Tuesday, December 4, 2007

How To Save Money On Lunch At Work

You've probably heard the old adage before--brown bag it to work, and you can save some money.

The problem is, well, I think in this day and age, the idea of brown bag anything is so blah as to turn anybody off. Somehow, even a guy who spends a good five minutes building his forearms up by trying to squeeze that last half an ounce out of the toothpaste tube can imagine that little brown bag and think, "I'm not that poor."

Well, the good news is that in this day of microwaves and toaster ovens, brown bag lunches don't have to be, well, brown bag lunches. Anything you can whip up at home can usually be re-heated or even made at work.

At one office I worked in, somebody brought in a little George Foreman grill. On my way in to the office in the morning, I'd swing by the Grocery Store across the street and look for a piece of meat that was coming up on sale time and had a discount sticker on it. I'd cook it up on the grill during my lunch break, and throw it on some bread or with something else I'd brought from home to make a tastier, cheaper, and healthier lunch than some fast-food place would have whipped up to clog my arteries and drain my pocketbook with.

Even if that's not an option, microwaves are generally as common as restrooms in the modern workplace. Just cook up a little extra of whatever fine meal you're having for dinner, and the next day, you'll have a tasty, real meal at work that will leave your co-workers wondering what smells so good.

1 comment:

$n@b££ said...

I second you mate and can add some tips for veggie peeps around. few examples should do the trick -

1. Why not grab a pack of baby potatoes in lunch hour and use the microwave, then add some
-salt & pepper (available for free)
-oregano (buy once and store in your office pedestal for as long as you want
-few spoons of yoghurt from the tub that you could store in the fridge (another common utility at most workplaces).

2. Goes with dinner option by Erik, whatever you had for dinner wrap it up in
-tortilla with salad leaves
-bread with your favourite sauce(s)
-pitta with some herbs etc.

3. Spend some time on Sunday and cook 3 or 4 different curries or sandwiches, freeze them and use them during the week.

4. What I once tried, and worked really well, prepare thick concentrated sauted sauce (Indian/Asian style) and refrigerate it (doesn't smell bad if sealed properly), then
-mix with cottage cheese at work to prepare a yummy mouth-watering dish in a couple of minutes.
-mix with salad leaves and fill it in a pitta bread.
-mix with some Humusand spread over toasted bread / normal bread an then toast it. (This serves as a quick evening snack also, as described by a friend whom I suggested)


Ask me more, if interested, at snabee@gmail.com