How to Make 10 Delicious, Low-calorie, Inexpensive Lunches

If you want to save money on your food bill, focus on lunches. Even school lunches can cost two to three times more than home-packed lunches. If you are comparing with fast food, bringing lunch from home is five or more times cheaper. And most fast-food and restaurant lunches are full of fat, sodium, and more calories than you would typically eat at dinner.

Here are some ideas for packing a quick, affordable, low-fat lunch that both you and your kids can enjoy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Reuseable plastic food containers.
• Plastic wrap or sandwich bags
• Plastic utensils

1. Cook extra portions at dinner once or twice a week. Before you even serve the meal, take out several lunch-sized portions and freeze or refrigerate in microwaveable, reusable containers. Then you can grab a lunch on the go when you don't have time to pack one. Casseroles, enchiladas, pasta salads, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf and others all make great lunches.

2. Slice a cup of fruit over a cup of yogurt. Sprinkle with half a cup of low-fat granola. This is a 400-calorie lunch that is cool and refreshing in the summer.

3. Make a chef salad with two cups of greens, cukes and carrots, a hard-cooked egg and turkey or ham deli meat slices. Forget the bottled dressing: too expensive and high-calorie. Make a vinaigrette with half a cup of red wine vinegar, two tablespoons of oil, a half-teaspoon of salt, some oregano and a clove of crushed garlic.

4. Make your own variation of this salad: two cups of greens with any combination of: a nut, a fruit, and a cheese. My favorite is dried cranberries, walnuts and parmesan, but a close second is fresh raspberries, feta, and almonds. Use the same vinaigrette as described above.

5. Bake potatoes the night before or bring a cut-up raw potato to work and microwave 4-5 minutes. Top with chili and cheese or broccoli, cheese and bacon bits. Or, bring a cold potato or potato cubes that are precooked to work. Top with half a cup of plain yogurt, chopped cucumber, fresh dill and a pinch of salt. Great on a summer day!

6. Make your own tuna salad with a can of tuna, half a cup of fat-free mayo or plain yogurt, grape slices, walnuts, celery and red onion. Spread on whole wheat with lettuce. Add a piece of fruit and carrot sticks for about 400 calories total.

7. Make a pasta salad. Cook a 12-ounce box of pasta and stir-fry your favorite vegetables with plenty of garlic and onion. Add a half-cup of sliced green olives (I like the ones stuffed with garlic) and half a cup of Swiss cheese cubes. Dress with vinaigrette dressing and serve with crackers and carrot sticks.

8. Simmer a crockpot of stew or chicken soup during the day to serve at night. Package up the leftovers as lunch portions for the next day.

9. Make or buy hummus, which is high in protein and will give you an energy life, and serve with veggie slices: peppers, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery. Add some crackers and a piece of fruit for about 400 calories.

10. Spread a fresh bagel from your local deli with two tablespoons of whipped cream cheese. Add fruit and vegetables.

[omghow]

on 10/22/2009 Thanks for sharing the low calorie ideals.

[crossroad]

on 10/22/2009 on 10/22/2009 Wow...there is hope for me after all....I kept trying to figure out how to add spice to my lunch instead of bringing the same old sandwiches or microwave weight watcher meals

[crossroad]

on 10/22/2009 Wow...there is hope for me after all....I kept trying to figure out how to add spice to my lunch instead of bringing the same old sandwiches or microwave

[barbarastanley]

on 10/14/2009 delicious low-cal lunches for less, thanks

[sanderdoe]

on 10/14/2009 Low-calorie, inexpensive lunches are a must these days! Thanks for the great suggestions! 5*