Lunch at work

QrizB

olb81 said:

Is it cheaper to make your own or do a supermarket meal deal?

Have you ever been into a supermarket and bought groceries?

You can make a whole week's worth of cheese sandwiches for less than the price of one meal deal.

Lunch of a sandwich, a bag of crisps, a chocolate biscuit and a piece of fruit will usually be about £1 all-in. A bit more if you buy big-brand products or deluxe versions.

MattMattMattUK

QrizB said:

olb81 said:

Is it cheaper to make your own or do a supermarket meal deal?

Have you ever been into a supermarket and bought groceries?

You can make a whole week's worth of cheese sandwiches for less than the price of one meal deal.

Lunch of a sandwich, a bag of crisps, a chocolate biscuit and a piece of fruit will usually be about £1 all-in. A bit more if you buy big-brand products or deluxe versions.

This in spades, one day's meal "deal" is a week's worth of self made lunches. 

In my office I put bits in to make this easier for staff, so fridge, kettle, coffee machine, microwave, toaster and a panini press. One guy still spends £60-100 a week on meal deals, ready meals and shop bought coffee, everyone else makes their own and saves enough for another holiday a year! 

mikb

QrizB said:

olb81 said:

Is it cheaper to make your own or do a supermarket meal deal?

You can make a whole week's worth of cheese sandwiches for less than the price of one meal deal.

True, when at work, taking packed lunch (sandwiches, fruit) made the night before was always my thing, not the works-canteen or nipping to a nearby supermarket for "meal deal" items.

The only time recently I've done the Morrisons-meal-deal-4-quid thing was when I was "travelling light" and didn't want to be taking a packed lunch _with_ me, and it was worth the cost for the convenience. Buy it, eat it, dispose of rubbish, back to travelling light.

I wouldn't do it on the regular though.

olb81

Hi griz can you itemise the purchases and prices which works out at £1 a day. That sounds really good.

unforeseen

My lunches
Ham joint (around £6 for 700g) when cooked and sliced gives enough for 5 weeks. Portioned and frozen in weekly amounts approx £1.20 per week
Loaf of bread £1.40 (like Warburtons), again portioned into 4 slices per pack and frozen. No loss due to going  stale as only 2 days out at a time.

Works out at 52p per day. Sometimes take crisp which adds about 40p per day

QrizB

olb81 said:

Hi griz can you itemise the purchases and prices which works out at £1 a day. That sounds really good.

OK, here's some ideas from Tesco (simply because their website worksfor me). Lidl or Aldi might be cheaper.

• Bread: basic wholemeal loaf, 55p, 20 slices (enough for 5 days at 2 rounds/day). 11p/day
• Cheese: basic cheddar, £2.79 for 400g (enough for 10 days at 40g/day). 28p/day.
• Spread: "buttery spread", £1.90 for 500g (should last you 20 days). £10p/day.

That's your sandwiches, two rounds for 49p/day.

Then add:

• Crisps: 6-pack in a choice of flavours, £1 (enough for 6 days). 17p/day.
• Biscuit: own-brand biscuit bar, £1.55 for 8 (8 days). 20p/day.
• Fruit: bananas, 16p each. 16p/day.

The extras come to 53p/day.

Grand total: £1.02 per day.

This doesn't include a drink; ingredients to make your own tea or instant coffee work out as about 5p/cup. If you have access to a kettle at work that's simple enough, otherwise you might want to invest £10 in a flask.

Getting slightly more advanced, I've got one of these wide neck food flasks that lets me take hot soup, or stew, or curry, or whatever to work with me for lunch, if I fancy a hot meal and I'm going to be away from the office microwave.

andygb

QrizB said:

olb81 said:

Hi griz can you itemise the purchases and prices which works out at £1 a day. That sounds really good.

OK, here's some ideas from Tesco (simply because their website worksfor me). Lidl or Aldi might be cheaper.

• Bread: basic wholemeal loaf, 55p, 20 slices (enough for 5 days at 2 rounds/day). 11p/day
• Cheese: basic cheddar, £2.79 for 400g (enough for 10 days at 40g/day). 28p/day.
• Spread: "buttery spread", £1.90 for 500g (should last you 20 days). £10p/day.

That's your sandwiches, two rounds for 49p/day.

Then add:

• Crisps: 6-pack in a choice of flavours, £1 (enough for 6 days). 17p/day.
• Biscuit: own-brand biscuit bar, £1.55 for 8 (8 days). 20p/day.
• Fruit: bananas, 16p each. 16p/day.

The extras come to 53p/day.

Grand total: £1.02 per day.

This doesn't include a drink; ingredients to make your own tea or instant coffee work out as about 5p/cup. If you have access to a kettle at work that's simple enough, otherwise you might want to invest £10 in a flask.

Getting slightly more advanced, I've got one of these wide neck food flasks that lets me take hot soup, or stew, or curry, or whatever to work with me for lunch, if I fancy a hot meal and I'm going to be away from the office microwave.

That is a really helpful list, for people who want to replace supermarket meal deals with HM food. I have been making bread for over twenty years and before I retired, I always took a sandwich lunch in, not just because it was cheaper, but it was far tastier, particularly making up fillings, like tuna mayo, with green chilli, cheese and red onion mayo with green chilli, or HM egg mayo ----- with green chilli. There is a theme developing here. 

singhini

I would try to avoid buying food from supermarkets because many products are highly processed and packed with ingredients that aren’t necessarily good for our health.
To keep costs low and shelf life long, manufacturers often add excess sugar, salt, artificial flavourings, and preservatives. These extra additives push items like breads and cakes into the category of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). 
Take a look at the ingredient list for two lemon cakes, one supermarket bought and one homemade (not difficult to guess which is which) 
 

QrizB

singhini said:

I would try to avoid buying food from supermarkets because many products are highly processed and packed with ingredients that aren’t necessarily good for our health.
To keep costs low and shelf life long, manufacturers often add excess sugar, salt, artificial flavourings, and preservatives. These extra additives push items like breads and cakes into the category of ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

Try not to fall for the UPF scaremongering, folks. On the whole it's just another excuse to sell newspapers / clicks / adverts.

See for example:

https://thecritic.co.uk/whos-afraid-of-upfs-part-1/

singhini

QrizB said:

singhini said:

I would try to avoid buying food from supermarkets because many products are highly processed and packed with ingredients that aren’t necessarily good for our health.
To keep costs low and shelf life long, manufacturers often add excess sugar, salt, artificial flavourings, and preservatives. These extra additives push items like breads and cakes into the category of ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

Try not to fall for the UPF scaremongering, folks. On the whole it's just another excuse to sell newspapers / clicks / adverts.

See for example:

https://thecritic.co.uk/whos-afraid-of-upfs-part-1/

So the author is sceptical of the UPF panic, arguing that ultra-processed foods are not inherently harmful and that the evidence against them is weak, selective, and often exaggerated.

In my opinion, while the author dismisses concerns about ultra processed foods, the evidence linking UPFs to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues is growing and shouldn't be ignored. Observational studies consistently show correlations between high UPF consumption and poor health outcomes, and randomized trials suggest that UPFs can lead to higher calorie intake even when matched for nutrients. Regulatory approval of additives does not automatically prove long-term safety, especially given emerging research on gut microbiome effects. To downplay these risks, risks ignoring the broader patterns in nutrition science, and focusing on industrial processing as a proxy for harm does not negate the practical health consequences of consuming heavily processed foods.

I can’t see how taking perfectly good foods like fresh fruits and vegetables and processing them (especially industrially with added emulsifiers, stabilizers, sweeteners, preservatives, and texturizers) could be better for you. But each to own. 

PS:

The Critic ----->  ah that balanced magazine 🤣  and there's a number of adverts to click on your link 🤣 🤣