What do you bring for lunch during the work week?

One of the things I dread when I come home from work each evening, is having to pack my lunch for the next day. It’s such a chore! But I still do it, because it saves a ton of money on food. Plus, I work out in an office in the countryside, so it’s not like we have a ton of options around here. In fact, the only place you can get food is an organic corner store that has an overpriced deli in it. I’ve been there once, when my boss took me out for lunch.

Anyway, what I’ve been doing for the past 3 weeks is bringing a huge container of salad greens, 1/2 can of tuna or salmon, and some Kraft Signature Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. This is such a cheap and easy lunch to make!!! I literally toss a 1/2 can of tuna into a container, stuff it full with salad, and leave a bottle of dressing in the fridge at work.

The salad costs me $4 (pre-washed organic greens from Costco – the same sized container and brand sells for $8 at the local grocery store, which when you think about it, is still a good deal). The tuna is usually $1/can, and each can lasts me 2 days (I don’t put tuna in my lunch on Fridays so I don’t have to keep a 1/2 can of tuna in my fridge for a weekend) … and the dressing is $2.50 a bottle, which will last me about a month. I usually also buy a bunch of spinach ($0.75 for a huge bundle) to throw in the salad, just to make it last longer.

With the salad, I’ll bring a small container of grapes or whatever fruit is on sale ($5 for 2 weeks), some crackers ($2.50/box), and a granola bar ($5 for 2 boxes) for an afternoon snack.

So my lunch for 2 weeks costs me:
$4 salad greens
$4 for 4 cans of tuna
$1.25 for 1/2 bottle of dressing
$0.75 spinach
$5 fruit
$2.50 crackers
$5 granola bars
= $22.50 ($11.25 per week, or $2.25 per day)

I’ve been lucky because so far, I haven’t gotten sick of my lunches yet. I know I could probably lower the cost of my lunches if I didn’t eat tuna, or made my own granola bars, etc … but I think I’ve been doing pretty good. Also, I’ve been switching up the fruit, granola bars, crackers so I get some variety … and sometimes we splurge on an extra treat to throw in our lunches, like dried mango (YUM!!!) from the bulk bins (which usually ends up costing about $1/week).

What do you usually bring for your lunch?