<p>I am trying really hard to bring food for lunch from home–that $6 or $7 to eat out even just a sandwich from Subway feels like an unnecessary waste of money now. Sometimes I plan well amd have leftovers (that I have time to pack the night before) but more often I am either eating Lean Pockets or eating out. The Lean Pockets are okay but I would like to move a little in the healthier direction. Can anyone recommend a good, noncomplicated cookbook that has freeze-ahead recipies? Or any good, not terribly unhealthy pre-packed lunch foods?</p>
<p>My husband makes concoctions of store meat (usually roast chicken), frozen vegetables and a bottled sauce or salad dressing. (Current one is cranberry horseradish.) I tend to just eat leftovers, or a salad with meat or tuna and lots of vegetables. </p>
<p>Burritos freeze pretty well and there are some decent ones you can buy if you don’t want to make your own.</p>
<p>Most soup freezes well.</p>
<p>I do leftovers a lot too. When there are none to be had, I’ll often take a sandwich (turkey or honey ham fr. the deli on whole wheat) and toss in some baked chips or pretzels and a piece of fruit. </p>
<p>It’s also really easy to buy bagged salads at the grocery store. One bag will make several days worth of salads. Just put some in a little Gladware container and add carrots, cheese, deli meat…whatever you have on hand with a little salad dressing. I always keep yogurt on had to throw in the lunchbox. Lowfat cottage cheese and fruit is another staple.</p>
<p>Canned soup is easy if you have access to a microwave at work. I pour it out of the can into a plastic container before leaving for work so I just have to pop it in the micro. at lunch time.</p>
<p>I have been making a huge pot of curried vegetables most weekends – potato, peas, spinach, tomatoes, and whatever else is in the refrigerator cooked with a curry sauce – either from a jar or from scratch. Sometimes I add garbanzos. Then I cook up a large pot of brown rice and package it up in individual containers each night. I don’t freeze it since it stays fine for the work week. I find this so much more filling and satisfying than a salad, which always leaves me wanting something more substantial. Sometimes I raid the curry and have it for breakfast, too. For some reason I haven’t tired of this repetitive meal (yet!) although I’ve been making variations on it for about a month now.</p>
<p>I’ve grilled a bunch of chicken breasts, sliced them, and then frozen them in individual servings. In the morning I can pull one out and put it over a salad or in a wrap. The chicken is defrosted by lunchtime.</p>
<p>I also do the leftover thing. If I make a meal that works well as a leftover, I make sure I make a little extra. When putting the food away, I put it in individual containers and take one out of the fridge the day after there is a meal that is either all eaten or doesn’t make good leftovers. Sometimes I even freeze a couple. I also like salads with chicken or ham or even a hard boiled egg.</p>