Author Topic: Cheap Work Lunches  (Read 8955 times)

mcrow

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Cheap Work Lunches
« on: May 29, 2014, 01:51:13 PM »
Spicey Brown Rice and Beans and grilled chicken breast.

I cook the chicken (about 5-6oz pieces) on the foreman grill, spice it with whatever seasonings I have on hand. I like a simple grilling seasoning you can get a big bottle of at the dollar store. I buy brown rice in 20lb bags for $19 at the local asian food market, the bag will make over 100 servings. The chicken I buy a big bag of frozen chicken breast (can get these anywhere, Sams, Costco or maybe the local grocery) that is about 6.5 lbs for $19, that makes about 18-20 servings.

I make the rice as directed on the package and sprinkle Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash over it and mix it up. I take a can of black beans mix some beans in with the rice. Then I add some frozen veggies (peas, green beans...ect). Next I toss it in a container, put in the freezer and it's ready to go for work. I normally will batch 5 lunches at a time this way. The beans and frozen veggies will cook when you warm it up in the mircrowave at work.


That's about it. Pretty good tasting, cheap and very healthy. 

If I did the math right it's $1.75 per meal.

500 Calories, 7g fat, 55g carbs, 11g fiber, 53g protein


This is a pretty good sized meal, you can cut it down some depending on activity level of your job. If you cut it back to 350 calories it comes in right around $1.25 or so.

hybrid

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2014, 02:20:09 PM »
Healthy, inexpensive, what's not to like.....

trailrated

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2014, 04:24:21 PM »
This is going to sound strange (I thought it did till I tried it)

Cut up broccoli (uncooked)
Dice a red onion
Dice a tomato
Cut up an avocado
Shred some Cheddar cheese into it
A tiny bit of ranch dressing

Sooooooo freaking good. I make a big enough batch for two days but bring the avocado and ranch in a little container to add when I am just about it eat it. Not sure what the cost is out of pocket per meal but it is way cheaper than eating out.

mcrow

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2014, 04:31:58 PM »
This is going to sound strange (I thought it did till I tried it)

Cut up broccoli (uncooked)
Dice a red onion
Dice a tomato
Cut up an avocado
Shred some Cheddar cheese into it
A tiny bit of ranch dressing

Sooooooo freaking good. I make a big enough batch for two days but bring the avocado and ranch in a little container to add when I am just about it eat it. Not sure what the cost is out of pocket per meal but it is way cheaper than eating out.

Sounds pretty good.  Probably wouldn't be too expensive.

apfroggy0408

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2014, 06:21:28 PM »
Ezekiel bread + peanut butter + non fat greek yogurt.

Easy way to get a good combination of calories in for pretty cheap.

ketchup

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2014, 08:10:17 PM »
Straight plain full-fat yogurt.  It works in a pinch (ahem, like today).  I didn't realize how good it would be unsweetened and unflavored.  Might be a new weekly treat.  I say "treat" not because it's expensive, but because too much dairy can make my stomach a sad panda.

abhe8

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2014, 10:25:31 PM »
op, I make a similar dish to what you describe.

1. roast a whole chicken, with S&P and some spices (or just garlic)
2. shred the meat. set aside. use rest to make stock.
3. cook rice with water and some stock. set aside.
4. soak, then cook (dry) black beans in water and some stock and a diced onion, set aside.
5. mix shredded chicken, rice, black beans plus 1 jar salsa and a bag frozen corn.

Partition out into boxes and freeze. I eat this for lunch with a lettuce salad or a tortilla. Its delish, healthy and inexpensive. Plus, after I make it, I still have a good bit of chicken stock to use for all my other cooking for the week.

Another tasty, similar variation:

1. chicken, as above.
2. saute mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, carrots on some sesame seed oil. add stock, water and rice. cook until rice is almost finished. add chopped bok choy and bag frozen peas. cook a min more. let cool.
3. add a few TBSP miso and stir well.

I LOVE miso soup, and this freezes well.

little stache

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2014, 07:39:48 PM »
some leafy veggies (spinach, kale et al) some fruit (strawberries, apple, a banana use what you like) add a little water, spin at supper sonic speeds and poof its a yummy lunch for under a buck!

retirein5yrs

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2014, 08:12:33 PM »
We've started making a little more every night for dinner and then pack whats left (always loads) into two containers and enjoy them the next day at work.

We change it up every now and then but it has working well for the last few months.

boarder42

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2014, 06:13:49 AM »
Chili...

7 cans of Black beans (if you use dry this gets cheaper) 55c each
2 cans tomatoes 35c each
1 can chipotle peppers diced $2
2lb chicken.   (This can easily be found for 1.69/lb or less on sale - its always 1.79/lb at Sams) 
Seasonings Garilic/paprika/onion powder/chili powder/cayenne/italian spice blend/Franks red hot

makes 11 servings give or take.  ~ $1 per serving. 

Hedge_87

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2014, 08:01:06 AM »
We've started making a little more every night for dinner and then pack whats left (always loads) into two containers and enjoy them the next day at work.

We change it up every now and then but it has working well for the last few months.
This is what we do. My wife likes cooking dinner to relax in the evening. So we just make enough for 4 servings and have lunch already made for the next day. If this doesn't happen I got home made burritos in the freezer ready to go.

jakeb

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2014, 06:30:14 AM »
it's boring, but a cheap staple for me is a banana and oatmeal for breakfast (at work), which makes me less hungry through the day.   then peanut butter + bread for lunch.   i usually keep a block of cheese and eat a few good olives for flavor... because the basics are really just fuel. 

it's a little light on protein, but i figure that out at dinner at home.

clarkfan1979

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2014, 05:58:46 AM »
Spicey Brown Rice and Beans and grilled chicken breast.

I cook the chicken (about 5-6oz pieces) on the foreman grill, spice it with whatever seasonings I have on hand. I like a simple grilling seasoning you can get a big bottle of at the dollar store. I buy brown rice in 20lb bags for $19 at the local asian food market, the bag will make over 100 servings. The chicken I buy a big bag of frozen chicken breast (can get these anywhere, Sams, Costco or maybe the local grocery) that is about 6.5 lbs for $19, that makes about 18-20 servings.

I make the rice as directed on the package and sprinkle Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash over it and mix it up. I take a can of black beans mix some beans in with the rice. Then I add some frozen veggies (peas, green beans...ect). Next I toss it in a container, put in the freezer and it's ready to go for work. I normally will batch 5 lunches at a time this way. The beans and frozen veggies will cook when you warm it up in the mircrowave at work.


That's about it. Pretty good tasting, cheap and very healthy. 

If I did the math right it's $1.75 per meal.

500 Calories, 7g fat, 55g carbs, 11g fiber, 53g protein


This is a pretty good sized meal, you can cut it down some depending on activity level of your job. If you cut it back to 350 calories it comes in right around $1.25 or so.

I am very close to doing the same thing. My mix is brown rice, chicken, broccoli, corn, & teriyaki sauce. I make 5 batches at a time. My containers are plastic containers from target from buying lunch meat. The key is to make 5 at a time and keep in the freezer. This is because my normal lunch is a sandwhich & chips. When I don't have enough time to make a sandwhich or don't have all the ingredients, I can pull out a frozen stir-fry and avoid buying lunch at work.

hyenas

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2014, 02:53:26 PM »
I like to take a ploughman's lunch. Hunk of cheese, bread, seitan (or some sort of meat i guess), veggies. In my case all homemade/homegrown.

GuitarStv

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2014, 06:21:23 AM »
I like to take a ploughman's lunch. Hunk of cheese, bread, seitan (or some sort of meat i guess), veggies. In my case all homemade/homegrown.

How many cows do you need to make the cheese?

viper155

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Re: Cheap Work Lunches
« Reply #15 on: June 28, 2014, 06:49:31 PM »
Spicey Brown Rice and Beans and grilled chicken breast.

I cook the chicken (about 5-6oz pieces) on the foreman grill, spice it with whatever seasonings I have on hand. I like a simple grilling seasoning you can get a big bottle of at the dollar store. I buy brown rice in 20lb bags for $19 at the local asian food market, the bag will make over 100 servings. The chicken I buy a big bag of frozen chicken breast (can get these anywhere, Sams, Costco or maybe the local grocery) that is about 6.5 lbs for $19, that makes about 18-20 servings.

I make the rice as directed on the package and sprinkle Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash over it and mix it up. I take a can of black beans mix some beans in with the rice. Then I add some frozen veggies (peas, green beans...ect). Next I toss it in a container, put in the freezer and it's ready to go for work. I normally will batch 5 lunches at a time this way. The beans and frozen veggies will cook when you warm it up in the mircrowave at work.

Careful with that bagged chicken...for some reason they can be LOADED with cholesterol compared to fresh.


That's about it. Pretty good tasting, cheap and very healthy. 

If I did the math right it's $1.75 per meal.

500 Calories, 7g fat, 55g carbs, 11g fiber, 53g protein


This is a pretty good sized meal, you can cut it down some depending on activity level of your job. If you cut it back to 350 calories it comes in right around $1.25 or so.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!