[naturallyspeaking]

Hi,
We are also in the situation where we need to watch our spendings each month and trim down unnecessary expenses.
My husband and I had a heated discussion about his buying lunch habits last night and I really want to help him with either packing him lunch or have him come home for lunch (he works approx. 3 miles from our house).
He is picky as to what he wants for lunch and doesn't like to come home because of the commute time and nothing to eat at home issues.
He told me he doesn't like cold cut meat sandwich so deli or prepackaged meat sandwich is out. He would like warm sandwich using hoagie type rolls or meals (something with meat- he is a meat lover). What kind of food does your hubby eat or take to work? What kind of food is quick to serve and inexpensive to prepare?
Thanks in advance.

 

[vanilla]

I always pack up a container of leftovers before dinner. (Yes, before- to make sure it doesn't get eaten!). If he will eat it for dinner, he will eat it for lunch, right?

 

[naturallyspeaking]

Not necessarily, my husband doesn't like leftovers unless the meal was really really good and it doesn't happen very often... Sometimes I get discouraged about cooking for dinner because of this. The idea of cooking for more and pack for his lunch the next day is a great idea though. I just don't know what to cook...

 

[cristeen]

My DH was used to buying his lunch every day. I expressed displeasure at the horrid nutrition in his lunches as well as the $$, so I started packing him lunches (about 4 years ago). At first he had days when they came home uneaten. Now he sees it as a source of pride, that I go to the trouble of packing his lunch, so it rarely comes home uneaten, and then only if he has a good excuse (like the company bought lunch).

My DH also usually gets leftovers. Some weeks I'll make something specifically for his lunches (a casserole, or a pasta salad... something to feed him all week), and even then it's cheaper than him going out. Some weeks I'll make a big dinner early in the week and he eats it for lunches the rest of the week (like I'll make a roast and he gets roast the rest of the week). Some weeks I just make extra every night and he eats last night's dinner today as lunch.

Regardless, he'll get his main dish, and a basket of fruit - I use a strawberry basket and just fill it with fruit choices, today it's a plum, apricot, peach, a couple strawberries and a few cherries. He gets a container of yogurt (homemade), a container of nuts, a piece of string cheese and a couple caffeinated sodas. That's enough food for a morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and an evening snack if he has to stay late. Often he'll come home without eating his nuts or his cheese or something. Right now I'm working on cleaning out the fridge, so he didn't get last night's leftovers today.

Today's lunch contains: about 1/2 c of broccoli salad, turkey and cheese sandwich (not lunchmeat turkey, real turkey), 1/2 c of yogurt with blueberries, 3/4 c peanuts, a piece of string cheese, his fruit basket, and 2 sodas.

Yesterday it was: 1 1/2 c of broccoli salad with cubed turkey and cheese, 1 c of yogurt, the same container of peanuts, his fruit basket, string cheese, and the same sodas. He came home with the nuts, half the fruit, the cheese and the sodas still in his bag.

 

[lucyem]

Maybe make a deal with him where he only goes out to eat lunch on Fridays and works with you on the lunch thing. But I was thinking what if he came home to sloppy joes for example. Pretty simple to make ahead and reheat and on the roll he likes. Chicken breast tenders. Once again make ahead of time. Heat up quick, add some mayo or honey mustard and once again on a roll. Frozen french fries are pretty easy to heat up. Those he would have to come home too. Well the chicken could be cold on a roll or put in a microwave if he has one at work. Chicken salad, tuna salad, or egg salad on a roll. Chips. What has he been eating? Can you recreate some of his favorites? Chili in an insulated container.

 

[Attached Mama]

what a great thread! I am always asking dh what he wants for lunch and he won't tell me. Then I don't buy anything and he eats out and I get annoyed and he agrees it is too much money and agrees to bring lunch adn I ask what he wants.....

:

So basically I just have to decide what to give him and then pack it. Problem is that it has to be a cold lunch since we don't do microwaves. Any ideas??? Beyond the pasta salad or ham and cheese or cold meatloaf (he loves that - ugh to me!)

 

[MaddieMay]

My DH usually has a salad with mixed veggies, nuts, and some dressing. If we have leftover chicken breast or another meat, he'll put that on top.

 

[polyhymnia]

My boyfriend has a peanut butter or cheese sandwich (he doesn't like most cold cuts - sometimes he has salami and cheese), a yogurt, a cheese stick, an apple, and pretzels or pita chips or popcorn. That covers him for lunch & snacks. He doesn't seem to mind eating things cold or eating the same thing every day. That would drive me crazy. Sometimes he'll take leftovers (usually curry & rice, pizza, fried rice, etc) and about 1x/month he buys lunch, usually Subway.

Me, I try to take leftovers or soup - I prefer them to sandwiches - but sometimes I'll take sandwiches. If I'm motivated I'll make up a big thing of soup or salad and eat it all week. I love couscous & bean or pasta salads with veggies. Sometimes I'll get on a sandwich kick - usually turkey & cheese. We have a fridge & micro at work that I can use. I'm much worse about buying lunches though, often I'll buy a small soup or salad ($3-4) to supplement whatever I've brought from home

I really like having something warm midday especially if it's cold out.

MTA: Part of the problem for me is that my coworkers like to go out for lunch, and I feel that I miss out on valuable networking time if I choose not to go. I try to limit it to 1x/week, and only on days when whatever I've brought can wait for the next day.

 

[polyhymnia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Attached Mama what a great thread! I am always asking dh what he wants for lunch and he won't tell me. Then I don't buy anything and he eats out and I get annoyed and he agrees it is too much money and agrees to bring lunch adn I ask what he wants..... : So basically I just have to decide what to give him and then pack it. Problem is that it has to be a cold lunch since we don't do microwaves. Any ideas??? Beyond the pasta salad or ham and cheese or cold meatloaf (he loves that - ugh to me!)

I love to do a couscous salad - would he eat that? Couscous (cooked in water not broth so it doesn't need to be fridge'd for the morning - I hate going up to the fridge in my building ), black or garbanzo beans, diced red/orange/green/yellow bell pepper, italian herbs (fresh or dried), a little minced garlic if you want, some olive oil and some crumbled feta. Yum!! it's really good served w/pita bread and hummous.

 

[lmonter]

My dh works 2 miles away, and drives home for lunch 80% of the time (sometimes he's out of town, already has something there, or the company will buy him lunch so he can work through it). He eats with us about half the time, the other half he eats leftovers or makes something. Nachoes, sandwiches, salads, leftovers, macaroni and cheese, whatever. It just depends on our mood and what we've got in the house. It's definitely cheaper than him hitting Wendy's every day.

 

[smocklets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crayolaab I love to do a couscous salad - would he eat that? Couscous (cooked in water not broth so it doesn't need to be fridge'd for the morning - I hate going up to the fridge in my building ), black or garbanzo beans, diced red/orange/green/yellow bell pepper, italian herbs (fresh or dried), a little minced garlic if you want, and some crumbled feta. Yum!! it's really good served w/pita bread and hummous.

Yum-o!! It really doesn't need to be in the fridge if it is made with water? I didn't know that. I'm putting this on my weekly menu!

 

[heathenmom]

Lunches were a source of conflict between us for a LONG time. DH would agree to take lunch, but he would get sick of sandwiches and end up getting fast food after a week or 2 -- to the tune of $50+ per WEEK. What finally made the difference (although he'd never admit this

) was going to work at a place where it's the norm to bring your lunch. He didn't take lunch the first 2 days and everybody teased him about having to leave the work site to buy lunch. He's taken leftovers every single day since. He tells me now that his lunches are the envy of his coworkers, AND we're saving a couple hundred bucks a month!

I, too, pack his lunch before we eat dinner so that I'm sure there's enough left. Here's a sample of what he's taken in the last couple of weeks:
* Hillbilly Goulash (from the Hillbilly Housewife website)
* Fiesta Casserole (from Saving Dinner)
* Brats & Saurkraut with potato wedges
* Black beans & sausage w/ rice
* Chicken & Squash Stirfry

I throw in 4 banana muffins (2 for him, 2 for his boss

: ) for breakfast and call it good.

I asked him if he wanted me to switch to cold lunches now that it's soooo hot (heat index in the upper-90's to 100's, and he works outside on a train yard), but he really likes the system we've got going.

OH! I just remembered, the Hillbilly Housewife website has a whole section on packing lunches. You might want to try there!

 

[Alkenny]

My DH works 25 miles from home, so coming home is NOT an option.

He usually takes sandwiches (cold cuts, egg salad, tuna, peanut butter, etc.), leftovers from the night before (you can buy containers to make everything seperate too...like a tv dinner), soups like chili (again, can be made ahead and frozen in portion sizes), baked potatoes to be reheated and some 'fixings' to put on it, burritos, etc.

He works late on Mondays (8pm) so we've compromised that that is his 'eat out' day...helps him not feel so 'deprived'.

 

[ShaggyDaddy]

I eat "Daddy pasta" every day. The kids sometimes dip into my stash, but it's all good.

about $1 per day

1 lb lean ground beef $2
1 box of barilla plus pasta (soy/lentil/flax pasta that is actually good) $2

1 jar spaghetti sauce $1
or
2 small cans Enchelada sauce
or
1 cans Cream of ___ soup or Cheddar cheese soup

I heat it up in the microwaves at work. 1 batch makes 5 lunches.

The best is to break it into tupperware or quart bags ahead of time and just keep in the fridge or freezer.

Other tips for the odd times I don't have daddy pasta
Frozen Meatballs from costco are a fast easy way to add Meat to a lunch.

Sometimes if we have hot dog buns I will do this:
2-3 hot dog buns in a quart bag
10-12 meatballs in a little bit of jarred spaghetti sauce in a quart bag.

At lunch he could microwave the meatballs in sauce and then put them on the buns for fast, easy, delicious meatball "minisubs".

 

[kdabbler]

What is it about Dh's and lunch spending? I was bringing in my lunch for most of the week and getting one "day out" down in the cafeteria for months. I then hear how my dh goes down to the diner below his office and gets sandwiches or meals that cost twice as much as my own

: Well, the last few months we've been really socked with bills. He needed to buckle up and do something about it

.

Dh just loves Hot Pockets, Lean Pockets and their new subs line. All you need is a microwave. Make sure he brings the coupons on the box back so you can buy more! Our grocery is running a special on them right now: 5 packages for $10. A lot cheaper than the $10 or $12 he was spending.

The other hot meal alternative is left overs.

 

[gargirl]

Well, we're vegan and my hubby isn't unmanagebly picky. He takes PB&J sandwiches, St. Yves deli slice sandwiches, leftovers for reheating at work plus lots of fresh fruit, salads, rice cakes and home-baked treats. Oh, and often roasted nuts or seeds too.

He usually drinks our well water I send with him and sometimes a soda w/caffiene if he slept badly.

 

[kijip]

I WOH and my husband is a student. We take soups, leftovers, sandwiches and salads.

Get him a thermos to keep soups warm if he would eat soups or stews.

Also could he come home for hot sandwiches? It sounds like he is getting a hot sub or a meatball sandwich type thing for lunch out. You can make that at home. We do steak and onion and mushrooms on a roll sometimes. Yummy. We eat it cold but if he wants it hot, he can come home or zap the filling in the microwave at work and then assemble it himself.

 

[hibana]

NAK

I make dh a lunch almost every day (usually the night before, but sometimes in the AM) He usually has a main dish, some kind of fresh fruit, some kind of veggie, yogurt, raisins and maybe something sweet. I freeze leftovers in small containers so he can have something we haven't eaten in a few days as his main dish, or I make him a sandwich, hardboiled eggs w/ seasoning to dip in, or a container of soup. I usually give him 2 choices of main dish when I'm packing, which seems to make him more inclined to eat the lunch.

Because of his job, he is only allowed to bring food in clear plastic containers with plastic silverware. He uses these nifty containers and the same set of silver-colored plastic tableware each day. The containers, even filled with soup, tolerate being tossed into a bag and rattled around upside down without spilling. Also, the company will replace them if they break.

 

[Denvergirlie]

I pack a small cooler for mine everyday, M-F.

Breakfast - yogurt, cereal and milk (separte contrainers), fruit, muffins or fruit bread, pancakes, soy sausages, oatmeal, etc

Lunch/ Dinners - Salad, Leftovers /frozen "dinners", soup, take out leftovers, homemade pizza, sandwiches, wraps, pasta salads, etc.

Leftovers/ frozen dinners - I package meals into frozen dinner and can grab and go. Usually cook enough to get two lunches of leftovers for the freezer. Sometimes I make dishes that get made directly into a leftover frozen meal. I try to alternate them, since I cook almost everynight I always have fresh options to feed the freezer so my guy doesn't get tired of the same meal all the time. I have on average 10-15 frozen meals in my freezer at all times.

Sandwiches/ wraps - we do very little lunchmeat in this household, he gets a lunchmeat sandwhich or wrap maybe once evey two weeks. Wraps are great as well, a nice change and they are so versital. Burrito flour tortilla, put almost anything in it and roll it up. I wrap in wax paper cut in half and good to go. Love adding things like cream cheese, all sorts of different veggies, cheese, rice, refried beans, meat or lunch meat, avocados, sprouts, etc. Can be a nice change from bread sandwiches. Tuna salad and Chicken salas are also great. Either in a sandwhich, wrap or alone served with crackers.

Also send along soy hotdogs already in a bun. Wrap a paperplate with syran wrap and nuke for a minute. Not the greatest because it uses paper and plastic stuff, but steams it very well and it's only every 2 weeks or so.

Also add in other items like cut veggies and humus/ other dip, pasta salads, popcorn, graham crackers, mac n' cheese, cottage cheese and fruit and other "snack" items.

Mine has been working a 12 hour shift lately, so I send a lot of options evreyday for several meals/ snacks.

Don't forget to add real silverwear, plastic stuff just doesn't work long term and it's nice to eat with real silverwear. I add in notes, funny's, jokes and the occasion pack of gum, jolly ranchers, choclate bar or can of soda to keep things fresh and as a happy treat occasionally.

Toss it all in with some bottled water and a cold pack and we are good to go.

Good luck!

 

[BusyBeeMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturallyspeaking Not necessarily, my husband doesn't like leftovers unless the meal was really really good and it doesn't happen very often... Sometimes I get discouraged about cooking for dinner because of this. The idea of cooking for more and pack for his lunch the next day is a great idea though. I just don't know what to cook...

Holy cow...would you please tell MY DH to come home??? He must be living in your house!

I face the exact same issue. Doesn't like cold cuts, he really wants a whole hot meal, that is not a repeat of a recent meal, 3 times per day...