I'm looking for cheap, quick ways to make lunch that won't take more than 5
minutes in the morning, can be eaten at my desk and are not just the regular
sandwiches - or at least if they're sandwiches, they have interesting fillings
besides teh ham and cheese.

Any suggestions?

14 responses total.

Cold corn on the cob.  Potato salad.  Do you have a microwave oven at work?
A large potato will microwave in about 5 minutes.

Hummus and tabouli with pita and a mini V8..  An apple,cheese and granola 
bar. Two of my favorite "grab it and bag it" lunches.

It takes us a lot more than 5 minutes to make hummus, pita, or granola, and
I never did succeed in making cheese.

That's because most people buy hummus, pita, granola, and cheese.  We keep
them in the frige, ready to pack up and go at a moment's notice.  Not all
healthy foods have to be made from scratch.  I consider the little bit extra
I pay for someone else to make them up to be well worth it.  After all it
provides them with a living and frees my time to do things that I enjoy doing,
especially since my time is worth more then the extra I pay for the service.
I don't know about you, but while I love cheese, I don't have the facilities
or equipment to make the variety and amount that my household goes through
to make it myself.

As and example:  we love potstickers...a lot.  I can buy potstickers at the
Asian grocery for the family for about $6.95, far less than an hours wage for
me as a part time student worker, mere minutes if I was actually working as
a consult or employee in my field.  I takes me in excess of 3 hours to make
them from scratch, as I have at times, and about 30 minutes for the family
to consumme them.  I would rather spend that 3-4 hours stitching or reading
or working on the house.

If we insisted on making everything we eat from the raw ingredients, we
wouldn't eat the variety of foods that we do; and a lot of other people would
be out of work.  That is why I work, so that I have the where-with-all to pay
for someone else to do some of the scut work allowing me to do things that
I enjoy during my free time.

The request was for ways to 'make lunch' not assemble it, but response 3 was
intended as a joke.

I don't like commercial hummus, it is salty.  Or commercial granola, which
is mostly sugar.  Or most prepared foods (with exceptions for things like
flour).

Ricecakes topped with roasted red peppers or roasted eggplant spread.
Dark rye with guacamoli, tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper sandwiches.
Roasted tomato & basil tortilla stuffed with pepperoni, provolone, olives with
a dash of vinegar and olive oil
Salmon with light mayo on rye with green bell pepper and mustard
Cream cheese on toast with thin slices of lox/salmon

Leftovers always work well. Added benefit - I've picked up quite a few 
great recipes from tasting what my co-workers brought in from last night's 
dinner.

Cream cheese on a cinnamon bagel topped with slice banana.  One of my 
favorite on-the-run breakfasts.  Packs reasonably well too.

Lunch meat rollups work when I'm too pressed to make a sandwich.  I just 
throw some luncheon meat in a baggie and then eat it solo, with, like, 
cherry tomatoes, pretzels, little carrots or whatever else I grab.  
That's about a two minute prep, max.  I also keep a few of those little
single portion microwaveable soup thingies in the cupboard.  If it keeps
me out of the cafeteria lane, it's worth every penny.

Now I'm hungry - all great suggestions. Thanks!

I like the leftovers idea.  I don't cook from scratch too often [though I'm
TRYING to do more] but when I do, I usually try and make enough for a couple
more meals. Like tonight I made a pot of chili and was able to put away 2 more
days worth. All I'll have to do is heat it up in the microwave. And its pretty
filling, too.

I never seem to be able to make enough for leftovers. :(

I do enough cooking that we always have leftovers.  Dave takes 
leftovers for lunch all the time.  Sometimes I make stuff for him 
simply to have lunches.

I found a website that posted some easy-to-fix sandwiches [you decide if
they're easy  enough for you!]:

Turkey Cranberry Salad Sandwiches


Cubed, cooked turkey is combined with dried cranberries and celery,
tossed with a  mixture of mayonnaise and yogurt, and spooned onto split
croissants.


       Ingredients:
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely sliced
1/2 cup mayonnnaise
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and ground pepper
Lettuce
4 croissants
Method
In one bowl combine turkey, cranberries, celery, and onions; mix well.
In another bowl  mix mayonnaise, yogurt, and lemon juice together.
Sprinkle to taste with salt and  ground pepper. Pour over turkey
mixture; stir all together. Refrigerate 1/2 to 1 hour.  Spoon turkey
mixture on sliced croissants; add lettuce and croissant top.

Notes:

Number of servings: 4

Specialty House Chicken Salad


This generous sandwich is made with a chicken salad mixture which
includes plain  yogurt, coleslaw dressing, celery, grapes and cashews.

       
Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cooked  
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup cole slaw dressing
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grapes, quartered
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1 avocado, sliced
4 cooked Bacon strips, cut in half
8 slices provolone cheese
1 loaf French bread
  
Method
In a food processor, combine the cooked chicken, yogurt, slaw dressing,
celery, onion,  salt and pepper. Pulse until coarsely chopped. In a
medium mixing bowl combine  chicken salad mixture with grapes & cashews;
stir until blended. Cut French loaf  lengthwise; spread the chicken
mixture evenly over bottom half. Layer avocado,  cooked bacon, and
provolone cheese on top of chicken salad. Top with other half of  French
loaf. Cut loaf into four equal sections. Makes 4 servings 

Notes: This is a quick and easy light lunch sandwich. You can serve this
and still enjoy  your guests.

Number of servings: 4

[Well, I guess I wouldn't call these sandwiches easy [or, rather,
they're not quick to fix]

Easy Navajo Tacos


Refrigerated biscuits are used to make fry bread, which is then topped
with cooked  ground beef or chicken, cheese, chili, avocado, olives and
sour cream.

       
Ingredients:
1 can of Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits
Oil for frying
Flour for dusting
1/2 lb ground beef or ground chicken, cooked
1 cup of shredded cheese (such as cheddar or Jack)
1 can of chili beans
1 large avocado
1/4 cup of sliced olives
1/4 cup of sour cream
Salsa
Method
Bring oil to medium heat in small frying pan. Roll out refrigerator
biscuits flat like a  tortilla. Place in hot grease and fry for 30
seconds until brown on each side. Once your  bread is done, drain and
place the remaing ingredients on top of your fry bread.

Notes:

Number of servings: 4

Response not possible - You must register and login before posting.

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss