Skip to Content

Q&A | $20 Takeout Date Ideas + Lunches Without Waste

Every other Monday, I answer reader questions.   If you’ve got a question for me, leave it in the comments, or email me, and I’ll do my best to answer it in a future post.

_______________________

First up this week, a question from an Alaskan reader about takeout date nights.

I stumbled on your blog a week or so ago because recently I became a stay at home mom again. This is the best option for my family.   I’ve read about you doing a takeout date night for around $20, and if you don’t mind me asking what usually do you eat for takeout? We live in Alaska so I know there will be a large pricing difference, but i would like to try to keep it close to what you do. Any input would be great!

-Kita

First, welcome!   Always glad to have some new faces around here.

Since I wrote that post, two of our kids have become teenagers, which means that we sometimes actually go out for a date night.

(Having teenagers is seriously awesome.)

But, we do still opt for a takeout night sometimes because a certain small girl here doesn’t like us to be gone too much.   😉

Anyway, here in the lower 48 at least, it’s pretty easy for us to stick with a $20 budget without resorting to super cheap fast food.

A few of our staple meals:

  • burgers and a medium fry to share from Five Guys
  • sandwiches from somewhere like Panera Bread or Atlanta Bread Company
  • two meals from Chipotle
  • sushi
  • seafood sandwiches from a local seafood shop

Hmm.   It would seem that sandwiches are the theme for our cheap takeout nights, except when we do   Chipotle.

So.   Eat sandwiches, and save money.   😉

(If you are gluten-free or eat low-carb, you could opt for things like a lettuce-wrapped burger, or order a salad instead of a sandwich.)

Also, ordering only the main dish and providing drinks/desserts at home really helps us to stay within our budget.

Hi Kristen,
I’ve been following your blog for several years now, and love reading it every few days!

My question is, do you have any good lunch solutions for two working adults who have somewhat unpredictable lunch schedules?

I do the grocery shopping for my husband and myself, and it seems like we often have issues with not having the right amount of food at home for lunches. A lot of it has to do with the fact that our lunch schedules vary a lot because of work lunches that come up at the last minute, but I hate that it seems like the weeks that I plan for us to make sandwiches with lunch meat, we end up having several lunches at work and never end up making the sandwiches and throw away the meat (and often the bread, too) because it’s gone bad. Then, inevitably when I do not buy lunch meat, we end up eating lots of meals at home and don’t have much (if anything, it seems like) to choose from. We both also like to have leftovers for lunch, which normally ends up being easier for us to grab, so they get eaten first.

Is there a way to preserve bread and lunch meat/cheese so that we can use them as needed, rather than buy them and have to throw them out? Or do you have any suggestions for good lunch items that are easy to store in case we don’t need them immediately? Thanks so much!

When I read your question, my first thought was that the freezer could really be your friend here. Bread/sandwich buns can easily be frozen and thawed only when needed.   That way your bread at least wouldn’t go to waste.

(If you buy your buns or bread straight from the grocery store bakery, place them in a sturdier bag for freezing.   The clear thin bags from in-store supermarket bakeries tend to fall apart in the freezer for some reason.)

My other freezer thought: On weeks when you have a lot of leftovers and need to use up lunch meat, try freezing some portions of your leftovers.   That way you can eat the lunch meat you have while storing up some frozen lunches for future weeks.

Another idea: If you buy lunch meat and notice that you haven’t used it toward the end of the week, maybe scratch your meal plan for a night and make panini sandwiches (lunch meat is great in those and you’d use your cheese as well!).

Or have a big green dinner salad with the lunch meat, adding hard-boiled eggs, cubed cheese, and croutons to make it a meal.

Lastly, could you keep some easy-to-prepare lunch items on hand for weeks when you don’t have lunch meat in the house?   It sounds like you are maybe actually at your house at lunchtime at least part-time, so could you cook up some simple spaghetti for lunch?   Or put together a tuna salad?   (which mostly relies on pantry ingredients plus a few fridge staples.)

____________________

Readers, the question-askers always love to have more input, so share your advice in the comments!  

Any good $20 takeout date ideas?   And how would you handle the lunch meat issue?

 

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Lisa

Wednesday 7th of January 2015

Make a bunch of sandwiches and freeze individually. They will thaw by lunchtime. Works for PB&J's too. More than a money saver, it's a TIME saver.

Jill Clark

Wednesday 7th of January 2015

I like Chinese for a cheap date night. The meal is not expensive and we always have leftovers for lunch.

Meredith

Tuesday 6th of January 2015

As far as date night take out for under $20. I know you're in AK but these shouldn't be too off.

Chinese - split an entree and order egg rolls. They usually throw in fortune cookies for free. Japanese - Order 2-3 sushi rolls. Sometimes we do 2 rolls and spring rolls. Philadelphia, California Rolls, those types, average $6 a roll. Sushi expands in your belly so this goes a long way! Pizza - While we usually order something that my daughter isn't fond of, like BBQ Chicken pizza or loaded veggie/meat. While she'll eat them, she still prefers it rather simple and it's just nice to have a pizza to yourselves! Thai - Same as Chinese. Meals at nice restaurants are a lot more but it seems to me, they always try to fill up a take-out container more full than a plate at the restaurant. So split the meal. Grocery store - Get a rotisserie chicken and sides or spring for a steak or nice cut of meat/veggies. Fast Food - While many blogs today advocate banning fast food industries AND we know it's all terrible for us, a bit isn't going to hurt. In fact, we did it not long ago for a date night and it was a lot of fun. Several places have upped their game and their items are getting fresher and better quality.

bob miller

Tuesday 6th of January 2015

When we have lunch meat that has been in the fridge for three or four days we fry it. I don't know what it is but I don't think lunch meat freezes very well (many disagree with me) but FRIED lunch meat freezes great for me. For work lunch just make the sandwich with everything else you want on it and put frozen lunch meat in a baggie and by lunch time it will be perfectly thawed and you just put it together. If you make the sandwich before thawing it get the bread wet. Also, we try to pick a day when the skillet is going to be used for something else like burgers and then fry the lunch meat in the same skillet. Every so often I slice up and fry a can of spam at this time (I love it; she hates it) and I freeze that and use it for lunches and breakfast sandwiches as needed. Love your columns

Carrie

Monday 5th of January 2015

For date nights...weeknight happy hours at many high-ish end places have many appetizer and 'small plate' specials. We have found it easy to sample sushi and much more this way, and just order water. Sometimes we just buy a bit fancier food from the grocery store, like a really nice cracker and cheese, or a new kind of hummus, and some ice cream to share. Then we just wait until the kids are in bed, make a plate of crackers and cheese (or chips and salsa from our favorite Mexican restaurant) and enjoy the quiet. I have also been known to surprise my husband with a pound or two of bbq from his favorite restaurant, and just serve it at home with homemade fries or chips, and store bought buns. For budget friendly work lunches...I learned from my mom to buy the whole ham, then take it to the butcher counter (before checking out) and having them slice and wrap it. Divide it up at home into reasonable portions for a few sandwiches and freeze in baggies. I have also made meals and frozen them in individual containers for the purpose of work lunches. Individual containers of hummus or bean dip that can be opened when needed would last for a while, add chips and veggies, maybe a cup of soup. I also like the ideas above about eating light when out at the impromptu work lunches, and having part of your lunch as a snack before or afterward.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.