Working from home quick lunches

[MrsJamin]

Working from home, need some new ideas of what to have for lunch as I get bored easily and miss the nice sandwiches I got when I worked in an office. So far I've had

• Scrambled egg and garlic mushrooms on toast
• cheese toasty (boring!)
• soup and toast
• bacon and brie sandwich (v naughty to have a lot)

Any other ideas? Needs to be quick to make.

Place marking as sick of jacket potatoes and baked beans

Omelette
Sandwiches
Soup

You already had soup! I am place marking really as I am bored of lunches.

Spicy omelette: fry halved cherry toms, garlic, pinch of cumin seeds or garam masala in butter, add one beaten egg. Roll up in a chapati or a tortilla, chilli sauce if you fancy it.

I just make an extra portion of supper the previous day, and have that - today it's pasta with chorizo, mushrooms, chicken and Parmesan.

Tuna and bean salad
Chicken and avocado sandwich
Poached eggs
Huevos rancheros
Cheese and crackers

This made me smile. I was listening to Woman's Hour on R4 the other day and their 70th birthday is approaching. The preseneter was talking about the very first broadcast, presented by a man of course as women were not allowed near a microphone, and the very first item was what women should cook for their lunch as they were at home alone all day.

Crikey thought I, that must have been of earth shattering interest.

And here we are 70 years later ...................

Can of tuna mashed into half or even a whole avocado, with spring onions and lime juice and hot sauce my favourite. I love eating mush though.

cook extra for main meal night before so leftovers
soup, homemade but frozen in portions (make in eying/weekend)
soup, tin
miso soup with grated veg, tinned tuna
omelette in its many forms - tortillas, frittata etc, keeps for two days (you can make it while eating breakfast)
instant 'casserole' on Mondays with roast leftovers and gravy (one for winter!)
proper salad, with potatoes/rice/noodles
sandwich when no ideas
boiled eggs
poached eggs
scrambled eggs
baked potatoes and beans
bacon sandwich in case of emergency

Fry some chorizo and red onion, tip in a tin of chickpeas and some halved cherry tomatoes, some black better and sumac and maybe a bit of spinach. Quick and tasty! Works with halloumi added or instead of the chorizo.

Bacon/pancetta bits fried with fennel then add some leftover rice, peas and or broad beans (frozen), and some chilli flakes.

I also eat a lot of jacket potatoes, and leftovers from the day before!

Actually, one of the clear lessons I've learnt after a year of WFH is that most ingredients + chorizo makes a decent meal.

Do you have a panini maker/sandwich press thingy?

I keep in the fridge:

Cheese (feta, mozzarella, or whatever)
Marinated artichokes
Baby spinach
Olives
Salami
Ham
Basil
Sundried tomatoes
Etc...whatever you like, basically.

And some ciabatta / panini breads in the freezer.

Rub garlic on bread, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, add a combo of stuff - I like artichoke/feta/baby spinach/fresh basil. Press in panini maker. It's like being at a cafe.

^ I pre-make 5 of these in different combos and stick them in the freezer, wrapped in foil. Lunch done for the week.

Great thread, as common challenge. Koala, that's awesome. Leftovers rarely occur in this house with constantly hungry kids. Innocent Veg Pots are quite good - other brands are available!!

Also, on the soup theme, if you have a Nutribullet type thing, shove veg into it (carrots, broccoli, kale/spinach) - with some cumin, or herbs, and blend. Then microwave - et voila! Spoon some creme fraiche or natural yog on top. Fresh soup, and not so much veg rotting in bottom of fridge.

Quasedillas, the possibilities for toasties are endless there was a fab thread on here a while ago, it should come up if you search. Tuna pasta, cous cous with chopped peppers, spring onions and bacon, potato salad, falfel and pittas, sushi, salmon and cream cheese bagels.

Yep I always save leftovers for lunch the next day or take a portion of frozen soup or stew from the freezer in the morning. Two habits to get into (4 years + WFH) are 1. Don't be fussy about eating something similar a couple of days in a row if it's healthy and 2. Take the time to portion out the food you make into single portions for the freezer. Boring but you'll be so happy when it's lunchtime and you just have to heat something up.

Tesco do a range of Spanish snacks that I like for lunch

www.tesco.com/groceries/product/browse/default.aspx?N=4293600761&Ne=4294793660

The paella, orzo pasta and mozzerella sticks are really good.

Had a quesadila at lunch time with ham,oregano,cheese, sweet peppadew peppers and Cholula chipotle sauce, it was yum! I will need to come back to this thread every day for a new idea!

I bloody love lunch. DH and I both work from home and we always have something tasty; lovely salad or homemade soup or really good sandwiches. Best of all none of our four kids are around to moan that they don't really like it.