Lunch ideas that aren't sandwiches!

[OhCrapingHell]

Am on maternity leave with a two month old who won't be put down! So I need lunch ideas that are quick and easy but not the usual sandwiches.

jacket potatoe, salad pots (like you buy in supermakets- you could save the pots and make your own)

Wraps or bagels for a (slight) change.

Have you tried wraps - like sandwiches, but are much less of a mess ...

Have you tried soup - a big pot/tub in the fridge and just heat and eat ??

We have wraps sometime but they just don't fill me up at the moment.

I'm not a massive fan of soup, though I will try & give some a go.

What could i do with couscous to make it more interesting? It's harder in the winter. inthe summer i can just have lovely salads and fruit. now i want stodge & chocolate biscuits!

Cauliflower cheese. It's dead warming on a winter's day.

And, and cauliflowers are all over the place and virtually being given away at this time of year.

Hugh Featherdown Woggle has a few suggestions for lunchboxes in his Every Day book. It mainly consists of getting a bigger roast than normal for the weekend and then using the leftover meat during the week. For example, lamb leftovers he mixes with couscous flavoured with mint, zest and juice of a lemon, and presweated finely chopped onion, garlic and seasoning. He then adds dried apricots and almonds.

His programme showed the basics :

• some cold leftover shredded meat
• some veg or salad
• some herbs
• some extras like nuts, dried fruit, seeds etc
• some carb eg couscous, pasta, new potatoes, lentils etc
• some liquid or sauce to bind eg vinaigrette etc

If this all sounds a bit like hard work, I like very strong cheddar, oatcakes, celery and grapes, with some really good tomato chutney.

MCP's Chicken salad..slices of chicken ,lettuce you like, cucumbers,toms,advocado slices (optional),bacon bits and spring onions spinkled on top,boiled egg sliced...whole wheat crackers on the side

Oh, and for a quick fix we have a tub in which we have mixed up dried fruit, nuts, seeds etc. Very good for you and very filling.

Make your couscous with stock for added flavour. If one wrap doesn't fill you - have two.