Onigiri. Seriously. It's easy to make and you can put just about anything in the middle. Tuna, which can be prepared in several different ways, is the best IMO.
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What cheap/tasty lunches do you take to work?
- Thread starter Ahheck01
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It's not too expensive, maybe a dollar or two more a pound than the crappy brands. And worth every penny.
Several options:
Occasionally I'll get lucky and the local Stater Bros will have a sale on mini-pizzas. I'm fortunate enough to have a toaster oven at work; Jeno's Pizzas work much better in a toaster oven than a microwave.
The Mrs. also makes up carrot and celery sticks for me, along with some homemade dipping sauce (e.g. honey mustard or Thousand Island), to help counteract the Munchies.
Friday's are my "splurge on the town" lunch; I only work a half-day anyway.
- Leftovers from last night's dinner
- Budget Gourmet or Michelini's entrees. Some of those aren't bad; we tend to watch for the sales and stock up.
- Sandwiches, usually bologna or ham with cheddar cheese.
- Top Ramen, augmented by frozen veggies
Occasionally I'll get lucky and the local Stater Bros will have a sale on mini-pizzas. I'm fortunate enough to have a toaster oven at work; Jeno's Pizzas work much better in a toaster oven than a microwave.
The Mrs. also makes up carrot and celery sticks for me, along with some homemade dipping sauce (e.g. honey mustard or Thousand Island), to help counteract the Munchies.
Friday's are my "splurge on the town" lunch; I only work a half-day anyway.
As others have been indicating; cheapest way to go is to cook at home and bring in the left overs.
For me I make big time use of a rice cooker; and do some one or two pot type dishes.
One of my favorite recipes is what they call San Antonio Rice:
1 cup uncooked rice
12oz of salsa
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup canned corn kernels (love the ones with peppers in them)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt (I leave that out
)
1 1/4 cups water
(I usually double the recipe and add a 1 pound of some sort of meat - usually what ever sausage is on sale)
With a rice cooker you can also use broth (either stuff you made from lets say chicken, or the "canned" stuff) to add some flavor to the rice. Tossing in canned or frozen veggies and some sort of meat makes for a complete meal.
One tip that I learned from a friend is to try to take an evening or two - or maybe a "lazy" day at home and cook multiple meals at one time. When I am doing a rice cooker dish; I often cook up a pot of spaghetti sauce - which I freeze. And then cook up a pot of pasta that I will use over a couple of days. Another favorite of mine is cooking up some home fries fired up in the grease of what ever sausage I will use to have something more than potatoes with them.
Some money saving tips on groceries:
- Check out Aldi's ( http://www.aldi.com/ ) Some savings can be had over the big grocery stores at times.
- For those in the US, also checkout Angel Food Ministries ( http://www.angelfoodministries.com/ ). I have used them for the last couple of months for my meats mainly. For those of us on time short days in order to go to multiple grocery stores to get the best prices on meats - they are not bad overall IMO.
- For reciepes and other tips on how to save some $ check out Hillbilly Housewife ( http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ ). Some are extreme - but some make sense as well.
For me I make big time use of a rice cooker; and do some one or two pot type dishes.
One of my favorite recipes is what they call San Antonio Rice:
1 cup uncooked rice
12oz of salsa
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup canned corn kernels (love the ones with peppers in them)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt (I leave that out
)1 1/4 cups water
(I usually double the recipe and add a 1 pound of some sort of meat - usually what ever sausage is on sale)
With a rice cooker you can also use broth (either stuff you made from lets say chicken, or the "canned" stuff) to add some flavor to the rice. Tossing in canned or frozen veggies and some sort of meat makes for a complete meal.
One tip that I learned from a friend is to try to take an evening or two - or maybe a "lazy" day at home and cook multiple meals at one time. When I am doing a rice cooker dish; I often cook up a pot of spaghetti sauce - which I freeze. And then cook up a pot of pasta that I will use over a couple of days. Another favorite of mine is cooking up some home fries fired up in the grease of what ever sausage I will use to have something more than potatoes with them.
Some money saving tips on groceries:
- Check out Aldi's ( http://www.aldi.com/ ) Some savings can be had over the big grocery stores at times.
- For those in the US, also checkout Angel Food Ministries ( http://www.angelfoodministries.com/ ). I have used them for the last couple of months for my meats mainly. For those of us on time short days in order to go to multiple grocery stores to get the best prices on meats - they are not bad overall IMO.
- For reciepes and other tips on how to save some $ check out Hillbilly Housewife ( http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ ). Some are extreme
- but some make sense as well.
I don't go to the grocery store, generally, with a list of what I'm buying for meals. I let the store's deals dictate what I buy. If chicken is at a great price, I buy that and then decide how I will make that into a meal. I never cook for a single meal so that I have extras for lunches.
Trader Joe's is a good one..they have many frozen selections that are good and cheap. Frozen chicken tamales, 2 for $1.60 which makes one for lunch cost .80 cents.
You can make your own soup for very cheap and make a gang of it and freeze a batch for weeks later.
Trader Joe's is a good one..they have many frozen selections that are good and cheap. Frozen chicken tamales, 2 for $1.60 which makes one for lunch cost .80 cents.
You can make your own soup for very cheap and make a gang of it and freeze a batch for weeks later.