fast school/work lunches on a budget

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Erikalynne18
Erikalynne18 Posts: 555 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am starting school again in 1 week and will be doing close shifts 3 or 4 days a week as well. Any suggestions for lunch/snack items that don't need to be in the fridge? Some days I will only be home for breakfast and then won't be back till after midnight! I've lost all my weight mainly by switching my diet around and eating at home instead of at work (I work in fast food). Afraid if I don't have a plan and food on hand, that I might gain the weight back :( So, time to plan! :D

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  • chaplainamy1
    chaplainamy1 Posts: 17 Member
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    The no fridge part of this is hard!! You could go with peanut butter sandwiches, whole fruit and harder veggies like carrots would also work. Maybe you could take cereal, and buy a small milk somewhere
  • chaplainamy1
    chaplainamy1 Posts: 17 Member
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    You could also get an insulated lunch bag and some cold packs. Then you could take hard boiled eggs, yogurt etc. They might keep things cold til you get to work, maybe you could put your food in the fridge at the fast food place.
  • Erikalynne18
    Erikalynne18 Posts: 555 Member
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    Yeah I'll have a fridge to keep stuff in at work, but if I am at school first then go from school to work my food might go bad by the time I got there lol. Going to need to get creative I think! Going to buy an insulated lunch bag today so that will help :)
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
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    definitely buy a lunch bag that you can throw an ice pack or two in that way you will be able to keep things cold and have more options :) i have been bringing my lunch and snacks to work like this for the past week since they moved our fridge due to renovations :grumble:
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    I send this with my kids to school (no fridge)

    Chicken and salad sandwich
    Yoghurt
    Piece of fruit
    Something else: boiled egg, cheese and crackers, mixed bean salad
    Freezer brick

    Australian summer, 32degC, no worries.
  • newmanel
    newmanel Posts: 61 Member
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    Most food can be left unrefrigerated for most of the day and be fine. I mean, we aren't talking about sushi here, right?

    Like everyone is saying, get an insulated lunch bag and it's even more of a non-issue.

    The best thing I've found for lunches are the divided containers. Ziploc makes them, as well as some smaller mom and pop brands you can find online. Basically there is a large section for a main dish, and two smaller sections for sides or snacks. It cuts down on a ton of plastic bag waste, and slides easily into a lunchbox.

    Some cheap lunches:
    - buy bag of lettuce ($1.99 or so, can be stretched out to four or five salads), big bag of frozen chicken breasts or tofu (TJ's has both for cheap), and whatever vegetables are on sale. Grill chicken or bake tofu, assemble salad, repeat
    - toss together salad of canned or rehydrated dried beans, corn, chopped onion, tomato, salsa, cilantro (can be expensive when bought in plastic containers, but at my Kroger you can get a huge handful of this in the bulk veggie section for much less). Supplement with meat if you want or tortilla chips
    - make a big pot of rice (cheapest option) using water or chicken broth with whatever diced vegetables or meat you want thrown in, add dill, garlic, paprika, whatever spices you like. Top with shredded cheese
    - go here and knock yourself out http://www.budgetbytes.com

    In the smaller compartments, I often pack sides that benefit from being unrefrigerated, like frozen fruits and vegetables that you want to thaw throughout the day. These aren't exceedingly cheap, but frozen strawberries, mango, and edamame work well for this. Other good options are homemade crackers or biscuits, which cost very little to make.

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