What do you take for lunch?

[amyltc]

Hi I am new to this thread, so glad I found it. I teach Kindergarten full time and will be going back to work in a month. I am trying to plan ahead and we just had a baby so I can't afford to buy my lunches anymore, I need to take them, so I am wondering what everyone takes to lunch with them, preferably something low-fat, cheap and easy, kind of a tall order huh?

[MCmom3]

I often take left overs from the night before. It's fast and easy to make a little extra food with each meal. Either that or I make some sort of sandwich and have fruit or cottage cheese or something. Sometimes I "spluge" with a lean pocket or lean cuisine.

[scbusf]

Yeah, I mostly do leftovers from the night before, or sandwiches.

[venia]

I usually make a coldcut sandwich, yogurt, & string cheese. However, I forget my lunch almost everyday :banghead: DH usually eats it so it does not go to waste. I end up getting a $5 dollar foot long from Subway and splitting it w/ a coworker. :blush:

[julieberry]

When I was a WAHM I would usually take leftovers from the night before. I also would grill up a pound or so of chicken and keep that in the fridge so I could add it to salads, sandwiches. Now that I'm at home I buy a ton of fruit and cut it up keep it in snack size portions in the fridge for all of us. I also get tomatoes and lettuce and slice them for sandwiches.
When I make DH's lunch I'll add a fruit cup, yogurt and a pita with hummus or chicken.

[JDT]

Left overs. But I also have a really nice salad container. It's very deep and there is a dressing holder. I make myself a nice salad with tune on the side.

[Equivocal]

If I make enough the night before, then leftovers... that usually happens, maybe twice a week, if that.

Otherwise... nothing or maybe a banana or a cup of yogurt.

I am too lazy to fix myself a proper lunch and I don't care enough to do so anyhow.

[sarahrichardson]

Leftovers or a sandwich usually. But, there are two teachers at school who have cereal for lunch everyday. They just keep a bowl and a box of cereal at school and get a milk from the caf. Personally I would starve, but if that would fill you it's super easy.

[tasbaby]

I work at a hospital and usually just eat in the cafeteria. The food is pretty good and I can use my badge so it just comes right out of my paycheck. Probably would be cheaper to bring my lunch, but I'd rather sleep a few more minutes! I just try not to look at that part of my paystub (I buy lattes sometimes too and just use my badge so it does add up!)

[mnmama]

Leftovers, sandwiches and salads. I love raw green peppers so we buy at least 4 per week. I'll cut one up per day. Then 2 pieces of fruit and string cheese. My job has a water cooler that I hit constantly throughout the day. Now that I'm pumping, I'll keep some unsalted peanuts available that I eat while pumping. I have any of the stuff I don't actually eat during the lunch hour for snacks throughout the day. I also make sure to eat breakfast every day too, which helps.

The bonus days are days where lunch is provided for a meeting, gathering, etc. I don't have to bring a thing those days.

[jnicole]

As a fellow teacher, I know how lunch must be "scarfed" down in a short amount of time. I actually will bring a couple snacks (raisins, pb crackers, pretzels, homemade trail mix) for the brief breaks during the day and then have a light lunch. This has saved my wallet. For lunch, I buy small lunchables when they are on sale for less than $1 a piece. When I'm in a bad money pinch, I'll eat a cup o noodles at lunch. For drinks, I drink water or crystal light (I make a pitcher at home and just pour into water bottle-it's cheaper that way). Hope this helps:)

[Katherine]

Well, my old solution was to just bring a slim fast. Now that I nurse, that won't work, and since we're buying a new car, I can't go with the other standby of going in with the secretaries and getting something from wherever they go. I teach, too, and I'm lucky to end up with 20 minutes to actually eat. I'm considering buying stuff to make sandwiches with and keeping it in the fridge at school, but that fridge gets hella nasty. I might have to try the whole make extra the night before thing.

[Weezy6703]

leftovers mostly or some soup or something out of a can or sandwich. I buy lunch sometimes but most days I go home....that being said if I go home I still have to plan what I'm going to eat....i have gotten there before and didn't have anything and ended up eating crappy

[amyltc]

As a fellow teacher, I know how lunch must be "scarfed" down in a short amount of time.

LOL this is the truth!

[kaspears17]

I have a small cooler and I jam pack it. Like today i have a potato (for baking in microwave), cheese, yogurt, plum, an english muffin, and a sausage biscuit (microwave). Yesterday, I had soup, pbj bendover, apple, laughing cow cheese, crackers and pudding. Do I eat all this, not always, especially now, but I like to have options. I also keep cereal in my desk for snacking.

[liberty4all]

I buy ingredients and keep at work: whole wheat tortillas, sliced cheese (I love pepperjack!), lettuce (usually the bags of salad mix), turkey (the sliced ones that look like bologna packages?) and lite Italian dressing. I have a salad and a wrap! I use the lettuce and the dressing on the wrap too.

[Mommimi]

Usually left-overs, but I also buy frozen dinner and leave it at work (since I often forget to bring lunch and end up buying). Around 1 PM I go conference room hunting for left-over meeting food and dessert. I also found that the cafe will give you a LOT when you go down right before closing because they would throw out most of the items anyway. Yesterday I got a full Ceasar salad with shrimp goes for $5.50 for the price of side salad of $1.50! I'm friendly and always chit-chat with those working behind the counter. They always give me extra :-)

[aydensmomma]

I am actually on a roll, i am on day three of bringing my lunch! AFter Ayden's birthday party this weekend, i am BROKE! But i will a lot of times bring leftovers from the night before if we have any leftover. Or I will bring sandwiches. But I am very guilty of buying lunch out. Ugh it sucks, but today i am wanting this local pizza place so bad... i may splurge and get it! :/

[Lovinthe2]

usually a salad I make the night before, or a wrap (spinach,turkey, cheese, broccoli, asian dressing), nabs, leftovers, fruit, trail mix as snacks

[rainysundays]

I do a lot of the Amy's organic frozen meals- they're not too expensive if you get them at Wal-Mart and it's a lot cheaper than the deli in our building. I also do leftovers if we have them.

[shortylucy]

When I was working I loved to take left overs from the night before. Now that I will be returning back to work soon, salads and sanwiches will be my best friends. I have to loose the baby weight soon after I pop!

[mmmom]

Leftovers if I haven't used them for the kids lunches. Otherwise yogurt and fruit with a salad or sandwich pretty boring basic stuff but easy too.

I allow myself to buy lunch once or twice a month from the family restuarant next door but that is it.

[lilepad]

Leftovers usually. I also keep "soup cups" in my desk for those days that I don't have time or forget to bring food. Our company has hot water on the coffee pots so I just add those to the soup cups. Yum.

[paigemikey2003]

Leftovers - but usually I hate it! Even if I liked it for dinner I hate the leftovers. The best is when my dh makes me a sandwich, they are the best. I'm going to have to get on it when I go back in November though. Money is going to be tight.