Everyone I know seems to be looking for ways to save money. Bringing your lunch to work, even a few days a week can really save you a bundle. Here are five super tips to add some pizazz to your bag lunch.
These tips are adapted from The City Cook “The ultimate guide for pathetically busy, space-compromised urban dwellers who prefer to cook at home.” The City Cook web site has great ideas each and every week, and you don’t just have to be a city dweller to take advantage of them. Thanks to editor Kate McDonough for sharing her timely ideas. Check out The City Cook site, and sign up for the newsletter for more great ideas, recipes, interviews and articles each week.
1. Leftovers live again! This is the easiest way to make your lunch: just make extra dinner the night before. Nearly every office has a microwave oven and you will be happy to have a bowl of last night’s beef stew, which will probably taste even better than it did right from the oven. Other leftovers don’t even need to be re-heated, such as poached salmon or a piece of cold chicken.
2. Assemble a sturdy salad. Salads made from ingredients that can sit for a few hours and travel unrefrigerated without spoiling. One of my favorites is sliced cherry tomatoes tossed with artichoke hearts and little balls of fresh mozzarella, often called bocconcini. Assemble the salad in the morning, adding a pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil, and the salted tomatoes will throw off enough acidic juice to make a perfect dressing. Variations on this theme include cubes of cheese and salami, ham or turkey; sliced raw peppers, mushrooms and tuna fish (olive oil packed but drained); sliced raw fennel, sardines, and curls of parmesan cheese.
3. Pack a pita sandwich. If you’re a sandwich fan, sandwiches made with whole wheat pita bread, sliced ham or turkey, a slice of cheese and spears of romaine lettuce travel well and can be made using the mini-pita loaves that are easy to find in our grocery stores. The trick for sandwiches for a lunch that you’ll eat hours later is to either make ones without wet ingredients like egg salad or wet condiments like mayonnaise, or else bring the elements of a sandwich and assemble it just before you eat it.
4. Skip the chips but pack the dip. Raw vegetables with hummus dip is a perfect example. Hummus is full of protein as it’s made from chickpeas and tahini. Add a pita bread half and it can be a very satisfying lunch. This is a meal that can be purchased at most supermarkets or delis, but you’ll save more than half the cost if you wash and trim your own vegetables and make your own hummus.
5. Don’t forget dessert! Many of us like something sweet either right after a meal or a little while afterwards. Fresh fruit is always a great choice but if you want something different, consider dried fruits, like apricots or pineapple rings, or a mix of dried cranberries and almonds. Just remember that dried fruits have the same calories as fresh ones so keep that in mind when grabbing a handful of dried apricot halves.
——-Amy Sherman
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