Lunch! Is it just me, or does lunch feel like the most challenging of all the daily meals we require? I have breakfast down to a pretty easy routine, to be honest: oatmeal, cold cereal with milk and sliced fruit, or toast. And supper – well, we plan out our suppers, and use leftovers a LOT to make the meals the next day (or two) a lot simpler.
But lunch often has me stumped. If you face the challenge of never quite knowing what you should eat for lunch, then maybe these 5 Easy & Cheap Lunch Ideas will help you as they did me.
1. Leftovers
Hmmm, this is already the second time I’ve mentioned leftovers. Can you see a theme developing here? I am a huge fan of leftovers! Sometimes, we’ll even plan our dinners with the leftovers in mind for lunch the next day.
If you made a delicious pot of pasta sauce and paired it up with some pasta, then that instantly becomes a satisfying and yummy lunch for the next day. You’ll just need to pack it up the night before into microwave-safe containers, and pop it into the refrigerator.
Or, things like chili or homemade soups also make ideal leftover lunches the following day. And trust me – the early morning YOU will be so glad the evening before YOU took the time to pack everything up so that all your sleepy self has to do is grab the contents and go.
Sometimes, leftover roasted meats like chicken or beef can be sliced and turned into delicious sandwiches for lunch, as well.
2. High protein pasta
When I’m talking high protein pasta, I mean the new varieties of gluten free lentil or chickpea pasta. I’ve tried both Chickapea pasta and red lentil pasta.
The reason I think these can change our overall lunch game is this: they pack a nutritional punch all on their own! You can add absolutely anything to this basic foundation of high-protein pasta. You can add leftover meat, or rinsed canned chickpeas, plus chopped veggies. Then, to bring it all together you can just toss in a tiny container of sauce or salad dressing. (I have this 4 pack of Sistema dressing/sauce containers that only cost me $3.97. I’ll be using them for years and years. But seriously, you can also just use a tiny jam jar, washed out. Whatever will contain the sauce and not leak.)
*My FAVOURITE thing to do lately with this type of pasta is to create a vegetarian/vegan ‘cream’ sauce by stirring in roasted garlic hummus, lemon juice and a bit of the pasta cooking water. It is INSANELY good, and I crave the stuff!*
3. The good old sandwich
Not inspiring, right? But come on — a good, old fashioned sandwich can be nutritious, delicious AND super frugal. Load up your freezer with sliced whole grain bread when they’re either on clearance or on sale, and then a lunch can be made up the night before with little effort.
Even a PB&J is super satisfying to me. But, you can load up your sandwich toppings to include veggies, cheese, meats, etc. Always looking for all of these items when they’re on sale of course. Did you know that cheese can be frozen? So, if you buy cheese on sale, slice or grate it up and freeze it, then you’re never without a delicious sandwich filler.
And you’re not limited to just plain old sliced bread either. Try pitas, bagels, English muffins or flatbreads to make your lunches more interesting. All bought when on sale! Obviously. 😉
4. A mini can of tuna + Crackers + Veggies
A mini can of tuna – often flavoured with flavours such as lemon and dill, lemon and pepper, or Thai – is one of the easiest things to keep on hand to grab for lunch. You can then add a handful of your favourite crackers (mine is Breton Gluten free) and a handful of veggies and call it lunch! Keeping a few cans of these flavoured tunas on hand will mean you are never caught needing to buy lunch out.
5. Topped up Salads
Buy lettuce and other salad essentials (here’s looking at you cucumber, sliced red onion, tomatoes, chopped peppers) when they’re on a great price, and then you have a base of salad for a fast and easy lunch.
Make your salads interesting by topping with some sort of protein: that might be sliced chicken, rinsed cooked chickpeas, tuna, or chunks of cheese. And then remember to use one of those well-sealed little jars we already talked about to include a salad dressing or sauce.
You can pop all of this into a lunch container, or some people even swear by Mason jars for their lunch salads. And, add a side of your favourite flatbread, crackers or even a handful of homemade popcorn if you’re like me and NEED some carbs alongside a salad.
Lunch isn’t so scary after all! Whether you choose greens, health high-protein packed pasta or even the often underappreciated sandwich, you can make lunchtime worthy of enjoyment again. No more worries about what to eat with these 5 easy ideas to keep you inspired. 🙂 Happy eating everyone.