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've brought vegetable soup, seeded roll with cream cheese, tomato and lettuce, muesli with greek yogurt, things like that. Never liked meal deals though, the sandwiches taste cheap and nasty.

I massively resent paying for something that isn’t very nice so I always bring my lunch. Salad seems like a faff to chomp through but I like a box of bits in the summer - nice tomatoes,
cucumber, some pickled bits from jars, cheese or meat and some crackers or bread. Easy to put together and always tasty.

I hate sandwiches too. My go-to lunches are:
Avocado and/or Philadelphia on ryvita
Soup
Couscous with veg and feta
Dahl
Kitchari (is that how you spell it? It's a lentil and rice dish, anyway)

@Oblomov22 I’m a very good cook. But as per my OP I am lazy and I find it a chore to have to plan ahead for the next day in this respect. The money is not an issue for me as in I can afford it, but I don’t think it’s healthy and I don’t enjoy it.

Me!!!! I've converted!!!!

It was lockdown that did it. Work in a suburb and couldn't get my lunchtime fast food fix. Also I've taken a shorter lunch so don't have time to get changed, get my lunch, find parking etc, and I can't be bothered either.

So, as I'm lazy ( I have a cleaner, get my car valeted etc) I started off by getting the protein type microwave lunches that are about £2.50 - £4 in the supermarket. That with a can or bottle of something from home. It was easier to just add it to the supermarket shop, mildly healthier and hot food.

Then a few times I forgot (lazy), so I took leftovers.

Ive then since started on a minimal waste drive at home so leftover bread, take away, food gets taken. I keep a 6'paclnof water and snacks in my locker and I rarely buy lunch out, but it feels more like a waste of money on shit food rather than a treat.

I guess it's a case of wean yourself off of it. May be a few times a week on days when you feel you really can't take your own, or just make your own meal deal but buy the snacks in advance and take your sandwiches/wraps?

Also just get into the habit of looking at leftovers and decanting them after dinner in the evening, and getting used to strange combos. Half a portion of spag Bol, fruit and a yogurt for example.

You can do this!!!

One of my other favourite easy lunches was (makes two, so split between 2 tubs for 2 days or share with partner, child etc) a pack of filled tortellini, a grated courgette, spoon of pesto (or couple of cubes of frozen pesto from the freezer because that's my solution to avoiding wasting the jar) and a heaped teaspoon of marigold stock powder).

Each day you take the tub of tortellini/courgette/pesto to work and add some boiling water. I might have microwaved it for a minute or two as well, it's ages since I've done it so can't remember.

@declutteringmymind what do you mean by protein microwaveable lunches please ? I could add those to my Tesco order.

A sandwich, made at home or leftovers from the evening meal. It was more important to us to put our money to overpaying the mortgage than what we had for lunch. Sorry to be harsh, but at the end of the day, it’s a bit of lunch to keep you going until dinner time. We make cheese and tomato, ham and lettuce, tuna mayo, quiche, pasta, rice, couscous. Plain and simple, maybe boring, but gets you through the day.

We have a fridge at work so I keep some butter/spread in there. And sliced cheese. I keep ryvita in my desk drawer. Luckily I actually like ryvita.

I also have marmite in my desk drawer and peanut butter so some weeks I buy a loaf of bread and keep that in my drawer and have toast for lunch.

If you have a microwave, I'd go with heated up leftover dinner because if you're cooking in the evening anyway, it's little or no extra work or thinking to make enough for lunch too.

Make a pact with yourself that if you manage to take home made nice packed lunch on Monday to Thursday, you're 'allowed' to go out and buy a nice lunch on Friday, so go to a cafe, get fish and chips or whatever else is available near your work.

Leftover dinner in the microwave is easy. If you can add a sandwich press to the work kitchen, you can do a lot with toasted sandwiches and wraps.

I stole a hello fresh easy salad .
In base of tub put teaspoon of ginger purée , tablespoon of sesame oil and squeeze of lime, mix.
Add half a bag of coleslaw veg ( minus the mayo), half a bag of rocket, half a bag of sugar snap peas. Put the lid on and shake. Then half a pack of smoked salmon ripped up over the top. Lush.
I am however treating myself to a meal deal tomorrow as can't be arsed tonight

Ingredients that will last a few days eg:

Pack of cauldron or gosh falafel, pack of pitas, hummus and salad leaves

Pack of rolls, chicken slices and salad leaves

Or left overs from the night before

I used to buy a meal deal lunch every day! I was young, single and saving over a grand a month so could easily afford it.
I had to stop when I changed job and took a massive pay cut. Now I take the same sandwich every day with a packet of crisps and some fruit. I have to make DD's lunch so I've got into a routine.
I also don't worry about fancy lunch, or making it exciting. It's fuel to be eaten and I do better when eating at home.

I used to buy a meal deal lunch every day! I was young, single and saving over a grand a month so could easily afford it.
I had to stop when I changed job and took a massive pay cut. Now I take the same sandwich every day with a packet of crisps and some fruit. I have to make DD's lunch so I've got into a routine.
I also don't worry about fancy lunch, or making it exciting. It's fuel to be eaten and I do better when eating at home.

But I think the OP sounds a lot like me in that she doesn't want her lunch to be dull or just 'fuel to keep going until dinner'.

It's a third of your meals, so why waste a third of the meals you eat on food you don't enjoy?

It's been a while as I usually WFH now, but my easy lunch was to take in at the start of the week:
oatcakes/crackers/ryvita
tub of flavoured soft cheese
cherry tomatoes
Fruit in season - pears/nectarines/grapes

And keep a stash of cereal bars, treats.

Current favourite snack is sliced apple with a peanut butter and yoghurt dip.

I have last nights leftovers with salad, in a wrap and some fruit. Usually a banana.

Usually leftover dinner, or any of the following options - sandwich or wrap, soup, pasta salad or a grain salad, fritters which are usually kept in the freezer and defrosted come lunchtime, or uncle Ben's rice for really unprepared days

This type:

I don’t see it as a treat tbh, and they’re really not that expensive. I know many people who have them daily.

I work in sets of three days so will make food to last the three days
Normally wraps of different types,

Common ones I have are salad based with differently spiced quorn or tofu or chickpeas, like fajita spiced, tandoori, tikka, italian herbs and lemon, garlic and herbs, or whatever sauce we made for dinner.

Or in the winter I make big batches of vegetable curry, vegetable stew and vegetable soups and freeze them in portions to take- when I didn't have access to a mi rowave I would make them in a thermos

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.

This sounds simple and easy even I could attempt it!

I always buy feta as I think I will make a more interesting pack lunch. And I end up taking cheese or ham sandwiches everytime. There are now two unopened packs of feta in my fridge.

Anyone got any other ideas for feta?

When I’m organised I will make jacket potatoes and take one a day to work with baked beans or tuna.

Hmmm this sounds so tasty!
is the ginger purée the same as ginger paste in a jar?

Some of these are so good I’ll try as a main meal.

Best hoik them judging pants then I buy a meal day most days I go into the office. But they are dire