One of the better ways to not only save money but also keep to a healthy eating plan is to take a cut lunch with you rather than buying lunch from an office canteen, the school tuck shop, or the takeaway shop or cafe down the road.
Making your own does take a little organisation, as you will need to make the lunch up before you go in the morning or the night before. Or just make a week's worth of lunches and freeze them ready to go. If you're watching what you eat for health reasons, beware of ready-packed lunch foods like muesli bars, mini-packs of chips and the like. These convenience foods are packed with E-numbers (just look on the packet!) and are highly processed, containing a lot of fats, salts and sugars for minimal nutrients. And if you're even slightly concerned for the environment, just think of what happens to all those wrappers and little dinky spoons that come with some convenience foods.
From the environmental point of view, try to avoid cling film when wrapping sandwiches. Reuse plastic bags and/or use a lunchbox with compartments. Zip lock bags can be re-used again and again - they can be rinsed out and turned inside out to dry on the line or with the dishes. Drink bottles that you fill with your own juice or water, or else a thermos of hot coffee, tea or soup, are another way to cut down on waste, ensure that you're getting enough fluids and save money.
If you plan on making a large batch of lunches to freeze, it's better not to freeze fresh fruit and vegetables, as they go a bit funny when thawed out. This isn't too bad inside a sandwich, but if you want to munch on an apple after your sandwiches, then put it in fresh as you head out the door. Yoghurt can be frozen easily enough - and even if it doesn't thaw out totally come lunch break, this isn't a problem, as frozen yoghurt is deliciously refreshing, like ice cream. Don't freeze hard boiled eggs.
Sandwiches are the basis of many a cut lunch, but you don't need to get stuck in the rut of plum jam and butter on white bread (or wholemeal) every day... unless you love plum jam. Let's start with the bread. You can have ordinary sliced bread in all its many varieties from plain white to wholegrain to corn bread to dark European-style loaves. You can also have pitta bread, wraps or buns. And if you buy whole loaves rather than sliced bread (or if you make your own bread), you can try slicing things lengthways to get long oblongs rather than the more usual quasi-squares. A lot of the good old favourite fillings can't be beaten. Most people like at least one of the ordinary staple sandwiches like cheese, peanut butter, Marmite, honey or jam, or some combination of more than one of these (yes, including Marmite and honey - this writer's brother used to eat these). But it can be easy to get stuck in a rut. But how about trying some extras in with the basics? What about sundri ed tomatoes, basil and olives in with the cheese; avocado and chilli with the peanut butter; lettuce and cold chicken with the Marmite; bananas with the honey; or sunflower seeds and cream cheese with the jam?
The following are some additions that blend well with the staple sandwich fillings:
Cheese: herbs of all sorts, cold meat, most vegetables, sliced apples or pineapples, anything you'd put on a pizza - in fact, most things go with ordinary cheddar cheese except perhaps jam and honey... but you might like cheese with apricot jam.
Peanut butter: either sweet things such as honey, bananas, peanut butter or jam or else savoury things - most vegetables go well with peanut butter, especially the milder ones like lettuce and cucumber. As peanut butter has a dry, sticky texture in the mouth, you will need to consider texture as well as taste when making peanut butter sandwiches - slippery, crunchy or easily soluble items make good peanut butter partners.
Jam: Cream cheese is one of the few savoury items that can combine well with jam (peanut butter is the other). Fruit and nuts are other good possibilities to try. However, a touch of a tart jam can provide a good accent with cold meat (e.g. blackcurrant with lamb).
Honey: As honey is very sweet, it's best combined with spices, nuts and fruit.
Marmite: Marmite is very salty and savoury, so it goes best with blander flavoured vegetables - most salad vegetables (except radishes) such as sprouts, lettuce, tomato, carrot and celery complement Marmite nicely.
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