lunch ideas
Posted By: sunshine on 2007-11-28
In Reply to:
Does anyone have any ideas for quick lunches that are yummy? I live by myself and really do not cook a big meal that often so leftovers are usually out of the question although family members will bring me some goodies from time to time. What I really need are good lunch ideas for one person. I get so tired of eating soup and salads. Open for suggestions!! TIA
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What's for lunch?
I'm sick of the same ole, same ole . . . need new ideas!
lunch
My husband works 12-hour shifts. He takes 2 meals to work with him. Usually a can of soup, a salad and 2 sandwiches, crackers and a few sodas to last him the 12 hours. For him to eat 2 meals out everyday would be way too expensive.
All through my kids' school years, they asked to carry their lunch. Said the school lunches were too nasty to buy. I made a sandwich, crackers or chips, a piece of fruit and a cookie.
Working at home, I eat whatever is here.
I cook 5 out of 7 dinners a week. Even fast food is getting too expensive with 2 older sons and a husband, usually for the 4 of us and fast food, we spend $25 to $30 per trip.
Lunchables. Lunch box or not? (sm)
I put the grandkids on the bus in the mornings and they like to take lunchables, however they don't want to put them in their insulated lunch bags, just throw them in their back pack. They insist "everybody" does this. I am a worry wart when it comes to not keeping food properly refrigerated.
Am I being paranoid, is this safe?
re: lunch while typing
Just FYI....NEVER try to eat ramen noodles while you are typing!!! Not a pretty site...LOLOLOL...just a thought to lighten the load!!! hehehehe
And maybe one of them works during lunch.
x
DH and I are w/my family for lunch
and his for dinner. I have ex-aunt that still gets invited to holiday get togethers since she was married to my uncle for so long and her kids and now a grandaughter will be with us. She and a real pain in the but. Even when it is not her house she tries to dominate everything. Where everyone should sit, when we should eat, the conversation somehow always revolves around her. She will ask you a question and even before you finsih answering she is off talking about something else. We basically just roll our eyes and try to avoid her. This year she wrote a letter to my mom asking her to move her Christmas Eve plans to a different time (have been doing the same thing for years) to make it easier on her. Not going to happen.
At DH's house his mother was in a really pissy mood when we first arrived. I like her most of the time, but lately I have found that I just tend to tolerate her. She and I have never had any problems but I think her getting older is starting to take its toll. She and I differ anyway. Every Thanksgiving it is the same, everyone that comes brings a couple of dishes but she also does some of the cooking. She doesn't clean up as she goes along, so the sink is always full of dirty dishes before dinner starts and I can guarantee you when we start to clean up we will find that the electric dishwaher ( I am the human one) is full of clean dishes. This year as soon as we got there she took a hot pot off the stove and put the food into a serving dish. I decided to go ahead and wash it. The pot was extremely hot so I turned on the cold water to cool it off just a bit before I washed it. She came to the sink and turned the hot water on. I politely said "I was just trying to cool if off a bit before I stuck my hands in it." "No, that is not the way I do it". I was stunned. I have been married to her son for over 20 years and I always wash the dishes. I don't mind that I certainly am going to do my part. But this year I said, "well if you want me to leave these for you to do, fine." I did help clean up after dinner but I did not put my hands in any dishwater. Besides they were still a bit pruned from cleaning up after lunch. LOL!
Btw, this is the same woman who gives me something that she collects every year for Christmas even though I and her daughter have very politely let her know this is not something I want. 
they can also pack their lunch
x
"I had lunch with a snowman
Cause Big Bird said he's my leader...too funny!
Lunch spending
My husband usually brings leftovers for lunch. I give my daughter $20 for lunch at school (to put in her lunch account), and that usually lasts a week. My other daughter is home by lunchtime and she eats what we have here at home. We spend about $100 a week on groceries. On the weekends we usually go out at least once, maybe twice for lunch and spend anywhere from $15-$25 depending on where we go. My oldest is a vegetarian so we actually save money because if we get takeout, she usually doesn't find anything that she wants to eat. When I was working outside the home I spent way to much on lunch every day, usually about $50 a week.
Pay for his lunch.... Can be arranged through the cafeteria. nm
x
Better question to ask..... Do they get full at lunch? sm
My youngest who took those finally asked me 1 day to add a sandwich as those just did not fill her up. She is a very petite 8 year old who is very active. They are just not enough!! :)
I also watch while typing or at least try to eat lunch then
I read that the audience will slowly find out who all is in the accident. Like yesterday just about Nick, Sharon, and Jack. I know Cane, Katherine, Lauren, Paul, and the lady cop (can't remember her name). also Victoria (we already know this), JT, and I suppose Adrain. What about Amber? Not sure about her. I think I saw her with blood on her in a preview.
It is worth the wait, but you could go for lunch and not
xx
H went and talked the director at lunch.
She said she was just worried that she might be sick. She said dd would cry like the whole world caved in and then the next minute she would be happy and play as if she didn't have a care in the world. I don't really know what it is about.
I haven't taken my own medication for a few days and I guess it has brought out my paranoia. I have never been as bad off as my cousin but I do take antidepressants. Yeah, we live in a small town and people like to talk.
Okay, what does your family spend on lunch
What's the family lunch budget for kids and husbands?
Us that work at home don't get a lunch budget I know
PUMPKIN PIE. Breakfast, lunch and dinner! n/m
.
I always put them in the lunch boxes with a cold pack. NM
NM
Pack them a decent lunch. That is garbage.
x
So, June Cleaver... what do you pack for lunch?
Finger sandwiches? Please. It is one meal of the day and kids would eat far worse if given lunch money. Now why don't you run along and iron your aprons or something :)
She called twice at lunch and I just didn't answer.
I know she won't listen to me as to why I won't buy, it is not the products it is the issue of having to buy every freak'n month. That is the isssue. At least that is how I perceived this from my mom. I am just going to half to tell her no that if she has nothing else to say go home or hang up I am busy.
As far as the weight issue is, I am sure she wanted to know she she can tell everyone that "well at least I don't weigh as much as cousin because she weighs blah blah blah." I know that is how she is. As far s the doctor weighing me, I am not sure. I think maybe some birth control methods doesn't work for women over a certain weight is the only thing I can think of. I bet though when he dictated his note about me it started with "this obese 32 YO" LOL.
anonmt-is your husband eating his lunch all by himself?
So sorry to be nosy, but it's been a few days since you posted and I am genuinely concerned about you. Has he been dumped?
Live alone, don't eat lunch. Usually don't eat until late afternoon.
x
My lunch-budget is however many lines I miss when
Anyone know the best place in Destin for a seafood lunch? sm
Hubby and I are going down next weekend for 2 nights and have not been in years. I would love to hear of any really neat places where we can get a nice seafood lunch for a reasonable price. Thanks for your help! 
Are you going to laser your veins? Places here in NY say to have it done on your lunch hour!
s
Call the friend back and set up the lunch date.
about. You need a recharge. Do you minimum payments if at all possible on the cards and then snowball it. Cut them up; don't use them anymore! Pay cash for everything.... Save some money each week to do something nice for yourself! Good luck... and Yes, you do matter!
Students Denied Hot Lunch Until Money Paid
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Forget pizza, hamburgers and macaroni and cheese.
Dozens of students at Steamboat Springs schools are getting peanuts, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — or nothing — for lunch this week after the district cut off those with unpaid balances on their school lunch accounts.
Nutritional Services director Max Huppert says students owing $6 or more were not allowed to use the district's automated payment system to buy hot lunches when they returned to school Monday. The move affected about 25 elementary students and an unknown number of middle school students.
The affected elementary school students were given snack food instead, but the others received nothing.
Huppert says about half of the nearly $10,000 owed to the district has since been paid.
Heard the most fascinating story today at lunch. gottah share. sm
My best friend just returned from a trip back home by herself. There, she met up with her high school sweetheart - 20 years later. His mom and her mom are best friends and they were both there for a funeral. She cried her eyes out at lunch today.
She learned while on her trip back home that the love of her life was divorced, has 3 kids - his wife left him for another man. My friend is married with 2 children.
To make a long story short, my friend is a true lady. She told him all about her life here and he just listened. They were near water (a gorgeous beach) on the docks and it was just the 2 of them and he began saying things to her that made her so sad. He went on and on about how he never stopped loving her and would look at her and say, "you are just as gorgeous as you were back in high school." She said she would just laugh and tell him he was crazy. She said she saw him on and off during the trip because she "had" to. They have families that are very close. Every time he would see her he would give her a big hug and call her gorgeous. She said the night before she left they were on his mother's porch swinging, eating ice cream and he cried like a baby. She cried. Nothing inappropriate happened between them. She said it was a connection none like she had ever, ever experienced before. She said that he made her promise that if anything were to ever happen between she and her husband that she would come back and be with him. He promised that he would wait for her, even if she were 80 years old. My friend cried and cried. He cried and cried.
I cried and cried. I know this lady's husband. The have a good relationship. But she and I both know that we did not marry our soul mates. I don't even know where mine is (we broke up many moons ago), but I know he was the one for me. There was no infedelity to this story at all. I believe her. They lost contact when she went away to college, moved on, and that was it. She would talk about him periodically with me, but nothing real serious.
I don't know how many women (I sure haven't) met up with old flames or lost soul mates and have the experience she has. She is a Christian and says that if she didn't love Jesus, something would have happened between them. She was able to use her love of God to witness to this man (who isn't a Christian). She said that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened between them and that his soul was more important to her than her selfish desires.
I commended her for that. I don't know how many women in her position would have been as strong. She cried so hard when she was telling me this story. Lunch lasted 4 hours!! I'm glad I was off today. Anyway, it just has me thinking about my ilfe, too, as a married mom and wife. My husband is the most unemotional, unaffectionate, doesn't-believe-in-soul mates-kind-of-guy. I can't talk with him about these kinds of things. I just wish he were mine OR I was with mine.......
Got a soup kitchen or church mission that serves lunch daily?
s
I just called my friend and sang happy birthday on her lunch hour...sm
Juliet is a kindergarten teacher in NYC...She said, "We just had our Valentine's day cupcakes and pudding, then they went to lunch"...All I could say was "They're not going to gym next, are they?" She said, "Well yeah, that's their next class". I said, "Get ready for a barforama!"....If I hadn't already lived through it I could'nt have said it...Poor Juliet  Cat
A few ideas
Shed not for her the bitter tear,
Nor give the heart to vain regret;
Tis but the casket that lies her,
The gem that filled it sparkles yet.
Her children rise up and call her blessed.
Amiable, she won all; intelligent, she charmed all; fervent, she loved all; and dead, she saddened all.
Ideas..
How about the pastry puff (hot dog, potato, beef) hors doeuvres by Cohen. Frozen aisle, just thaw and bake. They are delicious! Spinach dip in a bread bowl. Chicken fingers. Shrimp cocktail. Stuffed mushrooms. Prosciutto and melon, fresh mozzarella. Deviled eggs. Enjoy the party!
Any ideas???
You all are always so creative and imaginative - please help. I need to buy gifts for my BIL's girlfriend and SIL's boyfriend, somewhere in the $25 range. I have no clue what they like, and asking BIL and SIL is like asking my keyboard - they are no help at all. Thanks in advance!
some ideas...
Although this is from a nominated student themselves you might pull some info from it. Had the pleaure of being a memory and it was indeed an honor.
associatedcontent.com/.../how_to_write_a_successful_national.html - 35k -
Give applicant name and school name, your relation to applicant, how long you have known them. Some of the criteria it is based would be maturity, dependability, motivation, compatibility, integrity, compassion, particpation and attitude.
here are a few ideas
There is a web site that is legit that can help with small amounts. It may not give you money in a short time, but it can help within 30 days. www.modestneeds.org
They even help show you how to write a request that will get approved.
For help with food, try angelfoodministries.com . For $25/month, you get almost $75 worth of food.
For help with any medications, try www.needymeds.com . The drug manufacturers help people who fall between the cracks and cannot afford medicine by providing it for free or for a minimal fee.
Also contact your state's Vocational Services Department. If you have ADHD in my state, they will pay for your schooling and medication and doctor bills and you don't pay it back after school is done.
Don't be afraid to contact your local resources - churches, food banks, Salvation Army - for whatever help you can get. Some of these will provide one-time assistance or every-other-month help.
I wish you well. I only know about these because of I have needed to use each of them at one time or another, and continue to need them.
My ideas
Do you have wood heat? My sister's red setter had thyroid problems that made it itch and loose most of her hair as well as being allergic to wheat in the dog good and the only food that could feed it was Friskies cubes. Allergy testing sometimes is not that expensive. And it might be worth your while and cheaper than going through all the medications and remedies to not have them work and then do the testing. I have found that specialists sometimes are less expensive than the regular vets and they can pinpoint the problem faster and less expensive. So call an allergist vet and ask what it would cost to get him tested. I was scared to death about the expense of taking my dog to a neurologist when she was having seizures and it cost me less than a regular visit to my vet and he spent over 30 minutes with us explaining things. And he knew immediately what to do. But beware of the steroids as I feel that is what caused the seizures in the first place and will never put my dog on them again. Too many side effects. Good luck.
Some more ideas
Summer's on the way, here are some quickies for dinners. Except for rice and baked goods, I do not measure. Ever. It's all in your tastes and preferences. You just put the stuff together until it looks/smells/tastes right to you.
When you have time, simmer a large amount of boneless, skinless, quartered chicken breasts in water/broth until they are just done and still tender. Drain and cool. Shred, dice, chop and use throughout the week. Roasted chicken/turkey is great to use, too.
If you like ham, bake a big one. Have a ham dinner one night, then save the rest for later in the week. Chop it in a food processor for chopped ham, slice it for sandwiches, dice it for soups, wraps, omelets, etc.
When in season, use grapes or sliced fresh fruit such as apples, to serve with some dinners or put in salads. When it's there in front of you, all sliced and pretty, you eat it. Great way to get fruits into the family's diet on the sly! They'll make faces and think you've gone all Martha Stewart on them, but they'll eat it. Same thing with some veggies. Slice cukes lengthwise, slice carrots the same way, put them on the table with a little dish of something to dip them in - some dressing or yogurt. Make them easy to pick up with finger.
Some dinner suggestions using the above:
1. Sandwiches. Any kind. Make them interesting - different breads you slice yourself, bulke rolls, pita pockets, etc. Fill with roasted/sauted veggies, with leftovers, cukes, shredded carrots, etc. Use dark-colored greens or raw spinach instead of iceburg lettuce. Raw spinach goes a long way when using for sandwiches, wraps or rollups. That chicken made ahead can be mixed in with any type of salad dressing or marinade, with salsa, with cranberry relish, etc., gives much more flavor than mayo and a lot less calories. Make wraps and rollups. Add lots of different seasonings. Experiment! Try turkey bacon for BLTs. Serve with roasted potato wedges: slice baking potatoes lengthwise into wedges. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasonings of cohice. Cayanne pepper, salt, dill, tarragon, anything that smells good will taste good! Bake in shallow pan about 45 min. until tender on inside, crisp on outside.
2. Tortillas/buritos/tacos. Fill with chicken, beef, veggies, anything! Experiment. Use the taco seasoning packets you can get at the supermarket to add to cooked lean ground hamburger or cooked chicken. I usually use half as they are quite salty. You can always just wing it yourself by adding cumin, tomato paste, salsa, cayanne pepper, etc.
3. Quesadillas. Brush large frying pan with olive oil. Place soft tortilla in pan, fill 1/2 with filling of choice - great with summer squash, zucchini sauted ahead of time and a bit of cheese. Fold over and cook on M-High heat until golden brown and crisp. Flip and cook other side same way, make sure cheese melts. Slice in wedges, serve w/salsa.
4. Rice. Cook a pot of Basmati or Jasmine rice, makes a huge difference in texture and taste than Uncle Ben's. It's more expensive than regular short grain/long grain rice, but this is your dinner, and the most expensive part of it if you are using leftovers. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon, alspice, clove to rice before covering to simmer for 20 min. Add cooked meat - chicken or hamburger. Another suggestion is to cook some rice, add some sauted garlic, veggies and some lemon-pepper seasoning. Serve with salad, cut up veggies and spciy ranch dressing, slices of fruit with cheese, etc.
5. Cook up some pasta. I know, more pasta, but this is different! Noodles works as well as angel hair. Cook ground hamburger. Mix pasta, hamburger, jar of spaghetti sauce together. Put in deep casserole dish that's been brushed with olive oil. Top with shredded cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese has melted. Careful not add too much sauce - you can always add more at the table. Best to keep an extra jar of sauce handy just in case.
7. English muffin pizzas. Let the kids make them.
8. Soups. Maybe not in summer, but on a cold night they are great. My favorite for this time is year is with veggie broth, summer squash, zucchini, finely chopped carrots, mushrooms and garlic that were sauted in olive oil and butter, caramalized onions, chunks of red potatoes with the skins on, dill, tarragon and a lot of fresh ground pepper. Add some shredded chicken if you want. Ham is good with this, too.
9. Sort of Shepherd's Pie: Brush casserole dish with olive oil. Add a layer of red skin smashed potatoes (always leave the skins on), a layer of canned corn, a layer of cooked hamburger, ham or chicken. Repeat, be sure to end last layer with the smashed potatoes. Bake until top begins to brown. Make gravy or use the jar/canned gravy if you'd like.
10. Dinner Pockets. Pillsbury crescent rolls in the fridge section of market. I don't know how many you are feeding but I believe one can makes 4 of these. Unroll the dough, separate along perforations to make rectangles, NOT triangles like you would for the crescents. Place each rectangle on a cookie sheet you've sprayed with veg. oil and make sure the perforated seams are pinched together. In the center of each rectangle, put in anything that's already been cooked. Any kind of meat and/or veggies. Top with shredded cheese if you want. Pull up the corners to the center and pinch closed. Bake according to directions on package.
11. If you can grill outdoors, there's a whole new world waiting for you! Marinate something the night before, grill along with veggies and/or potatoes. No mess to clean inside.
ideas.
Can't beat a BLT or hotdog and chips. Tomatoe soup and grilled cheese. Chicken wrap or tuna salad wrap. We even do BLT wraps.
Last night we had grilled pork chops with a broccoli slaw and grilled apples. When I grill I try to cook extra for another night. I did chops and then fresh sausage dogs for lunch.
What ya got and I'll give you some ideas! Would have rather been a chef than an MT but oh well!
Try this ideas -
Get a Scat Mat. Put it where they want to claw on the furniture and crank it to the highest level. I bet after one buzz on their paws they move on. Are you able to spray them in the act of scratching? Set a water bottle on stream, squirt them the very second they start scratching and say "no." Do not hit or scream hysterically at them. If you cannot secure a Scat Mat then get a carpet protector (you know, those plastic things sold in strips that you place over carpet to protect it - maybe like in front of a door) and turn it upsidedown so that the pointy part is sticking up. They will not want to walk on that, I will bet money on it. I have had 11 cats in my lifetime and they all kept their claws. Try different things until something clicks. If nothing else works then try the Soft Paws, but retraining CAN be done. Good luck. Let us know what happens. :-)
Please, any ideas on this??
I have worked in this field for over 30+ years. I have an aunt that I am very close to. I have been suffering very severly with rib pain (have fibromyalgia) but I told her I went to 2 doctors this past week, my regular and then referred on to rheumatologist and neither basically helped me. I ask specifically to my PCP if I might have costochondritis (would rather have had that then other things worse) so he never said anything 1 way or the other. In telling her today I finally resorted to getting 1 of the medicated back patches from the drug store and how I had had to help myself she told me "well, the doctors really do not want you to tell them what you think it is or what to do for any ailments." I know she is old, but right now I am supposed to go visit her this weekend and I am blowing steam from my ears. After doing the 4s for years and years and also working part-time in all other speciality offices including ortho, neurologic, gynecological, internal just to name a few, I have gotten to where I know a LITTLE about your body. I do not want her to say something like this again and for me to just overlook but my gosh, even after saying possibility about infection in the ribs, I am still NOT checked out for any possibility ??? When you go to your physician do you ever say it might be this or it might be that and what kind of reply would you have for this much loved aunt (although right now has really stepped on my toes). Oh by the way, this is not the first time something like this has been brought up between the aunt and myself. Not working in the medical field she sorta views the doctors as, well you know these holier than thou are folks and would NEVER question their authority.
Thanks everyone for the ideas! (nm)
x
Thanks for your ideas sm
I am very grateful for your ideas and did a little extra shopping for the future yesterday. Last evening I offered ground sirloin mixed with ground turkey (they did not ask) and made some tasty meatballs and patties. I offered them a choice, which they loved. One had a meatball sub, the other two had the cheeseburger choice with low fat cheese and when one finished, he wanted what his sister had, could not resist the smell of the meatballs. I allowed him both. He has quite an appetite! We had fun. I also introduced baked sweet potato fries. They made their own deserts with chocolate low-fat yogurt which they called "ice cream" with a cherry on top and a few chocolate sprinkles (they loved doing their own). Made their own low-fat chocolate milk shakes. Overall, the evening went very well. I added some of your suggestions to my cupboard for future visits. I am the "Grammy" and sometimes I get very tired. I did offer them "two" choices which they (being siblings) seemed to be attracted to. I have to remind them and myself that I am not a restaurant, a bank or a hotel. When the food goes well, the rest of the evening is pretty easy. We watched "Home Alone," played cards, Chutes & Ladders with the little one and had fun together. Thanks for the future menu ideas. Ages 5, 9 and 11, all different kiddos. You know how it is. : )
Thanks nm You have the best ideas about everything!
:>)
Thanks for the ideas, everyone!
It's cool out today, so I think I'll hang it outdoors.
2 ideas
Get a little Skookie cast iron pan (they have them at Sportsmans Warehouse). Make the Skookie once and then you have the pan. (If you haven't had one it is a huge cookie or brownie baked in a small cast iron pan. Get those bags of pizza dough mix (Martha's or whatever - they have it at Wal-Mart) and make it up (you just add water) and press it into the oiled pan. Bake 10 minutes and then add on a spoonful of sauce or olive oil and garlic and 5 cheese Italian blend and some parmesan and bake it again until brown and bubbly. Lunch. Save the dough for tomorrow and do another kind! Like Canadian bacon and pineapple. These are really good. The crust comes out just right like brick oven pizza. If you are really hungry or you have company, get a big cast iron pizza pan and do the same with the whole batch of dough. The leftovers are soooo good.
My mom lived alone for a long time and she had the same problem and did not like fast food, so she would make a big recipe of enchiladas and then freeze them individually for her lunch. Yum. If you don't know how to make them post back and I'll tell you. It is really easy and so much yummier than PB&J or tuna.
I lied, third idea. Make tostadas. Fry up or bake a corn tortilla and spread it with refrieds and add cheese, salsa and lettuce, sour cream, or whatever. Instant lunch! Now I am ravenous and need to check the freezer contents.
Ideas
Here is a website where you can download and print out things (Christmas themes) such as dot-to-dot, word search, find the difference in the elves, matching game, santa's village activity page and Christmas coloring pages. http://familyfun.go.com/printables/season/specialfeature/christmas-printables-ms/
Oriental trading company has a holiday bingo game.
You might also want to check out www.enchanted learning.com. Tons of stuff on there for kids, not sure if they have Christmas stuff, but lots of educational things.
Any ideas???
My husband is turning 40 in a week and a half. Any ideas on presents (i'm tired of giving practical stuff) and ways to celebrate? My 6-year-old wants to take him out to eat but I feel we should do something more?? 
Okay, trying to think of other ideas for you - sm
Tell him all that you love about him but how sad it makes you when he does this, that, and the other. Spell it out to him. Men need VERY specific instructions sometimes. Try to keep it short and to the point. Sometimes they just think everything is fine and keep doing the same thing over and over. Maybe someone else has other ideas?? :-)
no ideas but
I don't have any ideas on what to get her - other than maybe take her out to eat somewhere nice? flowers or a plant maybe?? But I think she will be happy and touched that you want to do something special for her. .
ideas...
Those flowers made out of fruit or cookies are really nice, and did you try Hallmark? There is one by me that has tons of little gifts that say the most beautiful things.
Other ideas
Definitely try Lane Bryant. Also many of the nicer department stores have plus size dress sections. I found a site, www.tjformal.com and they have plus size prom dresses but depending on your age, style preference, etc. you might find something appropriate. Also I found something called VereNique Plus Size that has some beautiful gowns. Also Venus Modest has sizes up to your size that are absolutely stunning. I took your word that money was no object, some of these are upwards of $600 before alterations. No store to go to unless you happen to live in Missouri.
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