Recomendations Requested: Cheap lunch options

Trying to save cash, and one of the biggest expensive I've noticed is eating out. Mainly at lunch from work. $5-9 bucks a day on lunch adds up to $25-50 a week and ~$100-200 a month.

I've been taking Cup of noodles and yogurt in, and that cuts a lot of spending (I think thats about $1.50 total?) but I am quickly getting sick of it. Girlfriend suggested I make rice o roni or hamburger helper at night and tupper-ware them in the next few days.

Any of you brown baggers have any suggestions?

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CATS!

Nope, but I'm in your same position. I need to start saving loot, and lunch @ $5-6 a day is starting to take a toll on my wallet.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoQb8vb4blA

Weight gainer shakes

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I typically bring lunch everyday, but you don't want to be on my diet. I bring a Starkist lunch to go thing, (tuna and crackers), some beef jerky, carrots, and a power bar for a snack before i go to the gym.

I pretty much cook food the night before and then pack it if lunch the next day.

It typically consists of rice, some type of meat grilled on my George Foreman, and vegetables.

But yeah hambuger helper and cup-o-noodles will work good too

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Take your lunch. That's what I do. Buy some crackers, bread, meat, and a few cans of Chef Boyardee. See what's on sale and don't be ashamed to do a little coupon clipping.

I've saved a good bit since I stopped going out everyday for lunch. I can go off a redbull and a peanut butter sandwich until I get home and cook.

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R-E-A-D A B-O-O-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

When I cook, I usually cook a ton of food and throw the rest into portion-sized gladware thingies. I make a snargle of spaghetti and can make that last 3 meals. I stock up on frozen stuff too... definately not the healthiest, but it gets the job done. The 8oz "michelinas" or "budget gourmey" are about 95¢ at walmart. Marie Callendars makes frozen 10oz chicken pot pies that are damn good... they're between $1.50 and $2.00 per CPP, cheaper if you buy them in bulk 8-packs. Watch the price/oz though, walmart's 4-packs are more expensive than buying four individual CPPs. We budget a certain amount of $ every month at work for soda, so while I still pack a backup mountain dew or two, I usually just take a cold one out of the fridge since they're free for employees which does save me on the 12packs of mountain dew every grocery trip.

You could always have a look through the "Who can post the sickest xxx" thread before lunch and not have to worry about eating the rest of the day...

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"If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one enjoys it?"

My vote goes to homemade sandwich and veggies. I eat, though part of a diet, a sandwich of whole wheat bread, lettuce, fat free swiss cheese, fat free mayo, and boar's head cajun seasoned turkey. I think it's delicious, and I take a bag of steam fresh vegetables that i can just nuke. One bag usually lasts me 3 meals, and obviously your sandwich materials will last you plenty of times. Occasionally I take a can of soup. I dunno, you can mix it up with some other stuff.

ok....quick easy lunches/dinners. All of this stuff stores easy and is re heatable.

Chicken Tacos.
Grill up some chicken breasts on the George Foreman. When they cool down, shred them up in a skillet with some Taco seasoning and some water....cook it until it gets a little thick and saucy. Add a can of Mexican diced tomatoes and a handful of frozen corn. Put it in taco shells with some cheddar cheese.
Best damn tacos you ever had..... period.


Chili
can't go wrong with cooking up a batch of chili and eating on that all week. Great fun to fart all week though. chop up an onion , saute most of it and then add a 1 pound of hamburger or ground turkey, usually either one is on sale. Drain off the fat. Big can of kuners chili beans, large can of diced tomatoes, and a packet of chili spice. Simmer for a while.
Get a bowl of fritos or Blue corn chips, pour some chili over it and put some raw onion and cheddar cheese from your tacos above....its the bomb!
All of this less than 5 bucks and you'll get more than 5 meals.


Stir fry.
Yep its that easy. Buy some frozen veggies from the frozen isle. They have stir fry mixes. Use some of your chicken that you bought for the tacos. Slice chicken thin and cook in a little oil, add veggies, water chestnuts (from a can) and some cooked ramen noodles. Pour over some sauce and eat up. Make a huge batch and have about three meals. Pour kikomans terriyaki sauce over it. The honey pineapple is the best. Have some rice on the side if you want to eat like an asian.

I have a few more, but that is basically stuff that is easy to make, all take less than 15 minutes, and all will store easy in those glad containers


I used to make all of this type of food as a college student, had to, didn't have much cash. I used to live on a budget of 25 bucks for groceries for two weeks!

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+1 for stir fry.

Bring some pussy and munch on it when yer hungry. Heck, even when ya nervous. Dont forget to floss.

But anyway, the best snack is nuts. Great for keeping the full feeling and it is healthy too.

Pb&j

buy a pack of bologna, buy a loaf of cheap white bread, buy a jar of mayo. Your out maybe four bucks and you have lunches for ~ 2 weeks.

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"Obama is going to make Hitler look like a boyscout."

That's healthy.

get it 100% natural and you won't even need to worry about flossing either.

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"Obama is going to make Hitler look like a boyscout."