Work Pack Lunches

[knockedup]

I'm in a bit of a quandry.

My new food/household weekly shopping budget for 2009 is going to be £55 max. (2 adults, 1 3yr old, 1 weaning 6month old) Previously £75.

Think I'm going to be able to manage it but one thing worrying me is I'm going to start making DH lunches for work to stop him wasting money.(it's the effort that's worrying me most)

Just wondering if any of you are experienced at this and if you've got any good ideas as I can see soup in a flask and sandwiches getting boring!

Thanks x

I take a packed lunch, though I've also got a fridge and microwave at work which gives a few more options.

You can swap the bread around so its not always sandwiches - I find wraps make a nice change, or pitta bread. Also you can go with sausage rolls or pasties sometimes.

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I'm a veggie which makes it more complicated but a few of the things I like for packed lunches include:

a veggie scotch egg with carrot and cumcumber sticks

cous cous salad

veggie soz rolls and salad

cheese and crackers and an apple or pear

fruit salad and a croissant, or tea ckae

fruit and yoghurt

DH takes sandwiches (ham, cheese/onion, leftover roast meat from a joint - beef or pork), but does have access to a microwave.

If we have a smallish amount of curry/chilli left after a meal that won't really feed anyone for a main meal, then I save it for the freezer and the same with rice (although you have to be careful that it is cooled straight away and bunged into the freezer.

I use those clipit boxes which are ideal.

Then, to give DH a break from sandwiches he has a home made ready meal for his lunch.

I also make up soup for him and he can just take one out of the freezer the night before.

Yes I think he does have a microwave and a fridge.

In that case, it's easy. Just cook a bit more of whatever you're having for dinner and he can warm the leftovers up. Pasta, rice and chilli, casserole, soup etc all really easy and fine the next day.

I either take last nights left overs, or pasta salad. I use value pasta / value tuna / various veg with a drizzle of olive oil and herbs, or a bit of grated cheese. It's very cheap to do.

One thing that helps me is making/buying bread rolls which I cut in half before freezing, then I get it out the night before and put the cheese or whatever in, wrap it and put it back in the fridge and it's all ready to take the next morning.

If you have a bread machine: I make batches of "interesting" bread rolls - different flavour breads etc so keeps it varied without having to think of lots of different fillings.

Like Janeite I like cous cous salad and that can be assembled the night before and is actually good to let the flavours "develop"! I make sure I have a few antipasti pots to make the flavours interesting (i.e. a couple of chopped sun dried toms, courgettes, olives, pepperdews etc can make it much more interesting).

After a while you get so you're disappointed to have to buy boring shop fare cos homemade is way nicer .

If he has access to microwave - leftovers are great and add variety to daily lunch.

DH has sandwiches sometimes, but they are in fact not the norm! He often takes in leftover risotto or pasta, or puts leftover chicken in pitta, side salad (simple)

Quesedillas make a fab packed lunch, I used to have them all the time. You can vary the fillings but it's basically a pizza sandwiched between two wraps. You take one wrap, cover it in grated cheese (double gloucester, cheddar and mozzarella work well, add chopped red pepper, chopped red onion, chillis and coriander, then squash the other wrap on top and fry for about a 30 seconds each side, or until it's browned and sticks together. Then cut into quarters. I'd keep guacamole and soured cream in the work fridge, and they can be eaten cold or warmed in a microwave.

you cant vary the filling of Quesidillas I has to be ham & cheese!!! anything else is just WRONG!

I could just eat a quesailla now. I like them with gouda and then a mango salsa to eat with them.

yup, make too much a couple of nights a week for your evening meal, put a portion in a storage box and he can take it to work and heat up for lunch, (if theres a microwave of course) Pasta, chilli, shephards pie, soup etc all great send in a fresh bread roll too and some fruit or chocolate.
Our weekly food budget for 2009 is £45 me, Dh and 5 yr old dd. We have been trying it for last few weeks and doing okay so far, fresh fruit and veg from market, so much cheaper and fresh meat from local small butcher, bit more pricey but goes further and is nicer and just basics from supermarket, Best of luck