - yes you need carbs but not all carbs are equal, theres a lot of carbs in vegetables which are healthier for you then bread. Bread is the ultimate in UPF, just two slices a day and you have gone above or close to your recommended salt and sugar intake for the day 

The choices we have offered you have been the cheaper choices which are healthier then the jam sandwich because you have said you dont want to spend more then x amount on your lunch. You pay your money and you make your choices 

JIL

Today I was in a rush but my pack up today was 2 slices granary bread with leftover tuna and mayo from last nights salad. 4 mini plum tomatoes, a packet of tortilla chips ( small bag) a 25g cheese stick and some grapes.   Like you dont have breakfast so one sandwich was eaten at 10.30 with a coffee, the cheese and grapes
The rest was eaten at 1.30pm. 

Not perfect but wasnt expensive, I wasnt at all hungry and I spent the afternoon sitting at my desk with no feelings of needing to be in the bathroom.

ArbitraryRandom

Mine was leftover cauliflower cheese from the Sunday roast (this time made with goats cheese leftover from Christmas) made into fritters with a tangy tomato dip - just mixed the leftover caulliflower cheese with an egg, spoonfuls dropped into an oiled pan, and eaten cold dipped into a quick mix of tomato sauce, little bit of honey and chilli flakes.
 
Quick, low carb, high protein, cheap and tasty. 

JIL

Does it help if we post our lunches? 

Will it help with ideas?

Should we go one step further and do a new thread asking what's in your lunch box today?