Trying to stop buying meal deals and having crap lunches in general

[AlansFungalFootPowder]

I manage to do all the ultra important things in life like keeping documents in a file, paying bills and hitting work deadlines. But anything I can “get away with” I am lazy about. I pay for a cleaner, buy convenience food, begrudge doing laundry etc. I am really fed up of eating a crap meal deal for lunch, but would like to hear from anyone who has been like me in the past but found a few go-to lunches they throw together the night before without too much effort. What made you change this habit? What lunches do you make for yourself?

TIA

I knew it, no one has ever successfully given up buying meal deals for lunch.

I tend to go through a cycle of soup in the colder months and salad in warmer months. I make soup in batches and freeze it, or make salads about three days in advance. I hate boring food. My latest salad is spinach, feta, beetroot, red onion, black olives, hummus, coleslaw, cucumber, coriander and cherry tomatoes. Could bring a flatbread or pitta to put some in? Hope this helps!

Lentils-simple and good
home made sandwiches with garlic in and any filling I like, tomato mozza salad with basil

I never started having meal deals. I just don't see the attraction unless you only see food as fuel and choose cheap over taste. But we're all different!

I do, however, HATE packed lunches with a passion.

I usually pop out and get a salad made to order. I order online (and pay) from my desk so I just have to cross the road, grab my waiting salad and I'm back at my desk working within 5 minutes max. In winter, I have soup instead.

Thank you! Had never thought to put garlic in a sandwich. Sounds antisocial and delicious - I’m in! 😁

@HundredMilesAnHour Yes they are utterly crap and on the rare occasion I go to a city for lunch, with actual choice, I would never even consider a meal deal! But I live and work in a small town. The options are crap small supermarket, or a corner shop.

@HundredMilesAnHour Will be copying that salad. Even if just the once before sliding into shop sarnies again! Sounds very appealing.

@HundredMilesAnHour Oops sorry meant @RoseGold24

What, if any cooking facilities do you have at work?
We have a kettle, toaster and microwave.

I usually bring ingredients with me and prepare the food at work. Having staples like butter, mayo and salt available…

Left over dinners are an easy one, but if no left overs, my go to’s are:

Toast with avocado and boiled egg. Boil a few eggs at the start of the week.
At work: toast bread and butter it, smash avo and peel egg at work. Top with salt and paprika/cayenne chilli.

Toast with smoked salmon and boiled egg. (One packet salmon will last 2 lunches) With plenty butter and mayo!

Toast with smoked mackerel (a bit of rocket) plenty mayo! (One packet mackerel will last 2 or 3 lunches but then I get a bit sick of it…)

Beans on toast if desperate.

Baguette with pate. Yum.

Ooo I went though a phase of sour dough toasted with humous and roasted veggies (batch cooked.)

I’ve taken a toastie machine into work before and toasted a reduced 10p cheese sandwich, also works with cheese and ham, chicken mayo, tuna mayo….

If no facilities then just making a sandwich, homemade is better than store bought… And so much cheaper, a sandwich at my place of work can cost upwards of £3!

Bring own fruit and treats.

I enjoy meal preparation though.

You could batch cook pasta or rice dishes (jambalaya)

I tend to make extra dinner if it's something like curry that can be reheated. Then all I need to do is put some in a plastic tub (ideally portions for 2 days) and chop up some fruit and some salad for snacks. Lunch ready in 5 minutes or less. Only works if you have a microwave at work though.

Do you have a fridge at work? If so, why not get a couple of bags of leaves, a punnet of cherry tomatoes, coleslaw, beetroot salad, eggs, ham, and whatever else you fancy. £10 will get you a week of great lunches.

I hate meal prep and the act of heating stuff up in Tupperware

when i was working I would buy prepackaged bits that I liked. Canned san pellegrino, mini cheeses, olive tubs, deli meats, chocolate rice cakes.

I’d just have a picnic each lunchtime. Dead easy and cheaper than meal deals when you add it up.

Do you have access to a microwave or have you literally got nothing?

I hate sandwiches so on the rare occasions I have to take a packed lunch, (once I've stopped bitching and moaning) I take something like tabouleh with grilled vegetables and grilled chicken so it can be eaten hot or cold. Or some sliced marinated beef/steak with a rocket and parmesan salad.

Or I take a flask of soup. With a side of fruit.

Or when I want a 'proper' lunch, I take a Thermos food flask so I can have a hot lunch even in the depths of nowhere. I bought 2 food flasks during lockdown when I used to meet a friend for long cold walks during that awful winter when you were only allowed to meet 1 person outside for walking. We got quite creative. My favourite food flask lunch remains lasagne. 😍We called it 'lasagne smash' as obviously it gets a bit mashed up spooning it into the flask but damn it tastes good. It works for all varieties of pasta or casseroles (Lancashire hotpot is another favourite option). I use these flasks (they have a spoon built in the lid so super handy):

smile.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-Stainless-King-Food-Flask/dp/B00DGPPY20/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=thermos+food+flask&qid=1659557744&sr=8-5

Lentils, roast veg, some tomato purée/oil/balsamic stirred in. Reheat in the microwave and stir in some feta and some rocket. I make enough for two or three days at a time.

If you have access to a microwave, just make more dinner (or batch cook) and take leftovers. 80/90% of my lunch, whether at home or when I'm in the office, is reheated leftovers.

I don't particularly like sandwiches so rarely eat them by choice and find them very disappointing when circumstances dictate them as my lunch.

If you don't have access to a microwave, look at food flasks or a food heater you can plug in your car if you're driving around. DP had a job as a driver's mate and the driver he was 'mate' to had one and it was brilliant apparently.

www.amazon.co.uk/VOVOIR-Electric-Detachable-Stainless-Container/dp/B082SM1QSY/ref=asc_df_B082SM1QSY/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=430803608318&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11919183391758579059&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046325&hvtargid=pla-897619616113&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=103002099747&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=430803608318&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11919183391758579059&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046325&hvtargid=pla-897619616113

Or if you want more ideas for salad type lunches, have a look at this book

www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Ingredient-Lunchbox-healthy-minutes/dp/1925811956/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1659558508&refinements=p_27%3AAlexander+Hart&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Alexander+Hart

There's 3 different ones by the same author, 5 minute, 5 ingredient, 5 minute salad or 5 minute vegan.

Or google jar salads. You can prep them for the week in one go and they last fine.

I keep a loaf of bread at work and a jar of peanut butter and have toast every day
that probably is not healthier though!
I also have a packet of crisps and some fruit or something

Lots of great ideas, thank you. I have a fridge and microwave and kettle so it’s not too extreme on that front.

I'm joining for ideas

I have progressed to buying a few pot noodles in aldi with my shopping.

When I'm really organised I buy a slab of Diet Coke and a multi pack of crisps and leave them in the office then it's only a sandwich to make.

A colleague brings a lovely snacky lunch each day with olives and stuff. I need to get my shit together again.

I like cous cous, you can buy flavoured ones then add chickpeas, olives, roast veg, feta etc etc and if you make a big amount it lasts a few days in the fridge.

Pasta and pesto also works well, I usually add peas, mozzarella pearls and sweetcorn and it's fine cold or reheated.

Also sometimes if I CBA I buy some nice bread and soft cheese or pate and just have that and some fruit.

Work lunches are a fucking bind.

I love a meal deal about once or twice a year as it's a treat and would be £15 a week.

I'm always on a diet (porker) and try to be healthy with work lunches and meal deals tend not to be (or the option I'd pick) and counterbalance This by consuming vast quantities of cake biscuits and snack that we always bring in.

I go though lunch phases and the past year (quite a long time) has been the bento box phase. I got a siestema bento box from Aldi that have four compartments and a little screw top pot . I have some lean protein (or cheese on Friday as I've usually runout) cherry tomatoes, cucumber, crackers, melon, grapes and then in the little pot I have honey, yoghurt and peach purée.

I feel quite smug and Virtuois and quite full as have a about a 20 min lunch break.

On Sunday I chop the melon and cucumber and blend the peaches dh bbqs some mean meat.

Alternatively I have a pot noodle from Aldi as they are 29p

I WFH now, but when I was in an office I kept tins of soup in my locker and took in a multipack of crisps to dip in it instead of bread :-D

Otherwise, leftovers / bulk cooking and taking in frozen meals like spag bol from home was a good one to avoid buying crap in the shops. Also the 50p Batchelors pasta sachets are great for convenience.

I cook extra/too much in the evening and take leftovers for lunch

I think you can set yourself a trap where you bring a super healthy salad which is:
a.) a faff to make
b.) takes ages to eat
c.) does not quite hit the spot (so you run out to buy a treat)

or maybe that’s just me 😁

I tend to batch cook pasta, soup or salads to keep lunches quick/healthy/cheap or I will use leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day. There is no way we could financially justify a meal deal every day!

The quickest pasta I usually make is just cooking some pasta and then stirring in pesto and feta. Can fry onion and add it and/or sundried tomato too.

I choose to make bean, lentil or noodle based salads in batches as they last longer than lettuce so can be used for most of the working week. Lots of easy tasty recipes online.

Endless possibilities with soup. Make a batch at the weekend and then freeze it in portions which are easy to lift out and stick in soup cups the night before work.

Then I also keep some tinned soup and noodle pots in the cupboard in case I can't be arsed or haven't had a chance to prep something!

We also usually bring in yoghurt, fruit and some sort of breakfast/granola bar each day. No prep needed there!

Are you for real. Most people I know have a meal deal as a treat, say 4 times per year. I make a lunch every day, a sandwich, leftovers from last nights dinner, a frozen meal I've specifically prepared as a lunch eg chickpea curry, chicken Kiev and mash.

Are you a good cook? Why are you being so silly with Money?