Bought lunches add up fast. A packed lunch saves money and is usually healthier — but only if it’s something you actually look forward to eating. Here’s how to make that happen without spending your Sunday in the kitchen.
The formula
Every good packed lunch has five parts:
- A base: grains, pasta, noodles, potatoes or leaves.
- A protein: chicken, eggs, beans, lentils, tofu, tinned fish or cheese.
- Veg: roasted, raw or pickled.
- A sauce or dressing: this is what stops it being dull.
- Something crunchy: seeds, nuts, croutons or crispy onions.
Six lunches to rotate
- Grain bowl: rice or couscous, roast veg, chickpeas, feta and a lemony dressing.
- Homemade noodle pot: cooked noodles, a spoon of miso or curry paste, frozen peas, spring onion and shredded chicken in a jar. Add boiling water at work, stir and leave for three minutes.
- Loaded wraps: hummus, grated carrot, spinach and falafel or leftover chicken. Roll them tightly in foil.
- Pasta salad: pasta, pesto, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and spinach.
- Leftovers upgrade: last night’s chilli or curry with rice — reheat it until it’s steaming hot.
- Snack box: boiled eggs, crackers, cheese, crunchy veg, hummus and fruit.
Keep it fresh
- Pack dressings and sauces separately and add them just before eating.
- Put wet ingredients at the bottom of a jar and leaves at the top.
- Keep lunches with meat, fish, eggs or dairy in the fridge until you eat them, or use an insulated bag with an ice pack.
Prep a week in 30 minutes
Cook a big batch of one grain, roast one tray of veg, boil a few eggs and make one jar of dressing. Then mix and match through the week, so Monday’s grain bowl becomes Wednesday’s wrap. Most prepared lunches keep well in the fridge for about three days, so prep twice a week if you need to.
CulinaryFlow’s Meal Planner can plan your lunches alongside your dinners and combine everything into one shopping list.