If you had £7.50 to buy lunch with what would you get?

[Lovelysummerdays]

I’m allowed to get reimbursed for lunch at work as out and about. General rules are no grocery shops, you have to eat in, so no takeaways. I’ve generally had coffee and cake somewhere but I’m going to be huge if I eat cake everyday. I stopped off at KFC today and had a rice box which was quite nice and probably slightly healthier than cake. Are there any decentish meals from fast food places for £7.50 or less?

Sandwich or salad from M&S Cafe (if it’s allowed?) or Pret. Sushi from itsu/Wasabi is a great healthier alternative.Another good place would be a sandwich from Gail’s, they usually have quite nice seating areas.

Find an independent shop that doesn't do itemised receipts and then no one will ever know if you got it to take away, spent it all on coffee and biscuits etc.

Yes, Itsu for me, too. Doesn’t have to be sushi, they do very tasty chicken or salmon salads with rice and lots of vegetables. I like them and they make me feel healthy…would meet OP's price limit.

So you have to eat a shit ready made lunch rather than just buy a banana, an avocado and some cheese and crackers from a supermarket.
What a bullshit policy.

Depends what I fancy at the time but I had a bloody lovely roast pork sandwich with all the trimmings the other day for £6.50 so that and maybe a can of diet coke with the leftover £1.

Agreed on Pret. So many healthier options. Love the soups on winter!

What would you recommend? I tried it for the first time recently and had a very sad chicken Caesar burger thing which sounded delicious in the description.

Where I work changes from week to week. So sometimes tiny places. Also my schedule isn’t fixed so I might get out there and find out my work only took 2 hours and head home hungry or it took five and all the cafes have closed so also heading home hungry.

Greggs has a bad name that is totally undeserved. You can a nice fresh roll or a boxed salad. Pastry is optional.

My work has some good eating options, including sandwich making places. I would choose a crusty baguette with coronation chicken and lettuce, plus I could get a cheese scone and butter (they are truly excellent) for later, and a drink. As of the beginning of December I would choose Christmas mix filling instead.
If I was being a bit more healthy I would get a baked potato instead of the baguette, and if I was being a lot more healthy it would be a salad. The cheese scone, however, is non-negotiable. (They are really REALLY good!)

I'd just get whatever is nice for a tenner and pay the £2.50 myself and maybe splash out on a Friday to £12 lol. £2.50 isn't a lot for a lunch every day, although I appreciate not everyone has the same kind of budget. I might do a mix of pret and a street food vendor, Waitrose café etc. For healthier options.

Some supermarkets have cafés so you could get a meal deal or salad/sushi and pay for it at the café till, but maybe you could circle the time on the receipt so they can see you bought lunch within working hours. Or buy the sandwich from the supermarket then a coffee from the cafe and staple both receipts together, so they can see you sat in the cafe to eat.

If I were nearby in London I'd get gimbap from Bunsik Korean fast food restaurant near Earl's Court.

Or on a chilly day like this, Pret's macaroni cheese (not good for the waistline but sooo delicious) 😍

Whats near where you live? Surely you can grab something locally at 9am from a pret or something then eat it later?

Is there a Morrisons near you? They have a salad counter and you just pick the size box that you want and help yourself.

I used to work at an office with a similar rule. No grocery shops meant don't go to a supermarket and buy a loaf of bread and a pack of cheese slices and some salad to make sandwiches for the week. But it was OK to go to a supermarket and buy a prepackaged sandwich. Are you allowed a meal deal from M&S or Sainsbury's or even Boots or WH Smith? Sainsbury's you can get healthy snacks like falafel, fruit, or cheese alongside a salad or sushi. Could you eat in the in store cafe in Waitrose or Asda? Could you sit in a park and eat a supermarket meal deal? What's the rule? It seems very wasteful, what a shame. (£7.50 gets you nearly nothing at Leons or Pret.)

Pret chicken salad - either the Italian one with Parmesan and olives or the Satay one. Both delicious.

IF you are out and about travelling I feel your pain - I think they are trying to enforce a break by the no supermarket rule. However

• Many supermarkets have a coffee and sandwich stop - suss those out
• Tea shops generally quite good, tea cake, smaller sandwiches, something on toast
• Look for what used to be called greasy spoon places - its not all fried and you will get good price filling meal and often they do soup and a toastie or sandwich and at a far lower price than say costa
• Look out for cafe's near a park
• types of food - vegan or veggie often less expensive, sushi, poke bowl type thing, noodles and broth etc

I find sandwiches v boring and look for something else usually more protein and veg, then have something small and carby afterwards

Maybe list some towns you regularly go to and we can find people familiar with them to recommend places.

Itsu do lots of things that would come under £7.50, and pretty healthy choices too.

I got a bacon and Brie baguette from Pret last week and it was lovely. I’d definitely have that again. I think that and some crisps and drink was round about the budget you said

In most places the allowance goes towards a meal and you can top it up

fruit toast & Jam with a coffee from Starbucks.

McDonald's😁

That sounds very tasty but OP was after healthy as well...which means different things to different people, of course.

Take it you’re a civil servant? They are my depts rules too

If you are near a Gail's they might have a nice, relatively healthy option around this price, too:

https://gails.com/collections/lunch?srsltid=AfmBOopaUCL0MhJfThl5kTucTq_PXaakGfTW1Lf9xRzhQZLC0A8NYxcp