Ideas for packed lunches on a budget

Tuna and sweet corn pasta?
Wraps
Left overs from last nights tea?
Quiche
I will continue to think I have this struggle too!! x

I struggled with this when I worked the over night shifts. Now I am swing shift and still have issues. But what about some finger foods like chicken breast and raw veggies. I also used to keep some protein bars when I couldn't think of anything to make. My daughter loves cucumber stufed with tuna and light mayo. Hope these ideas help

I found this on a link someone posted here, and I have used it many times:

1 whole wheat tortilla
1 cup baby spinach leaves
3 oz. turkey
Dijon or brown mustard
1 small cucumber, sliced (I use baby cukes)
1 tomato, sliced
Splash of red wine vinegar

Layer, roll, wrap in plastic, chill, eat! Turkey bacon and avocado would be good swaps if you need a change.

You can make all sorts of soups on the cheap that both pack and freeze well. You can make a huge batch, freeze half, and have the other half for your lunches.

I'm currently obsessed with rice bowls, My current favorite is brown rice, black beans, broccoli, avocado and hot sauce. Easy, cheap and you can mix up the combination of rice/veg/protein/fat to keep it interesting

You can make all sorts of soups on the cheap that both pack and freeze well. You can make a huge batch, freeze half, and have the other half for your lunches.

Agree! I make soup in the crockpot on Sunday and have plenty for the week. There are plenty of sites out there like skinny ms.
Check out this recipe. I made it this week and is awesome!
http://skinnyms.com/skinny-slow-cooker-savory-superfood-soup/

I buy a large container of mixed greens 50% spinach, 1 red pepper, cucumber, in bulk buy cranberries (add1tbsp), and slivered almonds (1tbsp), goat cheese (1onze), make my own balsamic dressing. I get about 5 salads out of it. Its soo good, I have not gotten sick of it yet. I keep all ingredients in a fridge at work and make my salad fresh every day. Takes about 5 min.

Turkey Chili is another idea, as it freezes well and full of vegetables and protein! Very cheap to make when you portion it out and freeze it.

I buy a large container of mixed greens 50% spinach, 1 red pepper, cucumber, in bulk buy cranberries (add1tbsp), and slivered almonds (1tbsp), goat cheese (1onze), make my own balsamic dressing. I get about 5 salads out of it. Its soo good, I have not gotten sick of it yet. I keep all ingredients in a fridge at work and make my salad fresh every day. Takes about 5 min.

I do this too, but instead of mixed greens I will buy a bag of broccoli salad mix. I find that the crunchiness of the broccoli helps to satisfy me in a way that salad greens do not.

My go to cheap and healthy meal is lentils and rice. Cook up the lentils with some carrots and onion and your choice of broth, serve over rice. Brown basmati goes well.

Thanks everyone for sharing, I'm off to try the spinch/cranberry/almond salad!

I pack lunches regularly for my job as well, and I'm on a very tight budget myself. I typically cycle through the same things over and over, and I often eat the same thing for lunch for about a week because it means I have to buy less groceries.

I like half sandwiches with veggies and a low-cal dip, like hummus or veggie dip made with greek yogurt, and a fruit cup or serving of fresh fruit.

If I get tired of plain veggies, I'll switch to a a veggie wrap or sandwich that I sort of copied from a popular smoothie restaurant and a handful of whole-grain crackers and some kind of fruit. My favorite are Wheat Thins Fiber Selects or Triscuits.

If you're interested in the veggie sandwich, spread hummus on a bread or wrap of your choice, add a cheese of your choice (provolone is my favorite with this, although I sometimes use veggie cheese), then layer lettuce and/or spinach, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, diced peppers, diced onions, and matchstick carrots. The only thing is it's sometimes hard to get enough protein in this meal.

Half sandwiches and soup or salad are another combo I like, or sometimes I'll pack soup and salad with fruit. This is easy to vary to keep yourself from getting bored because you can get lots of different soup, salad, and dressing varieties.

(The half sandwiches mean less prep overall and they keep the calories in check, because I love bread, but it can quickly add calories and not-as-filling carbs.)

I like to keep lunch simple and quick to prepare, but I love to cook and try new recipes for dinner, so if I'm tired of all of this stuff, I'll just pack leftovers from the night before.

In general, I try to make sure my lunch has a balance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and a lean protein, or at least 3 out of 4.

Hope this helps! It probably sounds boring for some, but it works well for time and budget constraints.

I tried out a new recipe today for portobello pizzas! Hallow out 2 large or 6 small portobellos, then fill w pizza sauce, skim milk mozz. cheese and I cut up turkey pepperettes(2, one each mushroom) to sprinkle on top! Since you don't have an oven at work, just pop em in the oven at home either 350 for like 20 mins or broil on hi for a bit less! and they reheat nicely at work! I used a serving and a half of cheese grated and the cals came out to about 350 for the 2 large, felt pretty satisfied after as well!

I like to take a sweet potato and microwave it for about 6 minutes. Then I take 1/2 cup black beans and some salsa and put over it baked potato style. It's really filling and cheap.

I eat anywhere from a half to a whole pound of broccoli and almost a pound of chicken thigh every day at lunch. Costs about two bucks, I make it at home, you can cook broccoli and chicken so many different ways too and it's about 600 calories - tons of protein and good carbs & fats. I buy the food at an asian grocery store in town which may make it cheaper than if you go somewhere else.