In the beau's and my shiny new legally merged household, I'm in charge of the moolah. The beau is, um, not great with money. Not that I'm a pro {see: all past posts on credit card debt}, but both of my parents are accountant, so I grew up in a household that loved a good budget. And due to said upbringing, I actually really enjoy the world of household finance. No, seriously. I do.
One of the areas of concern for me is how much we're spending on weekday lunches. I am all for spending money on meals out, but I generally prefer those to be of either the gourmet date-night or the Chick-fil-a Friday lunch splurge varieties. We're eating out for lunch right now at least twice a week and it's got to stop.
Here's the problem {and here's where you come in, sweet readers!}:
I have no idea what to make for lunch.
I am all for grocery shopping and saving money and eating lunch at home. I love sandwiches and soups and salads. But I got nothing. I seem stumped to come up with anything outside of the chicken/ham/turkey + cheese and assorted condiments realm. I've searched high and low {read: Pinterest} for ideas, but most of what I find is geared towards the lunchbox-to-school toting crowd.
What are y'all eating for lunch? Really, I'd love to know. Any great, go-to quick salads? Delicious and easy but not boring sandwiches or wraps? Or something totally non-lunch traditional yet fabulous?
Do share!
8 comments:
I'm currently playing this diet game with friends (Game On Diet, written by the head writer of Grey's Anatomy!), so my meals are very regimented. But one of my new faves for lunch is this:
1 sweet potato (or half, if it's a big one... they have pre-washed ones wrapped in plastic that only need to be popped in the microwave for 6-8 mins... BEST ever. They come out perfect every time!)
Salsa
Fat Free sour cream
Fat Free shredded cheddar
Black beans (drained and rinsed)
Salad (cukes, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, one cut up string cheese in a homemade olive oil/balsamic vinegar/minced garlic dressing)
I'm a bean fanatic - inexpensive, full of protein, and bean salads are so easy to make to have for a few days. I love chickpeas, bell peppers, onions, celery.... really any veggies (or fruits) you like, chop em up all the same size as the beans you use. Lemon juice, mustard, olive oil... whatever dressing you like ties it all together. Make a big batch and bring either as a main or side dish for lunches, so good and it gets better every day as the flavors marry more :)
Sarah...hope you're feeling better!! No fun being sick.
As for lunch, I just love a hot soup. Also, I like to take an apple, slice it, but keep it together (so it doesn't get brown), some almonds (gotta have crunch) and some string cheese. Not very glamorous...but very satisfying.
Good luck keeping the family books! :)
xoxo Elizabeth
I rarely go out for lunch, ever! It adds up so quick and I figure I would rather have the extra $30- $50 a week to spend on clothes or something else.
I am not a big sandwich person, at all. I normally take leftovers from the previous night's dinner. This could be lasagna, spaghetti, soop, etc. When there are no leftovers, I will take baked chicken and steamed brocolli that I cooked the night before. (It is so simple and quick to cook that I usually do it while I am cleaning up the kitchen.) I will also take a salad from time to time with tuna fish on top of it to make is not so boring.
Leftovers from dinner the night before are my usual, but I also keep a small stash of Lean Cuisines in the freezer at work, for when I don't have leftovers. If you pick them up on sale or with a coupon, they're about $3/meal.
I love a well-made sandwich, good bowl of soup, or cold (always and only cold) leftovers, so I'm really not much help!
PS: the title of this entry made me laugh so thanks for that! =)
SHF
thechroniclesofs.blogspot.com
The title of this post made laugh out loud. Very funny!
I'm so bad about making lunch. I usually just do a single serving of microwave mac and cheese or an english muffin with hummus (so healthy ;)
I hope you (and I) can get some good ideas!
I take my lunch almost every day (I'm frugal (read cheap!!)). I take lots of leftovers, soup with baked cheetos and fruit or veggies, hummus (40 spices is my favorite) with veggies and pita, cottage cheese with fruit and a few other things to go with it. We will deliberately make more than we need for dinner, just so we have lunch leftovers for the week!
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