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Monday Q&A | The Lunch Edition

Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you!

Quite inadvertently, I chose two reader questions that are lunch-related.   So we have a bit of an accidental theme going on here today. 😉

Hi! I’ve been making the sandwich breads (Kristen’s note: she’s referring to my regular and my whole wheat sandwich bread recipes) and they both taste great and work well as toast or with PB & J. But my husband eats meat on them and says the bread falls apart.

I had previously been doing 5-Minute Artisan breads. These I love too but their crusty crusts were a little hard on a mouth for sandwiches. And, they seemed to get stale in 2 days. I can get 4-5 out of yours.

Maybe I should just make the sandwich bread into 1/2 a loaf and the rest sandwich rolls so they’ll hold up for meat sandwiches? Any suggestions?

I love bread making and money saving so I really don’t want to buy bread for him. Plus after a year mo bread buying, I bought a loaf for $4.99 and it was “healthy” loaded with unpronounceable things and didn’t even taste good in comparison.

-Holly

I can totally see how that would be a problem with homemade bread unless it’s very fresh. Store-bought bread has additives that keep it “bendable” for days and days, but homemade bread tends to get a little stiff after a day or two.

The one exception to this is bread that has a lot of fat or sugar, or a bread that has potato in it. Have you tried my potato bread recipe? That one stays soft far longer than any other loaves I make, and could work well for sandwiches.

You can actually add a little potato to almost any bread recipe and it’ll stay fresh longer.

The idea of making buns is also really good, as those tend to work a little better for sandwiches.

Of late, I’ve been using my honey-glazed roll dough for my buns.   I leave the glaze off, add a little more sugar to the dough, and divide the dough to make 12 large-ish rolls (originally the recipe makes 24 small glazed rolls).

You might also like to try making buns out of my whole wheat roll recipe.   It has a little more fat and sugar than my sandwich bread recipe does, so the buns will stay soft a longer.

I was wondering if you could give some ideas of how you make your husband’s lunches interesting. Do you just do leftovers (my husband is not a fan), do you make sandwiches, etc…? My husband doesn’t like taking a lunch, he’d prefer to buy. He is the bread winner so I try not to harp on how much money he spends on lunch, but HE just commented on the amount he spends 🙂 so now I’d like to be able to pack him at least a couple of lunches a week. I’m looking to knock his socks off, if I can, in the bagged lunch department. Any tips? 🙂

Thanks in advance!

Caitlin

Fortunately for me, Mr. FG doesn’t mind eating most leftovers, so frequently, that’s what’s in his lunch.   However, I don’t just stick a container of leftovers in there and call it good…I also send snacks and some sides to make things more interesting.

For instance, I might put a bowl of leftover chicken noodle soup in his lunch, and then I also put in a sliced apple, a peeled clementine, a container of cashews, a few pieces of beef jerky, and some smoked almonds (plus some M&Ms for dessert).

(And I also include a note. 😉 )

Because he has a limited amount of time for lunch, it works best if I give him things that are ready to eat (a peeled clementine vs. an unpeeled one) or that are very simple to heat up.

When I don’t have leftovers, I do sometimes send sandwiches (a ham sandwich, or a PBJ) and sometimes, I send him out for lunch if I have nothing to pack.

Would your husband be open to eating leftovers occasionally if you just sent him things that reheat well?   Some things (soups, for example) are way more appetizing reheated than others (fish dishes come to mind.)

If he’s open to eating main dish salads (like this Mandarin Chicken Salad), that would be another option. Mr. FG doesn’t adore eating salads for lunch, but he knows they’re healthy and so he’s ok with me sending them here and there.   I tend to do that more in the summer, obviously.

If your husband likes sandwiches, maybe you could send one with him once or twice a week.   Cold cuts are kind of expensive, to be sure, but if you compare them to the cost of him going out, they’re still quite a bargain.   Hot sandwiches can also be an option.

For instance, when we have leftover BBQ beef, I send the beef in a glass container, which he can microwave and then put on a packed bun.

I think your idea of having him take lunch just a few times a week is a great place to start! There are five lunches in a week, so maybe you could send him out twice, give him a sandwich twice, and send reheating-friendly leftovers the other day.

A bit of unsolicited advice: Try to prepare yourself for the fact that sometimes when you pack a lunch, he may still go out to eat.   Don’t take it personally…sometimes it’s necessary to go out with co-workers, or sometimes, he might just want to get out of the building for a bit.   Since he’s not taking any lunches right now, any lunches he eats in right now are a win, so try to focus on that instead of on the times he does go out.

A related lunch topic: Here’s a post I wrote about the containers I use to pack Mr. FG’s lunch in a waste-free way.

____________________
Readers, if you’ve got some lunch-y advice to add to mine, please do add it in the comments!

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robin

Thursday 27th of February 2014

With regard to homemade bread that falls apart, you might want to use a bit of dough conditioner in your recipes. Store bought breads use many chemical versions, but simple homemade versions with natural ingredients work excellent. Milk and egg are dough conditioners (egg adds lecithin). I've been making my own bread for years and here is the dough conditioner recipe I use for my 100% whole wheat bread: 1/2 teaspoon lecithin granules, 3 Tbs. vital wheat gluten, a pinch of citric acid or Fruit Fresh, a dash of ground ginger. This comes from here: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/2814. I also switch use this one too: http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/how-to-make-homemade-dough-enhancer/ Perfect crumb and stretch to the finished product, but it does add a few scents to the cost of each loaf of bread, but not much compared to buying store bought, and the quality of the finished product surpasses anything I've ever purchased.

Caitlin

Thursday 20th of February 2014

Kristen! Thank you!! You guys are so wonderful! These are all such great tips! I appreciate the encouragement, too. It's going to take me awhile to read through all of these great ideas, but I will! I feel so inspired.

Thank you! I think I'll make a batch of your burger buns and use them for sandwiches, we love sandwiches on french rolls. I think this would be a great alternative. Yay! :)

Elvira

Wednesday 19th of February 2014

Giving lunch doesn't work well here, as he's in a position where often he's got a meeting or a lunch offered. But my husband finally decided to take a healthy breakfast, which I prepare (for now, he's on the granola - yoghurt - fresh fruit wagon) and try to provide him with some quick and healthy snacks as often he doesn't have the time for a proper lunch. The examples suggested are great, but I am mostly the one that uses leftovers for lunches. Fresh fruit, ready to eat is a hit, but indeed, it must be ready to eat.

Caitlin

Thursday 20th of February 2014

Thanks how it works in our family too. But I just would really like to be able to offer at least one good lunch a week, or so, if I can. It's nice to know I'm not alone :)

Ms Frau

Wednesday 19th of February 2014

At least 15 years ago, maybe longer, I bought a small, fold up meat slicer for about $35.00. Now, at that price, you can imagine it does have some limitations - it's a bit wobbly, and I'm sure it couldn't be in use at a deli where it's constantly used - that being said, it's served me well for all this time and makes thinly sliced "deli" meat out of leftover ham, chicken, roast, etc.

It has paid for itself over and over and then some. I recently thought I lost a part and priced out another on Amazon and the store where I originally bought it (Fleet Farm) and lo and behold - it's still about the same price!

Love your blog, by the way!

WilliamB

Wednesday 19th of February 2014

Ms Frau, what was the brand/model? Do you think it would work on bacon? There are times I wish I had a slicer but not for hundred(s) dollars.

EngineerMom

Tuesday 18th of February 2014

On lunches:

I have a husband who eats the exact. same. thing. every day for lunch, except on the rare occasion he goes out to eat. So I have zipp-o to offer in the "how to knock his socks off" department. In our house, Dad's lunch is a turkey sandwich on a particular brand of bread with olive oil and mustard, a carton of strawberry yogurt, an apple or banana, an ounce of cashews, and a stick of string cheese. The one predictable part of my grocery shopping.

But.

One thing we do that dramatically decreased eating lunches out when we both worked, and we continue to this day: We agreed on a set amount of "fun" money per paycheck. Every payday, we would withdraw that amount in cash. If I was at work and decided I wanted to go out to lunch, I had to pay for it out of my "fun" money cash. If DH wants to buy a coffee in the afternoon, that comes out of his fun money. If I want to go see a movie by myself, fun money. If DH goes karaoke singing, fun money for the beer. If I sign up for a triathlon, fun money. You get the idea.

When you have to actually lay out the cash, and know that spending it on that lunch (when you could take one from home for "free") means you can't spend it on something else like drinks with friends, or a new book, or a new video game, or whatever, it makes eating lunch out regularly seem a LOT less appealing!

It also removes the stress from that conversation about how much he's spending on eating out - he gets a certain amount (that he chooses) to do with what he pleases in that arena of life, whether it's 5 days a week of $5 subs, or one $25 meal on Friday at a sit-down restaurant, or saving the money up for something non-lunch-related. If he wants to have a packed lunch, he can put it together that morning if you have items prepared, or he might be open to just knowing that M-Th, you'll pack him a lunch, and Friday he's on his own to pack or buy.

Caitlin

Thursday 20th of February 2014

great idea! Thanks! Maybe that would work for us.

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