To ask your WFH lunch ideas?

[SmartCarDriver]

I'm bored with sandwiches, what else do you all have?

TIA

... or breakfast. Sometimes I have more like a brunch.

Often, leftovers
Avocado toast topped with feta and mint, or a fried egg
Supermarket meze – stuffed vine leaves, hummus, beans, tzatziki, pita
Black bean quesadillas

But most often it is leftovers, or some kind of sandwich and crisps because we’ve utterly failed to stock the fridge and cupboards in a chaotic manner. Key to WFH lunches is a full fridge!

Ooo love a good lunch thread !

I try to take at least 30 mins lunch out of my day (not officially WFH but similar role from home). Hang a load of washing etc and take time to have a break and lunch

often it's leftovers from the night before eg chilli but I'll have it with salad rather than rice.

Yesterday was oatcakes with cheese and an apple

Pitta and hummus / carrots / pepper etc

Lidl do a nice tuna salad in a tin I like the Mexican one which I mix with cold cooked pasta shapes and salad leaves.

Sometimes I make a Spanish omelette / crustless quiche and it does a couple of days

Sometimes I make a big batch of roasted veg and that keeps a few days, butternut squash is good then add whatever is in the fridge usually feta, possibly some cold heck chicken sausages (cook when roasting the veg).

Basically I hardly ever eat sandwiches 😂

Soup - I have a multicooker/instant pot type thing so takes 10 mins to prep then leave it to cook while I'm working.

Omelettes

Jacket potatoes in the slow cooker. Rub with oil and a little salt, wrap each one in tin foil then cook on high for 4-5 hours. So if I prep them at breakfast time they're done by lunchtime.

Toasted sandwiches - ham & cheese, or smoked chicken, cheese & chopped sundried tomato

Quesadillas - made with chilli beans, cheese, a little salsa on top

Pita, falafel, salad, Greek yoghurt, mint

I got a breadmaker when Covid first hit and it's been a game changer for WFH lunches. Stick everything in first thing in the morning, hot fresh delicious bread by lunchtime. I like experimenting with adding different flavourings, I quite like adding a spoonful of wholegrain mustard and a big handful of chopped fresh herbs from the garden.

Batch of veggie soup every few days in cold weather. I've got a soup maker so just chop and chuck everything in on a morning and switch it on 10 mins before lunchtime. Or reheated leftovers sometimes.

In summer I'm a real salad lover and love trying out new ideas. Currently a fan of lime and mint tabbouleh, watermelon and feta salad, peach, walnuts and goats cheese, Bulgarian shopska salad (ate it non stop on holiday pre covid)

Tomato soup
Beans on toast
Chicken soup
Scrambled eggs on toast
Vegetable soup
Boiled egg with buttered bread
Minestrone soup
Toasted cheese sandwich
Oxtail soup
Toasted cheese and salami sandwich

If you're wealthy enough there's always the takeaway option, for example
KFC
Pizza
Burger and chips
Fish and chips
Scampi and chips
Battered sausage and chips
Saveloy and chips
Kebab and chips
Pie and chips
Haggis and chips (in Scotland)

That's 19 different meals (20 in Scotland) so you could go several weeks without a duplicate. There are probably other things you could have too.

My favourites are:

Smoked mackerel pate on toast with green salad
Tomato and mozzarella salad with basil
Cold leek and potato soup
Cheese, crackers and fruit

Generally quick things like cold meat/cheese/salad, jacket potato, scrambled eggs or beans on toast.

Or I use the slow cooker to make a batch of soup or dhal which does at least 2 lunches for DH and me.

Now it's a bit hotter, I either have a tuna or an egg salad for lunch - feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions with two boiled eggs or a can of tuna, splash of mayo. If I'm hungrier than normal, I will have a toasted pita bread or some grapes and cheese afterwards.

If the weather is cooler I will have soup or fried eggs & beans with cheese.

Make the most of it, OP! The WFH euphoria wears off - after 15 years of it I often skip lunch and take an hour out in the late afternoon to do chores, go to the gym, or water the plants.

if I do eat, it's usually soup & a bit of fruit, as I feel sluggish in the afternoon if I eat too much.

A flour tortilla in a dry frying pan with some cheese, spinach and chili sauce (or whatever you have) and then another tortilla on top. When it starts to crisp, flip it over. It takes moments, makes a sort of quesadilla and loads more exciting than a sandwich.

This sounds yum!

Just normal lunch ideas then surely? (not a dig!)

Recently I've been enjoying making up batches of spiced rice (pilau rice seasoning, boil up with lots of finely chopped veg), batches of roasted mediterranean or mixed veg in garlic oil, paprika, lemon etc (whatever i fancy or have) then cooking up some salmon fillets or chicken mini fillets and just helping myself to a serving, adding an avocado or some salad if needed. Bit like a buffet, but at home and very easy. Cold rice fries up wonderfully if you decide you later fancy it hot or want a stir fry.

Otherwise I've been having Kimchi ramen or rice (also very easy) with frozen dumplings if I need a little extra to fill me up.

Noticed I had far too many tins of tuna in the cupboard so pledged to use them and made some tuna fritters/patties. Was surprised to find how delicious they are with a bit of salad or garlic mayo and have been reaching for them a lot as a snack. They're great because you can put whatever you like in - some with cheese, some with spice, some with spring onions and hoisin sauce etc.

Also enjoying the BBC Good food spiced cauliflower and chickpea salad with some tahini thrown on. Works well with lamb if you eat meat.

Not very exciting and I'm no culinary expert but it's minimal cooking across the week and all keeps and reheats well.

I did this today with pesto, spinach, cheese and some leftover ham

What do you have for lunch at weekends? More of the same.

I prep a lot of salad - lettuce, grated carrot, radish, cucumber,sweetcorn, red onion etc. Top it with tuna, egg, leftover meat, sweetcorn and courgette fritters. Then drizzle with chilli oil.
Also make a big pan of veg soup which keeps in fridge for several days so you aren't eating the same every day.
Leftover risotto
Leftover pasta bake

My favourite summer wfh lunches are

Pittas, cherry tomatoes and dips - tsatsiki, taramasalata, hummous, salsa etc
Tinned sardines on toast
Carrot and sultana salad with walnuts, oil & lemon
Ham & tomato omelette
green salad with black olives, grated cheese and croutons
left over chicken with french beans in lemon vinaigrette

I just ate chicken nuggets and frozen cauliflower rice stir fried with sweet chilli sauce. I keep some easy to cook things in the freezer that will go in the airfryer.

@Lottsbiffandsmudge - that’s the inspiration I needed. Will do these for dinner!!

The chick pea burgers 🍔

Yesterday was beans on toast and cheese

Today was roasted veg (done in airfryer, make a big batch to last a few days) on a warm wrap with hummus, salad, coriander and a drizzle of lemon Infused olive oil..it was amazing!

I have crisps, sometimes half a packet of cold meat. Bags of sweets. I'm terrible for not taking a proper lunch break. By the time 5pm rolls around I'm either starving, or too full to eat a meal thanks to the grazing.

at the moment I'm making a big dish of cous-cous (onions, peppers, olives, garlic, cumin, paprika), and a big dish of coleslaw (red and white cabbage, grated carrot & beetroot, mixed with piccalilli instead of mayo) - enough for 5 lunches for 2 people (OH takes to work in tupperware)

then for my WfH lunch I poach an egg to have on top of a plate 50:50 cous-cous and slaw, with a drizzle of sriracha