Where I work, we order breakfast and lunch every day (it doesn't help that there is a really good deli right next door ) I did the math and figured out we spend about $12-15 a day between breakfast and lunch, so I stopped doing it and will only order once a week and even then its only one or the other. I have co-workers tell me I am being silly because it's not that much to spend, and I would spend more than that at the supermarket anyway. So, I was wondering if other people who work also order out for breakfast and lunch and if you wouldn't mind sharing about how much do you spend? or What are your favorite things to bring with you if you bring lunch? For breakfast I either bring cereal or oatmeal or if I get up early enough I will make myself the same egg platter that I would have normally ordered from the deli. For lunch I usually bring leftovers, soup or a sandwich. I also bring in bottled water and those single serving drink mix packets to keep in my desk so I don't have to keep buying drinks.

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~~~~**Maryann**~~~~

I just got a firm grip on reality....
Now I can strangle it

It's all about priorities lol, I think it's smart to bring lunch/breakfast to work and not spend $$...I will go out to eat once in awhile or get a premium coffee, but that's not every day or even every week!

I used to work with several people who ordered delivery or carryout every day, every single day. One said they couldn't afford a cell phone and the other talked about not being able to afford a good winter coat, yet both of those people and others spent around $8 to $12 every day on lunch, come on...

Also used to work with someone who went to Starbucks twice a day...that's a serious Starbucks habit.

It's their business, but it's a waste of $ imo.

I bring leftover food to heat up (chili, soup, spaghetti) or sandwiches/wraps, a piece of fruit, a yogurt for lunches at work. For breakfast I usually have cereal bars or bagels or maybe bananas, apples etc. I have a bag of Sara Lee mini bagels in the freezer at work now.

Okay, assuming you have a 5 day work week, you would be spending between $60 to $75 a week ($3120 to $3900 a year!!!) Your decision to begin bringing most of your meals from home will save you a lot of money, even if you buy a frozen entree to bring for lunch every day and you'll save even more if you bring leftovers from last night's dinner.

I work in a mall so there is a food court plus places like Friendly's plus some nicer restaurants. Some of my co-workers only buy a meal at the mall a few times a year while others will buy maybe once or twice a week. Most of us bring our meals and this is what I see in our kitchen (we have a coffee maker, toaster oven, microwave, fridge/freezer, hot/cold water dispenser):

packets of oatmeal
bagels
fruit
frozen entrees
frozen veggies (my fav's to have for lunch or dinner are Green Giant Cheesy Rice & Broccoli or Healthy Weight veggies $1.79 @ Wegman's)
leftovers
sandwich
my one manager likes to bring some bread and a jar of vegamite
the college students often bring ramen :::::shudder:::::
yogurt
pudding cups

I like to have something sweet with my meal so I bake things and bring them in to share with my co-workers:

apple bread
applesauce cake
pumpkin bread
apple gingerbread
date bread

That way I'm not tempted to run to the food court for an overpriced cookie when I want a sweet and I've always got a snack available when I take my 15 minute break :-)

You can also make "egg mcmuffins" at home in advance. Take your english muffin, toast or bagel - whichever you like - scramble an egg in the microwave, add a slice of canadian bacon or bacon and take it to work to microwave it to heat it up.

If you don't have time in the morning you can prefry the bacon or you can premake them for the week and freeze them.

DH takes a Zone bar and a piece of fruit every day for breakfast. He then takes leftovers for lunch. Occassionally when we don't have leftovers, he likes PB&J and chips or canned soup and a sandwich. Occasionally I freeze leftovers and use them for lunches - like lasagna and chili.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

We do a fruit smoothie several times a week (frozen strawberries, frozen peaches, blueberries, banana, juice and milk). We got the idea from Alton Brown, on the food network. If you go to the website, he tells you how to do it. You can put all the frozen items in the blender at night, place the blender top in the fridge overnight, and then just put it on the blender and blend it in the morning. It works out great....takes just a few minutes in the morning! Quick and very healthy!

I sell fruit smoothie mix so DH has that or I like to make breakfast burritos (egg, sausage, cheese,salsa) and freeze them so he just has to zap them at work. He takes leftovers for lunch every day and I brew him gourmet coffee in a huge thermal thermos so he doesn't have to buy the expensive stuff at work or drink the crap that free I just make sure that when I make dinner, I make extra for lunches.

My office is at home so biggie for me

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

There is no way I would spend even $10 a day on ordering food. I eat two scrambled eggs (sometimes make into a cheese omelet) almost every single morning and an apple or a serving of fruit. I bring a low fat cheese stick or two or a tuna sandwich to work and eat half of the sandwich at a time. I bring an apple every day.
That is very inexpensive. And you can always hard boil a bunch of eggs for sandwiches or just to bring an egg or two.
Unless you have high cholesterol, eggs will not hurt you even if you eat two or three a day. There are a million things you could bring for lunch. Today I had leftover pasta with cheese and I threw some canned tuna in with it.
You could make some extra dinner and bring that for lunch.
People want to order out either because they're lazy, they don't know how to cook, or maybe don't realize how much it costs.
$15 a day for five days is $75. Don't tell me after being on mycoupons you can't eat better tasting more nutritious food than take out for $75 a week. Heck you could eat for more than seven days on $75 if you shop right and buy raw nutritious foods that you make yourself.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Anna
I am sure you missed Dr. Oz's program on mercury poison. Tuna is full of it especially albacore. Hope you are not having adverse effects from it.

I bring my lunch every day unless I am super late in the morning. (there is usually time for me to grab leftovers from the freezer )

breakfast I have a small bowl of cereal, which I leave the cereal at work and just pack a small tupperware cup of milk. I usually bring a yogurt and piece of fruit too.
I usually have water to drink.

I rarely buy breakfast or lunch at the store (I work in a market) and when I do it costs no more than 4.00. I would usually purchase chicken salad, some chips, fruit and water.

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-Kristi

I don't have tuna every day and I am an extremely healthy woman. I very rarely get sick and have not had a cold or flu or anything for over a year at least maybe two.

I take really good care of myself and have a very good immune system. I am strong and healthy and my hair, nails, skin, my insides are all healthy and everything about my body is working properly. My only issues have to do with perimenopause and even those are minor.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

My company provides free fruit every morning, so I usually have that for breakfast. For lunch, I always have chopped veggies and then I also bring something else, like: an Annie's burrito, lentil soup, a sandwich, or leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

The last time I was working I was also going to college. I normally made "something" for breakfast and carried my lunch. I was going to school at night so I usually grabbed something to eat before class, and at that time I could recite the cheapy menu items from all they local fast food places.

I like to take english muffin egg sandwiches for breakfast and usually some sort of sandwich type setup for lunch.

I have an egg and toast toaster so I can cook up an egg and toast the muffin at the same time-love it!!

I usually make a lunchmeat sandwich, turkey mostly since it's my favorite, along with some fruit and some sort of snackie thing. Even if you buy expensive lunchmeat and individually packaged snackies, it's still way cheaper than ordering out everyday.

Sometimes I do soup or leftovers but since I eat lunch so early-between 8:30 and 9 AM-I usually don't want anything heavy or hot, it's just too early for a big meal.

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Jesus SAVES by shopping smartly and using double coupons!

It's all been said already, but I'd like to add another voice that says your logic of brown bagging it is sound!

My husband takes many of the foods mentioned here for breakfast/lunch. We purposely make extra dinner, and often freeze lunch sized portions. As long as you have access to a microwave, you can make most of the meals that you'd order!

I can't imagine spending that kind of cash for everyday meals. After taxes, you're spending about an hour's salary for an average worker! Not only will your bank account thank you, but your health may also improve. (That's not to imply that there's anything wrong with it now!) Foods made at home are often healthier and better balanced than food from a restaurant.

Just remember lean protein and fiber fill you up and keep you satisfied for a long time. Almonds make a great go to snack in moderation and fruit is great for those sweet cravings and full of fiber.

Yes it's about priorities. If you can afford it and it's not taking away from anything I guess it's not that bad. I would just keep thinking of what I could do with that money for example buying stuff that would be around for longer than a meal lol a new purse or shoes or more money in the bank or an extra car payment or something.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I found that I was more inclined to pack my lunch everyday if I had something fun/cute to carry it in. Face it, I love to show off and a cute lunchbox is great for that.

A funky lunchbox can be had for less than $20, which would be less than the cost of 2 days ordering out.

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Jesus SAVES by shopping smartly and using double coupons!

A couple of my favorites to take for lunch are:

Salad greens topped with chopped walnuts & feta cheese w/ Raspberry-Walnut Dressing

Pasta Salad made with penne pasta, chopped chicken, shredded parmesan cheese, walnuts & dressed with olive oil

I buy large bags of walnuts at Costco - I use them sparingly in both dishes above to keep the calories down. Chicken for pasta salad is usually leftover Rotissere chicken and I make enough for two-three days.

I eat breakfast before I head into work and take my snacks with me (cereal bars, fruit, or whatever I got a good deal on).

It saves a lot of money to bring my lunch - if I go out not only do I spend money on food but many times wander into stores and buy stuff I don't need.