Filling but cost effective lunch

Rosa_Damascena

Emily_Joy said:

Mark_Glasses said:

Thanks again, lots of ideas and again too many for me to reply to individually.

I honestly had no idea jam sandwiches were considered to be rubbish. I guess it's always been in my nature to scrimp on lunch. When I was at school my parents gave me £1.30 to spend at the canteen for lunch and eventually I'd just make do with a chocolate bar that cost 30p and keep the remaining pound for myself. 

I am willing to spend more than 30p on my lunch but I do think £4 is too much. That's over £1k a year. Realistically what is the minimum I would need to spend?

I don't eat breakfast because I've never been able to get out of bed until 5 minutes before I need to leave for work no matter what time I've started work at. I think the dread of going to work keeps me there because I can get up earlier at the weekend when I have a substantial breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So, just to get the picture right, you get up, skip breakfast, run for the tube, go into your office feeling miserable, sit there until lunch time, eat your 30p lunch, then go back home at 10pm feeling very hungry and not very satisfied with your day? 

While 1000GBP per year may sound like a lot of money, but will you really notice? If you put 24K in your saving account rather than 25K will there be any practical difference? You obviously notice that you are hungry. 

Instead of working out how much you should spend, how about you spend whatever is necessary to get something filling two days a week? Do you have microwave at work? Could you put a packet of Jordan muesli & milk to eat after you get there before starting working?

I have to agree that £4 is much more than I would want to spend on lunch! Preparing your own is much more cost-effective, plus the choices are unlimited.

Fortunately I have not had to think about this for a long time, when on site I generally don't stop for lunch, and when I work from home the fridge is always close to hand.

pumpkin89

Rosa_Damascena said:

I have to agree that £4 is much more than I would want to spend on lunch! Preparing your own is much more cost-effective, plus the choices are unlimited.

Fortunately I have not had to think about this for a long time, when on site I generally don't stop for lunch, and when I work from home the fridge is always close to hand.

I always prepare my own as it affords much more choice and it's easy to make it healthier (or more of a treat, depending on mood!)  But this usually costs £4-5 per day in ingredients - possibly more if I'm at home and have free access to the fridge.

Rosa_Damascena

pumpkin89 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

I have to agree that £4 is much more than I would want to spend on lunch! Preparing your own is much more cost-effective, plus the choices are unlimited.

Fortunately I have not had to think about this for a long time, when on site I generally don't stop for lunch, and when I work from home the fridge is always close to hand.

I always prepare my own as it affords much more choice and it's easy to make it healthier (or more of a treat, depending on mood!)  But this usually costs £4-5 per day in ingredients - possibly more if I'm at home and have free access to the fridge.

                 

Mark_Glasses

I don't get home at 10pm every night. Most of the time I'm home by 7pm but sometimes I need to stay later at work and the last time that it was 10pm and I was really hungry.

I always have a substantial meal when I get home from work, my portion completely dwarves my wifes portion. I'd also say my dinner is generally decent, we have fresh meat/fish and vegetables more often than not and it often fills me up.

When it comes to having dinner at home I have access to all the food in my kitchen and all my cooking facilities so it's quite easy to cook something filling as cost effective. With lunch at work I'm more restricted, yes there's lots of nearby places to have a substantial meal if I'm willing to spend the money but the budget option is a packed lunch of some description. I see there's lots of options on here which I thank you for and I will experiment to see what works for me.

I am already over 40 and maybe the damage has been done already. In hindsight it was around the time I started making do with a chocolate bar for lunch at school that fatigue started setting in. 

I've always struggled with fatigue at work. One former colleague used to point out that I was always yawning but then I've always found work incredibly boring. I never put my tiredness down to lack of food in the day because like I said I used to get really tired after lunch back when my mum used to give me a packed lunch.

For most of my working life I've just been able to ride it out until I get home at the end of the day and have a proper feed. In recent times I've been struggling more. 

Nathalia

How about a thermos of homemade (or other, if you don't have the time) soup, plus crackers and cheese and a satsuma or grapes?

Rosa_Damascena

Mark_Glasses said:

I don't get home at 10pm every night. Most of the time I'm home by 7pm but sometimes I need to stay later at work and the last time that it was 10pm and I was really hungry.

I always have a substantial meal when I get home from work, my portion completely dwarves my wifes portion. I'd also say my dinner is generally decent, we have fresh meat/fish and vegetables more often than not and it often fills me up.

When it comes to having dinner at home I have access to all the food in my kitchen and all my cooking facilities so it's quite easy to cook something filling as cost effective. With lunch at work I'm more restricted, yes there's lots of nearby places to have a substantial meal if I'm willing to spend the money but the budget option is a packed lunch of some description. I see there's lots of options on here which I thank you for and I will experiment to see what works for me.

I am already over 40 and maybe the damage has been done already. In hindsight it was around the time I started making do with a chocolate bar for lunch at school that fatigue started setting in. 

I've always struggled with fatigue at work. One former colleague used to point out that I was always yawning but then I've always found work incredibly boring. I never put my tiredness down to lack of food in the day because like I said I used to get really tired after lunch back when my mum used to give me a packed lunch.

For most of my working life I've just been able to ride it out until I get home at the end of the day and have a proper feed. In recent times I've been struggling more. 

Do not think like this! Its never too late for new habits, and its not worth giving up on your health.
ETA: take a look at this, its a segmented video so you can swicth between topics rather than watch it all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGY05t_sImc&ab_channel=ZOE



Have you not had this conversation with your wife, compared what you eat at lunchtime etc?

Emily_Joy

Mark_Glasses said:

I always have a substantial meal when I get home from work, my portion completely dwarves my wifes portion. I'd also say my dinner is generally decent, we have fresh meat/fish and vegetables more often than not and it often fills me up.

Perhaps just cook more for dinner, then get large wholemeal wraps (or make lentil wraps) and wrap the leftovers to take to work for lunch? Then have one of the wraps for breakfast once you get to work and another two during the lunch time? Then get a half of the normal meal at dinner time and save another half for tomorrow splitting into 3 equal wraps?

gwynlas

If you are tired at work it is possible that you have sleep apnoea, many people do but it goes undiagnosed. Look up signs and symptoms nd ask to be referred if you  suspectit..I got tto the stage where I would fall asleep in meetings and got diagnosed. Have been using CPAP machine for many years and cannot remember when I last had an afternoon nap

Mark_Glasses

@Nathalia I eat soup before my Sunday dinner so that's a possibility

@Rosa_Damascena I was just making the point I'm not going to get to 40 and be this, that and the other because I'm already over 40. My wife has previously said it's ridiculous how little I eat for lunch. Generally speaking she's at work and I'm at work but if we're going somewhere for the day at the weekend I'm more inclined to pack a sandwich and she's more inclined to buy something when we're out and about.

@Emily_Joy possibly

@gwynlas I never fall asleep but I may have it. I've been to the doctor about several things I've been told there's nothing physically wrong with me, it's because of depression. Nothings ever helped with my depression though.

Rosa_Damascena

Mark_Glasses said:

@Nathalia I eat soup before my Sunday dinner so that's a possibility

@Rosa_Damascena I was just making the point I'm not going to get to 40 and be this, that and the other because I'm already over 40. My wife has previously said it's ridiculous how little I eat for lunch. Generally speaking she's at work and I'm at work but if we're going somewhere for the day at the weekend I'm more inclined to pack a sandwich and she's more inclined to buy something when we're out and about.

@Emily_Joy possibly

@gwynlas I never fall asleep but I may have it. I've been to the doctor about several things I've been told there's nothing physically wrong with me, it's because of depression. Nothings ever helped with my depression though.

Sort your diet out and get moving and I think you will find an improvement in your mood.