Best Cheap Lunch

Devon Lad

Living in London on a student budget, commuting to and from uni and longer rides at the weekend whilst also playing rugby. Was wondering what people do for a healthy and nutritious lunch without breaking the bank.

I've been finding it increasingly difficult to find a way of making a lunch that is filling, healthy and also is going to help me maintain weight for rugby.

My current answer is tuna, mayo and sweetcorn sandwiches which after a month are beggining to get boring.

Would be interested to find out what people on here do in order to gain a bit of variety or improvement to my present lunchtime routine.

Thanks in advance!

lc1981

Depends on what facilities you have where you eat it, but homemade soup is perhaps a good option, especially in the winter. It's the kind of thing that suits making a big batch at the weekend to stick in the fridge or freezer. There are a few recipe ideas here.

charlie_potatoes

Large tin of Pilchards in tomato sauce @ 99p
Large tin of pears in juice @ 60p

alihisgreat

It depends what you want from you lunch..

energy? protein? low carb?

hipshot

Spanish Tortilla (Omelette) always a good standby.

Shed loads of recipes online, you can put anything in it, onions, peppers, potatoes, ham etc.

Lots of good calories too.

Devon Lad

Thanks for all the replies so far, the soup sounds liek a great idea, but with crap facilities at uni for making lunch, it becomes problematic when having to trasport it by thermos and so on.

I like the idea of pilchards and pears will definitely have a look at that.

Omelettes are great! I make them all the time when I'm at home but sadly it's not possible if i'm at uni (Sorry, should have specified I'd be away from a kitchen)

As for what i want from the lunch, it would be a good mix of proteins and carbs, lowish fat.

Thanks for all the help!

Devon Lad

For further clarification I'm looking for something quick cheap and easy with minimal prep that can be prepared in circa 10 minutes in the morning, pre preparation is ok. I'm just asking here as when searching google for cheap healthy luches to take to work I am advised to make "Spicy chicken and roasted vegetable tortilla wrap".

I'm not sure if what I'm asking is impossible, but to me "Watercress, spinach and rocket salad with red peppers, red onion, smoked mackerel and a balsamic dressing" which "You can quickly assemble this simple salad in your lunch hour" do not sound realistic.

Bobbinogs

The trick to a good cheap lunch is planning ahead. Hence, if I am grilling some vegi burgers or fish fingers for tea then I will add a couple extra into the grill and then stick them into the fridge for lunches (both work great in rolls, subs or sarnies). I often do the same with roast potatoes on Sundays or make up the odd batch of boiled eggs for sarnies. Pasta also makes a great lunchtime snack and you can make up a couple of days worth of lunches at the same time as doing your evening meal.

danowat

Wholewheat pasta, bit of passata, some cherry tomatoes and a slice of ham, takes 20mins to make.

noste500

Granola or muesli with a scoop of whey protein mixed with a bit of water and eat with spoon.
Max protein , max carbs , low fat , 1 min prep time = bingo

Slack

Goodbodys for a healthy and quality lunch....

Tin of baked beans.

Bhoy1888

Shakes and powdered soup for me. I have a hectic schedule with phys almost every day including football, rugby and or squash thrown in.

Shakes for lunch with soup as a mid morning snack. The soup is simply add water (preferably hot)

I currently use Herbalife and after using the weight management stuff I am now on the lean mass/weight gain for my training.

simon_masterson

I usually have some pasta (wholewheat) with half a mozzarella ball (value is about 37p) and an assortment of salad. Usually cherry tomatoes, pepper and spinach. I daresay I could do better than the cheese, but it seems to work...

pinarellokid

noste500 wrote:

Granola or muesli with a scoop of whey protein mixed with a bit of water and eat with spoon.
Max protein , max carbs , low fat , 1 min prep time = bingo

sounds like it will be healthy but horrible to eat.
id struggle to finish a bowl anyway lol

Thebigbee

Homemade soup in a Thermos, chicken / tuna / egg salad, pasta or sarnies.

Chicken and stuffing or as above is always a good alternative.

I couldn't eat the same 3 days in a row and there is no need - even if you are on a budget.

Sausage sarnies, egg mayo / salad, prawns, tuna, chicken & stuffing, cheese and pickle. All work out about the same cost although egg if you use battery will be the cheapest.

Learn how to make homemade soup / veg chilli - ridiculously easy - filling, nutritious and health and cheap.

Invest in a slow cooker. Failing that - even packet soups do the job!

It really ain't rocket science!!!

iPete

Cook an extra large dinner and save some for lunch. Easy.

Only I've a bad habit of eating it all

dashik

Pot Noodle FTW

Seriously though sounds like some good ideas posted already

tiredofwhiners

lc1981 wrote:

Depends on what facilities you have where you eat it, but homemade soup is perhaps a good option, especially in the winter. It's the kind of thing that suits making a big batch at the weekend to stick in the fridge or freezer. There are a few recipe ideas here.

Definitely +1

Mrs and I make soup most weekends and freeze it for use during the week (I work from home). I store it in plastic pint mugs which we re-use and we have three varieties - vegetable, leek and butternut. Probably costs less than £1 a serving. No reason why you couldn't do the same and nuke it in a microwave at work.

g00se

Cook some pasta. When it's done, throw in a half a tin of tuna, some spinach - pepper, vinegar, little oil or mayo - and put it in a plastic tub to take with you. 10 minutes and about a quid.

Bustacapp

pasta (smart price) - 12p (250g)
tin of chopped tomatoes (smart price) - 31p
tin of tuna (smart price) - 54p
chopped onion - 5p?
blob of mayo - 1p?
seasoning - 0.5p?

cook the pasta, drain most of the water and stir in all the other ingredients, adding the blob of mayo at the end.

Hey presto! A cheap and cheerful source of carbs and protein for less than £1

charlie_potatoes

Slightly off topic but start the day with a big bowl of porridge.
Aldi Porridge is 100% Oats and spot on @ 75p per kilo.

100g bowl will fill up a Rugby player for the princely sum of 7.5p

houndlegs

One of my faves is,pasta,tuna,sweet corn and pineapple chunks.

teisetrotter

Bustacapp wrote:

pasta (smart price) - 12p (250g)
tin of chopped tomatoes (smart price) - 31p
tin of tuna (smart price) - 54p
chopped onion - 5p?
blob of mayo - 1p?
seasoning - 0.5p?

cook the pasta, drain most of the water and stir in all the other ingredients, adding the blob of mayo at the end.

Hey presto! A cheap and cheerful source of carbs and protein for less than £1

Yep I was a student 20 years ago and this was the take out meal. Those were the days I was training 5 - 6 hours a day. Pasta, pasta, pasta and then the cheapest additives I could get.

mouth

Might not make for a massive lunch but great as a snack.

Salt 'n' pepper butty:

Toast one slice of bread.
Butter (or marge) two slices of (non toasted) bread.
Put the toasted bit in between the non toasted bits.
Add salt and pepper to taste. I find it sticks to the spread best.

nolight

Starvation is my favorite cheap lunch. Costs me nothing and it helps me to lose weight too.

Bustacapp

Mouth wrote:

Might not make for a massive lunch but great as a snack.

Salt 'n' pepper butty:

Toast one slice of bread.
Butter (or marge) two slices of (non toasted) bread.
Put the toasted bit in between the non toasted bits.
Add salt and pepper to taste. I find it sticks to the spread best.

A bread butty? Wow.

DesB3rd

I used to work in an office with good facilities (microwave, grill, loads of fridge space, cleaner) and there was loads of scope for interesting lunches. Baguettes (~30p ea) or wraps (£1 for 6 & last a week+) based around a little cheese/deli meat, a few pickles or chillies & really up the bulk with loads of grilled veg, kidney/butter beans (~20p/can) and salad.

I'd look to spend ~£6 in Asda on Monday lunch time & that would do the week; could have followed the same route for maybe £4/week but the extra £2 made for much better/more interesting options.

nunowoolmez

Whatever i can find in the bins

hairy_boy

Mouth wrote:

Might not make for a massive lunch but great as a snack.

Salt 'n' pepper butty:

Toast one slice of bread.
Butter (or marge) two slices of (non toasted) bread.
Put the toasted bit in between the non toasted bits.
Add salt and pepper to taste. I find it sticks to the spread best.

Only thing missing is the doner meat oh and replace the pepper with chilli sauce

mouth

Bustacapp wrote:

Mouth wrote:

Might not make for a massive lunch but great as a snack.

Salt 'n' pepper butty:

Toast one slice of bread.
Butter (or marge) two slices of (non toasted) bread.
Put the toasted bit in between the non toasted bits.
Add salt and pepper to taste. I find it sticks to the spread best.

A bread butty? Wow.

Try it and report back.