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    Cheap lunch ideas?

    Posts: 1
    edited February 10 in Food and Nutrition
    Hi All,
    Im really struggling to come up with low calorie lunches that are cheap that i can prep at work.

    I have a Tesco and Lidl close by and my office had a kettle and microwave!

    Im really not a fan of tones of salad and i dont really have the option to prep at home! :-)

    any ideas?

    Katie

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    Replies

    • Posts: 6,035 Member
      Turkey sandwich, slice of cheese on whole wheat bread and an apple? Does not get any easier then that...

      I like to use hummus in place of mayo also...
    • Posts: 374 Member
      I make extra when I cook dinners and heat them up in the microwave for lunch. Or have soup. Tons of recipes online and they're cheap, healthy, and fillng, depending what you make.
    • Posts: 25 Member
      Hi

      How about:
      Low-fat houmous, you can get them in little pots all ready measured out if you go to Morrisons, with raw carrots/cucumbers and pitta pocket. I love having this for dinner!

      Or making a soup? Soups you can freeze so if you do a big batch you can save some money there :) I like home made vegetable soups.

      What about Spanish meats, with raw peppers and feta cheese?

      x
    • Posts: 2,765 Member
      yeah I second the Leftovers idea. I try to always cook enough at dinner that I have enough for lunch the next day (which is sometimes difficult since I have a husband who will mindlessly pick at stuff until there's suddenly not enough there for a lunch anymore. I try to put the lunch portion aside straight from the cooking pots before it even gets to the table, it helps)
    • Posts: 10
      Microwave a sweet potato and have it with houmous, or a little tin of baked beans. And look out for offers on Innocent Veg Pots / other healthy ready meal pots, that can be zapped in the microwave
    • Posts: 1,454 Member
      Low-fat houmous, you can get them in little pots all ready measured out if you go to Morrisons
      Typically, anything that comes in pre-portioned servings is going to be more expensive than the same product packaged all together. I do find it easier sure, but, the costs add up.
    • Posts: 56 Member
      I normally do left overs heated up or I make a sandwich with nible bread as it's lower calories and stuff it full of tomato and cucumber and some cheese or meat. Costs about 50p a portion I'd estimate? :)
    • Posts: 56 Member
      This is a fountain of inspiration for me btw http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food-etc/

      So many cheap recipies that you can cook for dinner and then take an extra portion to work with you to heat up :)
    • Posts: 25 Member
      show previous quotes
      Typically, anything that comes in pre-portioned servings is going to be more expensive than the same product packaged all together. I do find it easier sure, but, the costs add up.

      No really, the ones I get from Morrisons you get 3 portioned sized tubs for £1.20. So that will last 3 days. Where as one tub is normally £1.40 or more... x
    • Posts: 762 Member
      Hi All,
      Im really struggling to come up with low calorie lunches that are cheap that i can prep at work.

      I have a Tesco and Lidl close by and my office had a kettle and microwave!

      Im really not a fan of tones of salad and i dont really have the option to prep at home! :-)

      any ideas?

      Katie

      Sorry, can't help, I usually eat salad for lunch.

      Tomorrow's salad is green lettuce, roast beef, avocado, feta, mix of seeds and a bit of pesto on top.
      Nom nom nom
    • Posts: 25 Member
      Sorry, can't help, I usually eat salad for lunch.

      Tomorrow's salad is green lettuce, roast beef, avocado, feta, mix of seeds and a bit of pesto on top.
      Nom nom nom
      [/quote]

      That sounds lush!
      I'm having a salad omelette for lunch x
    • Posts: 1,785 Member
      Hop on that Ramen + Tuna :wink: serious
    • Posts: 5,424 Member
      Sunflower seeds/almonds
      Banana
      Apple
      carrots
      cucumbers
      yogurt
      tuna

      Mix & match as needed.
    • Posts: 203 Member
      Every single day I eat some combination of tortilla/meat/cheese, with veggies, fruit and a yogurt. I guess I don't need a whole lot of variety. Sometimes I'll get ambitious and make a tuna or chicken salad for said "meat" portion.
    • Posts: 463 Member
      You say you have no option to prep your food at home, why is that? Is it a time issue? Or a lack of facilities to cook? I am guessing it is more likely to be a time issue in which case I would try and make time. It would be much easier for you to eat a variety of cost effective meals for lunch if you were able to take the time to prepare food at home and them just take a portion for lunch. Soup is awesome & any based on mostly vegetables are going to be cheap, just buy what is on offer or what is seasonal or do what others have suggested and when you prepare dinner, make extra so you have a portion for your lunch the next day. Or just google for "cheap eats" or "cheap meals" & you will find thousands of recipes that are budget friendly. The goodtoknow and bbcgoodfood sites are both good UK sites & would give you plenty of options for eating on a budget.

      If you only have a microwave at work then unless you take pre-made food or leftovers with you to just heat up, then really all you are left with are cold lunches like salads/sandwiches etc or you opt for supermarket pre-prepared meals which are 1) not that cheap 2) not that tasty and 3) typically not that nutritious unless you go for the "healthy" ranges which are usually more expensive.
    • Posts: 132 Member
      What about cold cooked meats/fish and cous cous with veg ?

      Cous cous you can make in a mug by pouring the correct amount of boiling water in and covering the mug with cling film or a plate ect and those steam fresh veg packs are great to shot in the microwave for 3 mins

      If you like quorn you can microwave their burgers and chicken style pieces so maybe use thses to lower the cost of the meal (big bags of quorn on offer in tesco for £1.50 each at the mo!)

      Could swap the cous cous for a microwaved sweet poato too :)
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