Comments on: How Cheaply Can You Brown Bag Your Lunch?

By: Linda Rocco

Linda Rocco — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:03:09 +0000

I have a job where I need to take clients to lunch 4 days a week (of course paid by the company). Since I get bored of restaurant stuff, it’s a delight to eat my own stuff. Here’s what I usually have:

– 1 cup of brown basmati rice (.25$)
– spinach (.15$)
– onions (.15$)
– soy (.15$)
– chicken breast (1.50$)
– naan (.25$)
– sour cream (.25$)

For a little less than 3$.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:35:08 +0000

I make large pots of coup/chili on the weekends and then put them into individual serving containers to freeze for use whenever I don’t have left overs for lunch. 6 servings of chili only costs about $7.50 to make (3 cans of beans, 2 lbs potatoes, 1 can tomatoes, corn and veggie stock) Then I buy a loaf of bakery WW bread and a bowl of soup and 1/6 a loaf of bread only costs about $1.50 a day. Its also very healthy and filling.

By: erick

erick — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:29:04 +0000

seriously, have any of you guys ever been poor? chicken bologna sandwiches, ramen, kool aid, pasta, chicken dogs

By: erick

erick — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:27:24 +0000

You guys got nothin on me.
11 oz can pork & beans, 3 for $1
2 esskay beef franks, 8 for $1
free work coffee

beans and franks for $.58

yeah, i had to look to find those prices, but then i bought a mess of them.

you got nothin’ on me. sweet potatoes go for 50 cents/lb, microwave a big one, another lunch for under a buck.

By: SavingDiva

SavingDiva — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:11:26 +0000

I love tomato, but I put it in a separate bag so it doesn’t make my sandwich soggy.

By: Shymom

Shymom — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:12:18 +0000

Sam #24 was (in jest) taking about rummaging through the fridge at work to eat out of other peoples lunches.

I knew a guy who did that and then would complain about the type of cheese I brought in. — Some people

By: Mara

Mara — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:09:27 +0000

I get my bread from the bread outlet stores. It’s always cheaper and I just double bag and freeze it. I watch the sales and get store brand deli meats and cheeses only when they are on sale.
I take chips and fruit whatever is on sale.
Frugal shopping is the key to frugal meals. Also, it’s a not a bargain if you wind up throwing things away.

By: Jaspenelle

Jaspenelle — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:56:57 +0000

2 or 3 of my husband’s weekly meals are dinner leftovers which beats buying the lunch fixing. Otherwise his lunch is under $4 a day with tuna or meat sandwiches, yogurt, carrot sticks and homemade cookies (the bread is sometimes homemade too.

By: sm4k

sm4k — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:38:42 +0000

One of the common lunch recipes I have is a vegetable/chicken/pasta combo, and it is very inexpensive.

1 box of whole wheat pasta (~$1.25 per box, has about 4 servings in it) – $.31
1 5lb bag of frozen mixed vegetables (~$5.50 per bag, has about 10 servings in it) – $.55
1 bag of frozen sliced grilled chicken (~$5.50 per bag, has about 6 servings in it) – $.91

Daily total is about $1.77, and it tastes pretty good. If you want to spice it up a little bit, add in some vinaigrette sauce and some Mrs. Dash (certainly cuts into the cost effectiveness, but you’re still under $2.50 a day)

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:35:09 +0000

I have a PB&J sandwich for lunch at work almost every day.

2 slices of wheat bread = $0.28
3 tbsp of peanut butter = $0.24
2 tbsp of jelly = $0.30
1 can of pop = $0.25
Total = $1.07

It’s usually even less, because I buy the peanut butter and jelly on sale or with coupons. I always buy pop on sale, too, and never spend more than $.25/can, but sometimes I can get it for as little as $.17/can.

Of course the lunches where I work cost a lot less than the upscale deli lunch from the article, but most people still spend $5 – 8 per day if they buy lunch and a beverage at work!