You can make your own lunch for a fraction of the cost of getting it at a nearby shop.
Eating out is expensive, so packing your own lunch for work or for the kids for school is a good way to save money, but you may not have the time to carefully prepare a gourmet lunch, and you can quickly grow tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all the time. However, you can take advantage of a number of packed lunch ideas that are easy to create and will add some zest to the weekly lunch rotation for both you and your kids.
Sandwiches
Pack yourself a pan-bagnat sandwich, a French invention that doesn't get soggy and gross after sitting in the office fridge for a few hours. Make yourself some tuna or chicken salad, mix in some Nicoise olives and chopped red onion and put the mixture in a section of a baguette. Another sandwich idea is to take a baguette, add a few slices of jambon de bayonne -- an air-dried salted ham -- a little sweet butter and some sea salt.
Soups
Soups are good options that you can keep in a thermos and consume with a piece of bread or some crackers. Black bean and chorizo soup along with a container of salsa verde might be just the right pick-me-up at lunchtime, or try some homemade gazpacho, served best at room temperature along with some slices of avocado, cilantro and sour cream. If you don't have time in the morning, whip up a large pot of white bean chili for the dinner, and then save the leftovers. Just reheat it in the morning and put it in your thermos with cilantro, avocado and croutons.
Pitas and Wraps
Put a little twist on a typical sandwich by using pitas and wraps for lunch. Split open half a piece of pita and stuff it with lunch meats and a little bit of mayonnaise. Include some lettuce or tomato and a little paprika to spice it up. Or, you could make them a sweet wrap by spreading a tortilla with peanut butter and sliced bananas or preserves.
Noodles
Lunch in a cup might be a nice change of pace. Pack a container with sesame noodles or another Asian-inspired noodle dish that you can eat without heating up. You might also make some homemade pad Thai, and pack it for lunch.
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