Ideas for work lunches

Buying lunch each day works out to be an expensive and sometimes unhealthy proposition. It's easy to pay $6 - $8 just for a sandwich. That all adds up to too much in my book so I bring my lunch from home each day. The trick is to plan ahead so you don't end up bringing the same boring food day after day. It helps that there is both a refrigerator and a microwave available for me to use at work. Plus there is a sandwich press and toaster too.

Leftovers are great to take for lunch as this reduces waste at home as well as providing something tasty. Today's lunch is leftover salad, couscous and two venison sausages. Yum!

Often on a Sunday I will cook something specifically for lunches - this could be a vegetable curry, risotto or soup. I have been delving through my cookbooks recently looking for new ideas. One recipe I found was for a chicken and corn pie - the "crust" is made with breadcrumbs and brown rice and also includes some spices. The filling of the pie is chicken, sweetcorn, eggs, milk, cheese and whatever other vegetables I have in the fridge that need to be used up. I used brocolli and cauliflower in this which made the pie delicious and healthy. I'll post the recipe for this when I get a chance.

I have a few ideas to fall back on when there are no leftovers and I haven't had time to cook anything specifically for lunch. One idea is to cook up some brown rice and a grab a can of tuna - I heat these up and add a good dose of black pepper. Another idea is to make up a sandwich that can be toasted for lunch - my favourite is mushroom, spinach and cheese on grainy bread. Delicious!