Usually a protein, veg, and rice. Could be chicken, or chickpeas, with beans and rice, perhaps. Just that rice bowl variation.

If you’re feeling shit after sandwiches and hot dogs, presumably in bread rolls, you could be gluten intolerant.

IANAD.

Came here to say hot dogs. 🌭 looks like you’ve got that covered. 😉

Not really that cheap, but when I have the household to myself during WFH, a typical lunch consists of a wedge of blue cheese with some added apricot marmelade. I can finally stink up the house with my eclectic taste without anyone complaining.

I make big batches of lentil or chickpea curry, freeze half, eat the unfrozen during the week, then next week do a different recipe, freeze half, eat the unfrozen half, then thaw the first variety I made, and so on, so I have a constant flow of frozen and different curries.

You can also just thaw one if you can’t be assed to cook that week, too.

To make em into a lunch, I usually make rice and a coleslaw or other quick prep veg so you get some nutritional variety up in that batch

Try avocado and hummus sandwiches, nutritious and tasty.

If I’ve had a cooked dinner the night before I’ll have that for lunch the next day.

My partner and I have done meal prep on weekends in the past as well. That can work well if you have the space to keep food frozen for a week or two.

On Sundays I do lunch prep for the days in office. A few slices of deli meat and block cheese for a nice flavor. Then a pile of raw veggies and a small container of dipping sauce. I prefer sliced bell pepper and green onion with ranch dressing, but you can do whatever veggies you prefer (for example spinach, sugar snap peas, carrots). I always feel great after that lunch; grains like bread or chips always made me feel lethargic.

I take it into the office in a plastic bento box to keep everything from jostling around, and the sauce goes in a smaller reusable container separately.

keep some washed fruit around i like to have some oranges or a bowl of grapes or something at my desk to pick on over the course of the day. sometimes ill make oat balls or just keep some sunflower seeds out too for extra protein

Cup of noodles is easy and light

Salad. Some lettuce or spinach, a few toppings, a little dressing.

I get one of those rotisserie chickens from the store and cut the meat up. It’ll last a few weeks (freezing portions of it) for not that much. Cucumber is cheap. There is an olive bar at our grocery store, I pick some of the up and sometimes make my own croutons and cut up an apple with some veggies.

I cook large batches of stew every now and then, freeze in 2 or 3 portion packages. Then each sunday I prep some carbs, defrost and pasteurize stew and put it all together. Boom! Lunches ready to go into the work microwaves.

I make a chickpea/garbanzo bean spread:

(1) 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I also take the skins off but that’s optional) (1) tbsp of Nutritional yeast (.5) tsp garlic powder (.5) tsp onion powder (.5) tsp salt (1) tbsp lemon juice (.5) tbsp dijon mustard (.5) cup of mayo (any mayo works)

Optional: 1 nori sheet (seaweed adds a fishy flavor)

Instructions: smash everything together with a fork in a bowl until mixed or use a food processor/blender to puree, it should have the consistency of a cheese spread or dip. Serve on anything and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days

I make a week of lunches all at once. I have 12 hour shifts so it’s kinda breakfast and lunch that I snack on through the day. I get everything from Aldi so it’s pretty cheap too.

Baby carrots, honeycrisp apple, light string cheese, yogurt, and a sandwich containing lunch meat and cheese and mayo. Recently, I started fridge pickling jalapeños for my sandwiches too, and that was the right call. I have this pretty much every day. I was broke af when I was younger, so eating the same thing every day vs maybe not getting to eat… I learned to really appreciate getting consistent meals even if it’s not something different very often. It’s not for everybody and I understand if this doesn’t sound remotely appealing to you lol.

If I’m at home, udon noodle soup: just vegetable stock cube in a pot of water, boil it, chuck the noodles in, chuck in whatever you want to put in the soup (I just chop up tofu and one vegetable of my choice), boil for a few mins, and it’s done. Put Laoganma on to serve. Obviously use whatever other noodles you prefer if you have a preference other than udon. Takes like 15 mins total and it’s so simple for something that’s an actual full meal. I don’t take it with me when I’m on the go though, as it’s hard to carry a bowl of noodle soup with you.

For something you can take with you on the go, I’ve been making this vegan smoked tofu carbonara recipe lately. You’ll still need a microwave to heat it up once it’s lunchtime, unless you want to eat cold spaghetti for lunch, but it’s really tasty, especially the tofu.