Today we’re putting a spin our usual “how can I reduce this…” question after an email from Martine:

I hate having to buy sandwiches every day but I can’t get into the habit of making lunch in the morning. I do it for a couple of days then stop. I hate spending all that money and making so much waste!! Do you or your readers have any have tips on how I could get into the habit of making them?

Don’t limit yourself to thinking that lunch == sandwiches. When I worked away from home, I wasn’t very good at making sandwiches but I was pretty good at taking leftovers. I think I found my homemade sandwiches pretty uninspiring but a portion of pasta salad or curry & rice to warm up in the microwave, mmm. I think it helped that I could prepare those the night before and not worry about the bread going hard/soggy etc – I’m not at my best in the mornings.

I have a friend who, for weight maintenance and frugal reasons, eats porridge for lunch most days – once a fortnight, he’ll weigh out all the dry ingredients (including some dried fruit) into portions into individual containers so he can just grab one on the way out of the door each day. (He makes some with powdered milk in case he doesn’t have access to fresh milk some days.)

These days, since both John and I work from home, we eat lunch at home but on Wednesday evenings, I teach drama so am out of the house at dinner time. I usually eat when I get back but try to take a snack with me to save me having to buy biscuits or chocolate as a pick-me-up when I’m out – something like flavoured crackers which doesn’t need refrigeration and won’t go off if left in my bag until the following week.

What do the rest of you do? Do you make your sandwiches or lunches every day? Any suggestions on how to get someone into the habit of doing it? Or alternatives to sandwiches?

(Photo by t_trace)